Aftershokz Air Bone Conduction Wireless Bluetooth Headphones with Reflective Strips, Slate Grey

EDIT 11/1/2019: I was looking at my profile and noticed this old review and realized I needed to update it. I did eventually get my hands on a working set of actual Airs (I believe I wound up just ordering directly from the company to get exactly what I wanted). They have been awesome, the sound quality is great for bone-conducting headphones and the battery lasts a good long while. I enjoy being able to control the volume, pause the audio, or skip to the next track from the headphone buttones themselves rather than digging the phone out of my pocket. If I lost or broke these, I wouldn't hesitate to order another pair immediately! I will say the call quality as a phone headset leaves something to be desired, but that is not why I ordered them, and I would definitely recommend it not be why you order them either. It's nice to be able to use them for that purpose rather than dig your phone out to answer a call during a run or while bicycling, but it's a compromise solution at best. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I've had Trekz Titaniums for over a year and a half now, I wore them when I ran or rode my mountain bike. Great headphones, I've really enjoyed them. The sound isn't perfect, but that is the sacrifice I gladly made to be able to hear car traffic or bicycles overtaking me when running on trails. However, I recently finished a run, wiped down my Titaniums and tossed them on my passenger seat. Sometime between then and when I grabbed them that evening to take them in to charge, the band right behind one of the earpieces cracked, leaving that speaker kind of floppy. I have no idea how, I assume it got wedged in the crevice of the seat and I set something on them. It was definitely my fault, because they weren't cracked when I took them off. So, bummed, I came to Amazon (where I got the first pair) to order another. Upon searching them up, I see that Trekz has a new design called the AIR that they claim are not only lighter and sturdier but sound better as well! Now, the weight of the Titaniums had never really bothered me, but lighter is better when it's hanging from your head. And while the sound quality wasn't terrible, it could definitely be better. But the biggest reason I decided to go with the $50 more expensive AIRs is that they claimed to be sturdier, with a titanium band all the way around. That seemed like a great idea to me, considering why I was back in the market for headphones. So, after determining that the standard Airs were out of stock for weeks apparently, I went ahead and ordered this pair with some goofy reflective tape I absolutely do not care about for an extra $10. They duly arrived two days later and I eagerly took them out of the box (side note: the packaging is a little much, AfterShokz). They are definitely lighter and lower profile than the Titaniums I was replacing, yet felt fairly sturdy. I plugged them in and fully charged them before pairing them with my phone. After charging and pairing (which was as easy as could be) I popped them on to see how they sounded. Initially, I was quite impressed with the sound. They definitely seemed an improvement over the Titaniums. You're never going to get good in-ear earbud quality from bone-conducting headphones, so get that idea out of your head. You are sacrificing some sound fidelity to get the sound through your skull rather than blocking your ear canals, so you can still hear what's going on around you. Nevertheless, I was happy. Then, I switched over to some jazz with a little bass and noticed that the right speaker was buzzing terribly with the bassline. I pulled it away from my ear, and the left side sounded great. Put the right back on my head and it sounded like a blown $5 speaker from a blue-light special. I switched the equalizer setting, which seems to pull most of the bass out, but it still buzzed and now neither speaker sounded very good. So, now bummed that I have received a defective pair, I package them back up, request the return with Amazon and print off the shipping label. However, I am impressed enough with the one good speaker that I decide to go ahead and order another pair right away, so that I will have them by the weekend. I trust Amazon isn't going to screw me over on the return so I just purchased another pair rather than waiting for the return credit. Two days later, on Friday, I receive my 2nd pair. I open the Amazon box and immediately realize that I am looking at a pair of Trekz Titaniums, just like the pair I broke. I am initially cross with myself, thinking I must have somehow ordered the wrong thing. But then I remembered clicking the "Order again" button from my AIR order. So I log in to Amazon and sure enough, I did order the same exact Trekz Air headphones that I'd received the first time. Only this time, I'd received a pair of Titaniums, which sell for $50 less than I was charged! Wondering how this could have happened, I look all over the box for an inventory sticker, and found it stuck to the plastic shrinkwrap (which I had thankfully not immediately ripped off of the box before realizing it was the wrong product). Right there on the paper inventory sticker, it said "Trekz Air" headphones. Ironically, the sticker was placed over the bar code on the actual product box, but didn't cover where the box says "Trekz Titanium". See the attached photo, assuming I uploaded it correctly. Somehow, they've labeled their Titanium inventory with the stickers meant for the Air headphones. OOPS! I looked at the shipping label on the Amazon box, and it says "AfterShokz" above the return address. But, it's the same return address in Lexington, KY that the first box had, and that one says Amazon Fulfillment. So I don't know who screwed up the inventory stickers, but if you order a pair of these, you better make sure you get what you paid for, and not a pair of Titaniums that should have cost 2/3 the price! So, now I am shipping back two pairs of headphones, one defective and the other not even what I ordered, and I still don't have a pair to wear - or do I? Turns out duct tape was sufficient to temporarily fix the old Titaniums for now, so I've still got tunes for the trail. Nevertheless, I intend to order YET ANOTHER set of Airs, because the sound out of the left speaker of the first pair really did sound nice, and they were incredibly light. If I ever get a fully working pair of actual Air headphones, I'll update my review with my thoughts on how they actually sound in stereo!

