Disclaimer: I received Aftershokz Trekz Air wireless bone conduction headphones to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!
This holiday season I was treated to the opportunity to test out a pair of Aftershokz Trekz Air wireless bone conduction headphones. What the heck are bone conduction headphones you may ask? I asked the same thing when I first heard of them. The Aftershokz development team has created what is in my opinion an entirely new category of sound delivery by sending mini vibrations via the cheekbones to the inner ears. By doing so, the patented design of Aftershokz bone conduction headphones are able to deliver high quality sound without covering or blocking the ears. What does this mean? Greater comfort and situational awareness! If you’ve worn earbuds for a long period of time you’re familiar with how uncomfortable they can become. Aftershokz solves this issue by not requiring anything to be inserted into the ear; the headphones rest comfortably over the ear and on the cheekbone. This also allows the user to still hear what’s going on around them increasing their awareness of their surroundings and quite possibly their safety. These are two huge benefits of the Aftershokz bone conduction sound delivery system and basically resolve my two complaints I have with anyone who wears headphones in public. I know, now I must come clean with my complaints:
- People who run, walk, or hike trails with headphones on playing at a level that they cannot hear others announce themselves to pass. I try my best to be civil, but if I’m shouting asking to pass on a narrow trail and I get no sign of recognition please do not be surprised that you are surprised when I hop around you. I did not do it to intentionally startle you. I simply wanted to get around you.
- People who play their music through a speaker for all to enjoy. If you like running or hiking with music that’s fine, but please do not subject the rest of us to your preferences. You are not that important.
Because all this may sound like I’m blowing smoke up someone’s ass, you may be questioning how great can a pair of headphones that you wear on your cheek bones sound. I was skeptical of the sound quality as well until I used my Aftershokz Trekz Air headphones. Let’s just say that all of my doubts vanished as soon as I had Andrew WK’s “She Is Beautiful” flowing through my cheek bones to my ear drums in perfectly clear sound with full and deep bass as well. The fact that this sound delivery system works so well truly amazes me. Not only is the sound quality great and honestly better than I expected, but everything else with the headphones works flawlessly as well. Even with my older, lower end LG android phone the bluetooth connectivity worked flawlessly. And the range is pretty impressive as well. I wanted to test it out so I left my phone at one end of the house and walked towards the opposite end of the house wearing the Trekz Air headphones. I nearly made it to the opposite end of the house (about 50 feet away with walls between) until they began to cut out. The headphones also offer all of the control options you would need to adjust volume, skip tracks, receive calls, and much more without having to use your phone. Even though I tend to lean more towards being a bit of a minimalist runner, I do enjoy running with music under certain conditions. And after experiencing the Aftershokz Trekz Air headphones, I can safely say that they will be my go to and top recommendation for anyone who enjoys listening to music during their outdoor activities.
