Are you one of those people who cannot workout without music? Those who believe a long run just gets easier if you can distract yourself from the distance by listening to a cool set of songs (or podcasts)? Well, if you are, then this selection of three wireless earphones are tailor-made to make your workouts extremely pleasurable.
OnePlus Bud Z (Steven Harrington edition)
The first thing I can say is that these even look fun! I mean, let’s face it, almost all Bluetooth earphones these days look exactly the same. So when a brand decides to “jazz it up” with doodles by LA based artist, Steven Harrington, the earphones do stand out! The colours are a mix of mauve and teal, a departure from the usual black or white options we see from most brands.
The good thing with the Bud Z is the ease with which it pairs with a smartphone—it takes hardly a second to be ready. And the sensors on the Bud Zs actually lets you pause the music if you take out even one of the earphones mid run (which, frankly happens often if you meet fellow runners and want to just say hi). The easy controls on the sides also helps you to play and pause, or skip to the next track.
The microphones are also fine and you can speak clearly. But it does not really have noise cancellation, so if that is something you might need (not recommended if you are running on busy roads anywhere in India), you might want to look elsewhere. The battery life of the Bud Z is pretty good. I wore it for a 90-minute run and it was performed well throughout. The brand claims to deliver about five hours of playtime on a single charge (and 15 hours once you charge from the case). It also has fast charging support, which means that if you charge it for 10 minutes, the earphones will last a good three hours.
₹3,999; available at www.oneplus.in
Boat Airdopes 281
The Airdopes from Boat are basic and easy on the pocket. It uses the type C charger and gives a long battery backup of three and a half hours on a single charge. Good enough for a long run, unless you are planning on doing an ultramarathon. The Airdopes has an IPX5 rating, which means that it is water and sweat resistant and would be perfect for the summer months. The four LED indicators on the charging case show charging status, which I found useful (especially since I almost always forget to charge my gadgets ahead of time).
The back of the Airdopes is touch sensitive in this case. Controlling the music while running/ in the gym is pretty easy this way. The sound quality is really good, considering the price. It can get pretty loud if you turn it all the way up, so I would not suggest it if you are running on the roads or with friends. The good thing is that the Airdopes can be used in mono mode too (just use one and let the other ear be free).
I shared the earbuds with a friend for the run. And while I had to adjust its position a bit and there was some discomfort around the ear-canal, he was comfortable throughout. So I would suggest that you try out the extra pair of ear caps provided with the earphones to arrive at your optimal comfort level. After all, you need to focus on your workout and not have to keep fiddling with the Airdopes.
₹1,999; available at www.boat-lifetsyle.com
Noise Shots Rush Sports TWS
These earphones are, again, pretty basic to look at. Noise Shots has a micro USB charging port and is slightly on the larger end. This is partly due to the earphone’s ear-hook design, which obviously takes up more space than a simple plug-in design).
Controlling your playlist is pretty easy (one touch to pause or play, long press on right earbud to skip to the next song, and long press on left earbud to return to the previous song), double tapping lets you control the volume and triple tapping lets you use your phone assistant—Siri or Google Assistant. It has a gaming mode also but I did not use it. The ear-hook design is something which makes wearing them extremely comfortable for long hours. Throughout our hour-long run, not once did I feel like the earphones were going to fall off, or even feel any discomfort while wearing them.
₹2,799; available at www.gonoise.com