I've had many different earphones, earbuds, and headsets over the years and these are the best for what I wanted. While I was an over the road truck driver I went through 5 different sets of headphones until a fellow driver recommended these. The primary thing that I use them for is phone conversations and listening to audio books but do also listen to music. I've got a slight hearing deficiency and have tinnitus quite bad so trying to make out words is sometimes difficult especially if there is background noise. Things that I like about them: They don't cover your ears so you can still hear everything that's going on around you. Since the sound is transmitted directly to your Cochlea so it's almost like another "channel" that you're hearing. Very weird but it really works! And, I don't have to have the volume as high as I did with other headphones. I can hear the sounds better/clearer and background noise doesn't interfere. In fact, I can still pay attention to the other sounds while not loosing what's coming from the headphones. Another benefit is that's a crucial safety concern when driving! Having tinnitus is a very annoying pain it the #$$. I can hear the ringing in my ears almost constantly. One thing about these headphones is that while listening to music I don't seem to notice my tinnitus! It's not gone, it's just unnoticed. It's not the same as with in ear or over ear headphones. Again, I think that is because the sound/vibrations are bypassing the eardrum and going straight to the Cochlea. (I don't mean to say that these headphones cure tinnitus! They don't! They just seem to distract from it. At least for me.) I do a lot of ATV riding and while doing that I like to listen to music. With these I can do that and leave them in place when I stop to talk to other riders not having to remove earbuds, etc. I just turn the volume lower and can have a normal conversation. While riding at higher speed I do have to turn them up all the way but can still hear the music just fine. Having them at full volume is a little annoying as the vibrations are pretty intense so I don't leave them up that high too long. Oh, and listening to music,,, I can now make out some lyrics that I've missed in the past! Lastly, wearing them is extremely comfortable! At least for me it is. Very light and I don't get sweaty from them. The only thing I notice sometimes after wearing them for several hours is a slight discomfort on the tops of my ears. What's not to like: If you're an audiophile, these probably aren't for you if you're going do be doing any "serious" listening. Don't get me wrong, the sound quality is good, it's just not "perfect". For someone who is very critical and wants top notch sound quality, I really don't think you're going to get that with any bone conductive headphones... The sound quality of phone conversations is excellent on the wearer's end but mediocre on the receiving end. My wife and daughter also have these so I've heard them when they're using them and it's not bad, but it's just not great. Bottom line: I love these and have recommended them to several family members and friends and haven't had anyone that I've recommended them to come back with anything negative to say!

Over the winter, bummed by the pandemic and in a generally grumpy mood otherwise, I committed what until then I'd considered a cardinal sin--running with headphones. My over-the-ear Bose allowed me to enjoy entire albums uninterrupted and reminisce about the good old days spent outside doing things, among people, who were also doing things. Alas, my old, reliable Bose were too much when the summer heat came on, and they just aren't safe now that the roads have filled up again with people. Since I very much dislike in-ear (itchy/ticklish) and on-ear (pinch/pressure) headphones, I was willing to sacrifice some sound quality for comfort and safety. These have exceeded my expectations by far. When the bluetooth volume on the source is set at a moderate level--in the high/max comfort zone range before your phone warns you that you may experience hearing damage at such increased volumes--you can hear the music and vibration ever so faintly from the ear pieces. It's sort of like when you butt dial someone and hear tiny voices whispering to you from your pocket. It's almost inconsequential. Once they touch your face, however, the music comes through loud and clear. Songs with heavy bass vibrated my face a little more than I like, but that's to be expected. My face was acting like a subwoofer. Maybe leave the dub-step off the playlist unless you're interested in rattling things loose in your sinuses. I tested these on my husband at the same volume with the same music and, when worn, I could not hear the music at all, even standing right next to him. The headphones fit well. During a three mile run in 90-degree heat I never once had to adjust them. In fact, I stopped to chat with a neighbor, paused the music, and completely forgot I was wearing them until my timer app told me my cool down was over and scaring the living crap out of me. And that's the thing, it was almost like wearing no headphones. I could hear her, birds chirping, dogs running up behind their fences, cars pulling out of alleys. I was running with music playing in my head, able to hear the world around me, without earphones shoved in my ear canals. It was exactly the experience I was looking for. To wrap up, the included case is sturdy, set up was incredibly easy, and they appear well made. The manufacturer also included a set of ear plugs for loud environments and reflective tape to make the headset all the more safe to wear at dusk or after dark. (Admittedly, I didn't read the list of included accessories. I put them in the cart and expected to be disappointed.) Overall, I'm impressed. Sound quality and comfort are very subjective things. Speaking as someone who enjoys music, plays music, and owns separate headphones for listening, recording, and mixing music, I didn't expect much from these. What if they turned out to be tiny, external speakers strapped to your face? I'm happy to say they're not that at all. I'm looking forward to my next run all the more now that I can listen to Aesop Rock and hear myself fumble my way through the lyrics at the same time. Stay true like a wolf wearing wolf pants!

