Four pairs for
fitness freaks.
If all this summer sun has encouraged you to get out into it
and improve your fitness, going for a run or a jog is the easiest way to get
started. Troubles is, running ain't half boring, guv. To make things more
interesting you should listen to music as you jog, and to that end we've
decided to check out four pairs of in-ear headphones suitable for a sweaty
jaunt around the town. We tested them all ourselves, with our own sweaty ears.
Gross.
Monster iSport
Superslim Bluetooth Earphones
First up, headphone experts (and regular guests on The Test
Pit) Monster have created an extremely small and compact pair of Bluetooth
in-ear headphones which, we are very happy to discover, do not require a chunky
dongle to connect to your phone. The iSport Superslim are simply two small
earbuds connected by a wire. AWESOME.
Clearly the light weight makes for a huge advantage when
using them for sport, and the soft silicone hook snags on the folds of your ear
to help keep them in. They're comfortable, even after a long work-out, charge
via the included Micro USB cable, and include a carry pouch. Which regular
readers will know really turns us on.
Thankfully Monster have managed to convert their excellence
in headphones to this smaller wireless package, as the quality of the audio was
great. The OmniTip earbud really helped to drown out unwanted exterior noise,
and allowed the natural range of depth the iSport are capable of achieving show.
Basically, they are great.
£129.95
Boompods Earpods
If the price of the Monster pair above is making you feel
sweaty before you've even pulled on your trainers, allow us to introduce the
Earpods. The latest in-ear headphones from Boompods (whose speakers have
appeared on this site in the past) the Earpods are affordable, comfortable, and
come in range of funky colours.
The biggest thing to note is that these babies are wired, so
if you are about to pound the pavement on a run, you need to consider your
cable. To be honest, we're never bother about using wired headphones while
working out, especially if they stay in your lugholes (which these certainly
do) and don't burn a hole in your wallet (which these won't).
Despite the low cost the Earpods perform very well, and
sound much better than whatever piece of crap your smartphone manufacturer
threw into your phone's box to justify the 'headphones included' label. They
also ship with a nice bendy carry case around which you can wrap the cable. The
colours didn't make us want to be sick, either.
Around £25
Visit www.boompods.co.uk
KitSound Outrun
Headphones
But if wireless headphones are essential for your fitness
regime (but spending anything more than £50 is not), consider these new beauties
from KitSound. The Outrun Wireless Headphones use Bluetooth to connect to your
device and, like the pair from Monster, feature a very slim design with no
chunky dongle.
Complete with a nice carry pouch and a choice of earbuds,
the Outrun are comfortable to wear and easy to pair (look, we did a rhyme!).
They also charge via an included USB cable, but unlike the Monster iSport this
plugs into the remote on the connecting wire, which helps to keep the
headphones themselves as slim as possible.
We're big fans of KitSound here, as they seem to be able to
get great sounds out of relatively inexpensive bits of kit, and the Outrun are
no exception. Although they weren't as effective as blocking exterior noise as
the other pair of wireless 'phones reviewed here, they did produce some great
sounds with a rich quality. Basically, they performed far better than you would
have expected after paying less than fifty quid.
£49.99
Visit www.kitsound.co.uk
Adidas Responce ACT
Headphones
Before you wonder if sports equipment maker Adidas has indeed
now branched out into the music industry, these compact wired headphones are
actually made by Monster working alongside Adidas. Clearly Adidas know a thing
or two about work-outs, as although being made by the same folks that created
the first pair reviewed above, these in-ear headphones are very different.
First they have been designed to allow outside noise to get
in - therefore making them ideal for road and street runners. They are also
sweat-resistant, washable, and feature anti-microbial eartips. We found them to
be the most comfortable of the four to wear, but that might be because they
penetrate a little less deeper into the ear than the others. Regardless of
that, these tiny blighters stayed good and firm, using a similar hook as the
one found on the Monster iSport pair.
Yes, they are wired, but if anything we thought that helped
to keep the quality of the musical reproduction high. They are nowhere as near
as immersive as the other, but that is intentional - allowing ambient sounds in
will always lessen the effect. That said, they are still very good, and knowing
you can still perceive the world around you is a great comfort while out for an
embarrassingly slow and painful jog.
£59.95