My advice to anyone who walks, runs, cycles or does just about anything outside near the street: ditch those noise-cancelling headphones. I love my great big over-the-ear headphones with spectacular noise canceling, but when I’m close to fast-moving cars and heavy traffic, it’s critical to hear the world around me and not just my favorite music or podcast. Instead, I want something like OpenFit’s true wireless headphones from Shokz.
I love a good pair of headphones, but I don’t love spending a ton on them. My threshold is about $100, which is why when all of my cycling friends started raving about bone-conduction headphones a few years back, I was more than a little hesitant because I would probably only use them when working out.
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The Shokz OpenFit headphones are currently $125, a 31% discount, thanks to Amazon’s Black Friday sales event. These headphones are designed to be used in places where bone conduction may not be enough, and as a result, I’m rarely seen without mine on. You can grab these headphones at a great price in both black and beige.
Shokz makes some of the best open-ear headphones you can buy today.
A week after I picked these up, I was nearly sideswiped by a pickup truck, and the only thing that saved me was hearing it come up behind me. There’s a reason these are recommended on our list of the best running headphones you can buy.
If you’re looking for outdoor-friendly workout headphones, my first recommendation is always Shokz, formerly known as Aftershokz. Bone-conduction headphones sit just outside your ear, resting on the bone. Music vibrates through a set of pads into your skull, and you hear those sounds as if they’re coming from a speaker a few feet away. You can hear everything you’re listening to on your phone without interrupting the sounds coming from the rest of the world around you. For cyclists and runners — really anyone who does anything outside — this is a game-changing experience. It’s more accurate and pleasing than normal headphones with “passthrough mode,” and you sacrifice very little in audio quality.
My favorite bone-conduction headphones — and I’ve tried them all — are the OpenRun Pro headphones from Shokz. They’re waterproof (which means they’re easy to clean when I’m all sweaty), the battery lasts me about 7 hours on a charge (perfect for those 70-mile riding days), and they’re comfortable enough that I can wear them all day and not feel them pressing on me. They charge magnetically with a proprietary charger, but Shokz includes two cables in the box in case you lose things as I do.
If these headphones are a little rich for your blood, no worries. Shokz also has cheaper OpenRun and OpenMove bone-conduction headphones (the latter is currently 31% off Black Friday) with up to 6 hours of battery life and IP55 dust and water resistance.
Whether you’re physically active outdoors or you just like exploring new things, I highly recommend giving these headphones a try.
The Shokz OpenMove make a great gift for an outdoor runner
The Shokz make a great gift, either for yourself or the outdoor runner in your life. Not are they the best of their kind, gifting these to a runner may also give you some peace of mind to know they’re a little safer when they’re out running alongside busy streets or other high-traffic areas.
Will the Shokz OpenMoves see a bigger discount on Black Friday or Cyber Monday?
Tough to say. The 31% discount is the same as what we saw during Amazon’s Prime Day sales event, and so far it hasn’t ducked below that. Only time will tell if we do see a further dip in price this Friday and following Monday, so it might be worth checking back.
For more, check out the best Black Friday Deals from Amazon and the best Black Friday deals we’ve found for under $100.
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