I bought these headphones to use while riding my bike. I've wanted to try them for a long time, but was skeptical as to how well they would work at higher bike speeds, and had a hard time justifying the $150-ish dollars. Was pleasantly surprised. Here's my honest experience: First use of the headphones was on a 12 mile bike ride, average speed of 15 miles per hour, top speed of 34 miles per hour. Pretty much at any speed over 16 or 17 mph, the noise of the wind was louder in my ears than the music (a mix of rock music) from the bone conducting headphones. I was not using the earplugs that came with the headphones, because that seems like is completely defeating the purpose. Second use of the headphones two days later on 11/17/18 when I rode in a 100 mile charity ride in Tucson, AZ. Due to the cool temperature in the morning, I wore a light headband around my ears which covered the ends of the headphones. While wearing the headband, the headphones really worked well, even at speeds up to about 23 mph. I would say the improvement was probably due to the following factors: the headband reduced the amount of wind noise across my ears, and the slight pressure from the headband on the headphones made the music transfer more efficiently through skin/tissue/bone. Again, listening to a mix of rock music with volume set to about 75% of maximum. Biggest surprise was that the batteries lasted for the entire duration of the ride, which was just over seven hours. Likely would have lasted longer, but I powered off the headphones at the end of the race. Overall, I am very pleased with the performance of the headphones for the first two uses. The only reason I didn't give 5 stars is the price. $150-ish is a bit steep for headphones that don't provide top notch sound quality. Don't buy these headphones and expect to hear your favorite music with 5-star sound quality. If you want that, buy JayBird or Bose or some other buds that go right in your ear. However, so far these headphones do just exactly what the manufacturer says they will: allow you to hear your music and your surroundings at the same time (at some sacrifice to the quality of the music). If these headphones last at least a year without any problems, I might consider giving it a 5-star rating, time will tell.

I have these paired to my Garmin Forerunner 645 Music watch that I wear on my left wrist (bottom side) and couldn't be happier for music while running. Unlike my pair of Letscom BT buds, with these I have zero signal dropout -- not a single bit. That was the problem I was trying to solve because the watch is also new and I love it too. What I wasn't prepared for however, was how much more comfortable these are to wear. No more bounding battery/control pod flopping around on a cable dangling on neck and always trying to drag all the loose cable to my right side. I knew an open-ear design would be better too, but here again it's hard to describe the peace of mind you get knowing you'll be able to hear your surroundings too, if needed. Keep in mind that if you have the volume cranked you still may not hear beyond your music however. As for sound quality, bone conduction isn't perfect and there's no mistaking these for audiophile grade. However, once you get focused on your activity, you're not likely to notice. I'm old school audiophile where any system lacking 12" (or larger) woofers just doesn't cover bass that you feel all over. So in that regard, no buds are ever going to compete. How much sound quality do you sacrifice? It's substantially better than a phone call for frequency response and dynamics. Same for pocket radios, if you remember those. Think basic OEM car stereo from the late 80s early 90s and you're probably in the right ballpark. Audrey Says, the voice prompting assistant is well done. Useful messages that are short and succinct. These have two EQ modes supposedly designed for whether you go open-ear or use the plugs for a closed-ear setup. In my short use, this may be their only weakness. The modes do sound subtly different but sadly Audrey doesn't say which mode you're in. The only way to know is to keep track yourself or do a firmware reset to get back to the default open-ear mode. I reported this to the mfr. so hopefully this will be improved. I didn't need the microphone(s), but I now like they're there. Again, nothing's dangling from a cord so you'd practically never know it had them. If your phone is connected, you can easily take calls or summon your digital assistant. I won't have my phone for most runs now, but I imagine I'll use this feature more since these are so comfortable. As for comfort, it's very easy to forget these are there. I also wear glasses and while they somehow share my ears they seem to get along just fine, even if I have a headband and hat on too. It might be easiest to think of these as rearward facing glasses that somehow don't need a 3rd point of contact on a nose. This setup is absolutely perfect for running. For best sound quality I find it helpful to remove my glasses to get these seated first with best bone contact and then slip my glass on afterwards.

