Aftershokz Trekz Air – bone conduction headphones – a review

“Disclaimer: I received a pair of Aftershokz trekz air 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!”

When I first started running I relied very heavily on music to power me through my runs and when for some reason the phone would go haywire with the music it would ruin my entire run/race. Once even during a half marathon I had music troubles and it really messed with my head, causing a pretty unimpressive finish time. Then there was the Miami Beach Halloween half marathon which holds my half marathon PR and I think was highly due to the great playlist my boyfriend made for me before that race. But soon after I was pregnant and did not feel safe running with headphones, very paranoid about safety for myself and my unborn daughter. Speed up to a few years later and still do not run with music due to safety factors and running with daughter in stroller. Until now!

: ALL

: THOSE

: HEADPHONE WIRES!

When I found out I had the opportunity to review a pair of bone conduction headphones by aftershokz I jumped on the chance and I have to tell you I have been missing out on so much more energy in my runs! Finally a headphone that allows you to hear your music and your surroundings without an earbud threatening to fall out the whole time. Also what has always bugged me about the earbud thing is that after hours of using them they make the inside of my ears sore for hours later. I discovered this horrible thing when training for a 50k last year and doing a lot of training while on a treadmill. This is something that does not happen when wearing the aftershokz trek airs, they fit comfortably around your ears and do not bounce when running and cause no issues on long runs. I tried them out for the first time this weekend when doing a 10 miler on the treadmill, some mornings its necessary to stay off the roads and watch my toddler in the monitor to get in my run before she wakes and these were perfect. I listened to some music and then watched a movie, all without any issues connecting or hearing, and that is saying a lot because my treadmill is old and very loud!

Yesterday I wore my trek airs to the c25k program that I am helping pace in the afternoons after work and there was quite a buzz about them. Everyone asked me a million questions and was super interested in these bad boys! Plus I have to say even though I was listening to Rock Anthems channel on Spotify I ran a lot faster even though at the time I did not feel like I was running so strong yesterday. I ran faster than I did last Thursday and that is saying a lot because last Thursday I felt like I was flying.

Another morning I used them to listen to podcasts while running a 10 miler on the treadmill. It was a first for me, listening to podcasts that is, I had never done that before, I know I know, I am sooooo behind in the times but it was fun and I got to listen to some amazing runner women like Gabe Grunewald talk about running. Never had any issues hearing things while running on a very noisy treadmill. I do know that later on in the week I forgot to bring them with me on the treadmill and was forced to listen to a symphony of frogs croaking, ugh! I haven’t forgotten them again 😉

Also are great for using while watching a movie beside a napping toddler 🙂

So what exactly is this “bone conduction” stuff that allows you to hear without an earbud or headphone over your ear? Well I was curious about it too, it means that the headphones send mini vibrations through your cheekbones, directly to your inner ear, leaving your ear canals open. Which in turn makes them the safest headphone on the market, you can hear your surroundings and your music at the same time! They have even been redesigned to improve the bass and dynamic sound.

boneconduction