- SHOKZ OpenSwim Pro - Open-Ear Bluetooth & MP3 Bone Conduction Sport Headphones, Swimming Headphones, IP68 Waterproof, Grey

These HOKZ OpenSwim Pro headphones are perfect for swimming. They stay on really well over a swim cap and feel secure during laps. I love that you can load music as MP3s directly, which works flawlessly. The Bluetooth doesn’t work underwater, but that’s true for all headphones, so it’s not a dealbreaker. Sound quality is clear, and the open-ear design means you can still hear your surroundings safely. Pros: Stays on securely over a swim cap Easy to add MP3s Comfortable open-ear fit Good sound underwater Cons: Bluetooth doesn’t work underwater (standard for all headphones) Overall, these are reliable, easy-to-use headphones for swimmers who want music without bulky in-ear buds.

I have been trying to find anything to break the boredom of pool lap swimming. But Bluetooth does not work under water and all the other solutions I've found are wired headphones in a waterproof package, basically. These headphones stay in place for the swim (I dive in and they are still in place) and provide great sound quality. They fit securely to my head without hurting it and they are comfortable either over the ears when I'm listening or around my neck, just waiting to be used. Battery life seems great - I haven't had a time when I've run them down during my gym or swim time yet. The controls are simple to use and easy to remember - you don't have to spend a lot of time fiddling with the buttons or trying to figure out what to do. Turn it on, turn it off, play music (or any mp3), skip ahead, skip back, volume up and down, all with just three buttons. I love these headphones and will buy another set if these evert die on me. Great value for the price and what you get!

I just started getting back into swimming. I had the Swimp3 players 15 years ago that made swimming a lot less dull and was looking for whatever the new version of that was. These are better for a host of reasons. First, they stay in place pretty darn well. My old mp3 player was bulky on the side of my goggle strap, and if I did butterfly, they would fling around and I had to stop to fix them. These stay put just fine, even when I jumped in the water from the pool deck. It does feel a little weird to put these on and then to put my cap over the ear part (I can't have my ears out of my cap entirely or it would pop off and/or drive me nuts), but I sort of got used to it. There were some times that I had to tug down the sides of my cap over my ears because it was riding up, but that may have been unrelated to this device. The back of the neck portion stayed outside my cap the whole time and if it moved around at all, I didn't notice it. These are also plenty loud. I had to click them down a few notches from the max volume to be a comfy listening volume. I didn't use the earplugs, but had no problem hearing them clearly, whether or not my head was underwater. With my old mp3 player, I could hear them somewhat even when they weren't on my face. I could tell that some other people could hear it somewhat, too, since I got some funny looks when my music started playing. But with these Shokz, it didn't seem like anyone else could hear them. It is annoying to me that there isn't more playlist control (song order, etc.) and that there's no way to transmit tunes via bluetooth from my phone directly to the device. But I will say that the magnetic USB charging/data cable is pretty slick. It clicked on so easily that I didn't even think it was really plugged in until I saw the light and it auto-opened the file window on my computer. One thing I was really happy about is that it can play M4A files, no problem. I was worried that I'd have to do some lame mp3 conversion to get them to play, but I didn't. I just made a playlist in iTunes (all individually purchased music) and copy/pasted into the file window for the Shokz. Room for improvement in future models? Sure. But for now, this is a HUGE upgrade over my 15-year-old version and it works well enough for me to be very happy with them.

These are a product that I'm shocked (no pun intended) at how much they have changed the game for swimming (and other activities). For background, I'm no expert swimmer, but am an Ironman triathlete (completed 4 full length). These have changed my entire outlook on training. Fairly easy to setup. Charge, familiarize yourself with the controls, and get used to the feeling on headphones not in your ear. Swimming: Absolute game changer. Make sure you change the setting to MP3 setting, bluetooth doesn't work underwater. You can download the app and connect to your phone, but I would recommend knowing the button controls. Once you dial in the swim settings, side load MP3s, get into a comfortable position, it's absolute magic. Some of the reviews mention can't hear out of water - settings must be off, bluetooth must be on, something is wrong. AGAIN - MP3 mode, swim EQ mode, and your are golden. I have swam 6000 meters over the last 2 weeks, and listening to music flawlessly. Even between sets. Freestyle, other strokes, pool, open water. Barely tell they are on, no discomfort with goggles, cap, etc. Running/Cycling: -Again, make sure mode is back out of swim EQ mode, and the sound quality is better. Hitting 30MPH on the bike you will experience some wind noise, but still better then one headphone (I previously used one right ear air pod or one wired apple headphone as the AirPods would come lose or die on long rides). These eliminate all that stress with better sound quality 90% of the time. -Make sure back into bluetooth mode and you can stream anything from phone. Some quirks that were basically only annoying: -The controls aren't the same for each Shokz model. When searching online be careful to learn the controls for FF, Rew, skip song, etc. Some trial and error and using I'm now familiar. -The charge and data transfer cable is proprietary. I got some Shokz 710 to usb adapters so I'm not out of luck when traveling or can't find the proprietary cable. -Sideloading MP3s for non-bluetooth mode is kind of annoying, which I knew it was going to be but it's not entirely clear. We are heavy spotify and Amazon music users. We have thousands of songs in our libraries, but those songs can only be downloaded if the song or album is actually purchased (OUTSIDE OF THE MONTHLY SUBSCRIPTION). Turns out only 300 of our 10K songs were purchased over the years, which highly limits what can be downloaded and trasnferred for MP3/Swim mode. There are some hacky ways to convert podcasts to MP3s, etc. but it's not super easy. -The battery life isn't quite as great as the Open Pro 2 that my wife as , but it's sufficient. The charger on those is USB C as well, which I'm sure the next generation of will convert to. If you are on the fence, figure out the purchasing of MP3s and these work well for swimming. If you won't use for swimming get the non open swim version with USB C charging. If you ever will swim with these or will do any training in the pool - ABSOLUTE GAME CHANGER.