Their is something really cool about still being able to hear everything around me while listening to my music with these. The way it presents music like this is something special. Aside from that, other key points to my review: -Obviously not the strong point, but... sound quality is actually not as bad as I was expecting. Bass is barely there, and cuts out at low enough frequencies, but high notes and voices actually sound surprisingly nice. Not bright and fatiguing, but "airy" sounding if that makes sense. Imaging/placement of sounds is actually a lot better than other cheap iem's I've heard, and is also kind of a cool sensation. -Range is cool, stays connected to my phone across the house, does skip some times though. -They're comfy, I don't feel pressure where it touches my head. Can wear sunglasses and a bucket hat with these no problem. I wear these at work (Amazon delivery man), and I basically jog back and forth between the van and the customers house 6-7 hours a day and they don't bounce around or anything. -Battery easily lasts all day while delivering too. I keep it at a reasonable volume though. -When I first played music through them before putting them on my hear, it sounded like everyone around me would be able to hear them, but that is not the case. In fact, my brother couldn't make out my music when I asked him to try. Again, I don't blast them though. -Controls are very easy, can use the google assistant on my phone with them too. Have used them for the past few days, at work and at home, and I'm really enjoying these so far; do not regret the purchase.

I've used these exclusively for running, 6 hours per week for the past three months, and they're the best running earbuds/headphones I've ever used. Because they don't sit in your ear, you can't kill them with sweat (I've lost untold numbers of earbuds to sweat causing one speaker to die forever). They're good and loud—much more than my AirPods—but because they're not in my ears, I can also hear traffic. Buttons are easy to manipulate, to advance songs or change volume. I charge them every time I come back from a run, but even for 3-hour runs, battery life has never been an issue. I've only done one or two phone conversations with them, but they seemed to go fine. Still, they're not appropriate for many other situations. If I'm just sitting and listening, I'll quickly notice the non-audiophile sound quality (the speaker is an inch or more from my ear canal), which hardly matters when I'm out running but can be grating if I want to really appreciate music. Because they sit far outside your ear, people on the bus or subway (or even near you at the gym) will be able to hear what you're listening to. And even when walking around town, they do look pretty goofy with two boxy rectangles sitting on your temples. For running, though, these headphones have solved a lot of annoyances of other earbuds, and they're a joy to use.

I work in an environment where it's very beneficial both to myself and others on my team to keep my hearing unimpaired. These headphones are great for that, and due to the technology employed (bone conduction) the music can't be heard by others unless I really crank it up loud, and even then I don't think it's loud enough to be a distraction for anyone else except maybe my nearest neighbor. These are comfortable enough to wear all day long without any discomfort, although I wouldn't say that they're so comfortable that you'll forget you're wearing them. The battery has been lasting for the entirety of my work days so far... if this becomes an issue somewhere down the line, I'll charge them up over lunch, should be good to go then. I gave them 5/5 for sound quality because I think these may well be the peak of sound quality for bone conduction technology. You're not going to get crazy thumping bass out of this technology, but you'll get a decent amount of midrange and higher frequencies and if your hearing is in good condition, you should be able to faintly hear the lower frequencies as well. Depending on what kind of music you like to listen to, these may be more or less suitable for your preferences (I haven't found any style of music that I thought was absolutely dismal... yet). Although you don't get a nice full spectrum of frequencies with these headphones, one cool thing about bone conduction is it sounds like the music is "inside" of your head. It's a bit of a strange feeling, and I personally enjoy it very much. You can also listen to music underwater with bone conduction, although the Trekz Air are not fully waterproof and the FAQ states that they should not be fully submerged, so if you want to listen to music while swimming, you should look for a different brand. I'm not sure if it was worth the extra $50 for the "Air" model, since I didn't try the standard Titanium model. Based on what I've read, the Titanium model actually might have slightly better sound quality due to a more forceful clamping (which, along with the greater weight, may also make the Titanium model less comfortable). TLDR; if you want something that will allow you to listen to music for extended periods of time, without impairing your hearing or distracting the people around you, and you don't care about having a full spectrum of frequency response, you won't be disappointed.

It is as expensive as Air Pod's and I had to make a decision between the two. My primary area of usage was for outdoor activities like running and cycling which solves the purpose spot on... folks should go for it blindly if needed for above.

O fone é ótimo, porém ficou grande na minha cabeça: a parte que tem que ficar encostada na mastóide (atrás da orelha) fica longe da mesma, portanto a função da condução óssea ficou prejudicada. Mas mesmo assim dá pra utilizar. Eu já tinha testado o de um amigo, e o dele encaixou perfeitamente, sendo fantástica a função. Por isso comprei. Mas infelizmente o meu está largo

Best headset I have used so far and I have tried a lot of them to get here :)

Tiene excelente calidad y muy cómodos, que es por lo que lo adquirí

Descolou o fone e não tenho como colar.