The sound quality is surprisingly good. The "standard mode" sounds better in the open air but overly bassy underwater. "Swim mode", no surprise, sounds a lot better under the water, but is a bit thin in the air. Sound quality not as good as premium headphones or earbuds, but much better than cheap ones. Unlike either one, these are waterproof and don't cover your ears, leaving you free to hear important ambient sounds like "watch out" or "help me!". You have to use "Mp3 mode" when swimming, as bluetooth doesn't travel well through water, so it will be necessary to transfer some old-fashioned mp3 or mp4 files onto the headset. Playback order seems to be alphanumeric, so rename the files if you want a particular play order. If you download the Shokz app, you can apparently set the playlist to shuffle. Save the serial number from the box, or be prepared to try and read incredibly tiny numbers off the headset itself (really super tiny). You will need this number in order to register and use the Shokz app. Bluetooth mode could be nice for open-air situations where you want to keep your ears available for important sounds like screeching brakes, like jogging or riding a bike. The main downside, when swimming, is air bubbles. I assume this issue would happen with any other swim audio system, and is not particular to Shokz. I breath out whenever my face is in the water, which means a lot of bubbles are passing my ears on the way to the surface. Normally, I don't really notice them, but they seem really loud when I am listening to music. For this reason, I wouldn't recommend the Shokz for listening to very quiet, low key music while swimming (say, Nora Jones, for example). On the other hand, the Ramones, or maybe the 1812 0verture can withstand a few noisy bubbles. The provided ear plugs would probably help with this, but I don't mind enough to stick them in my ears and then search for them in the pool, when they eventually fall out. Besides, I like the Ramones.

I’ve been looking for a good pair of swim headphones for a while now. After burning through two Sony Walkman models that broke within a few months, I’m hoping these finally give me some peace of mind. Honestly, they’ve replaced my AirPods Pro 2 for most of my daily listening too, because of how comfortable they are and how good the battery is, relatively speaking. Pros: The sound is surprisingly good in the water, clear enough to keep me focused through long sets. They stay on really well, they're a good size for my head. The Walkmans would get ripped out of my ear if I flip turned too aggressively. No such issues with these. Uploading MP3s and other audio files is super straightforward, drag and drop like a USB drive. Cons: -Every now and then, the app stops detecting the headset and I have to do a full reset. Doesn’t happen often, but when it does it’s annoying. -Don’t expect AirPods Pro sound quality, they don’t hit the same depth or clarity outside the water. But that’s just part of the open design. -The mic isn’t great. (though they’ll do in a pinch). For swimmers, these are a game-changer. They’re nice enough for me to wear outside the pool too, and if they last longer than my old Sonys, I’ll be thrilled! there's also little to no sound leakage if that's a concern.

I have been using a Syren unit for the last several years (actually a couple of them, they only seem to last a year or so before the buttons quit working) so this was a bit of a change in form/fit/function. The Syrens were ear bud style and had decent audio quality and battery life, but ear buds just don't last long. The plugs corrode in chlorinated pool water no matter how much you care for them. When I first tried the Shocks on, the audio quality was just meh, but that was sitting in my house which is not their intended usage. While out of the water the audio is rather quiet and tinny, as soon as you are in the water the audio quality ROCKS. Super clear, lots of bass, not tinny at all. As soon as you bring your head out of the water they sound quieter, but you can now hear whats going on around you. Battery life so far (after about 2 weeks of daily swimming) for me has been about 5-6 hours (I have charged them twice in the last 2 weeks). The fit is not uncomfortable, my goggle strap helps hold them in place and have had no problem with them even during heavy IM sets. I have been a big advocate of tunes while swimming since I first got my original Syren unit several years ago (where was this during all those years of age group swimming in my life? lol) and I won't hit the pool without them. Would highly recommend. Paired with my new Holoswim 2 Pro goggles lap time has become enjoyable again.

The music quality and volume are reasonably good on these (especially given that they are bone conduction headphones). The buttons function ok (once I figured them out). My previous Shokz headphone broke open after 2 years of everyday use in the pool. My only concern (so far) with these newest ones (OpenSwim Pro) is that they are noticeably bulkier, and when I do fast flip turns, they catch more water and loosen up on my head more than my old ones. However, I like everything else about them. I bought 2 more pair as gifts to spouse and son. They enjoy them as comfortable (outside the ear canal) headphones for working and managing phone calls, Spotify music and audio books (as well as swimming).