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7 best open-ear and bone-conduction headphones
Headphones designed for safer running
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Zoning out to your favourite tunes or podcast can be a great way to help you tick off your miles – especially if motivation is lacking. But sometimes getting lost in music can make you less aware of your surroundings, which can be a problem if you’re someone who runs in cities, the dark or on roads where safety is paramount. The solution? A pair of open-ear or bone-conduction headphones.
Instead of sitting in your ears like traditional wireless headphones, these are designed to leave your ear canals open so that you can remain aware of traffic or other sounds around you. They're particularly useful for added security when running in the early hours or late at night. So, grab your head torch and your best reflective running gear, and get ready to pump it – louder!
Best open-ear and bone-conduction headphones to shop now
How do bone-conduction headphones work?
Bone-conduction headphones work by conducting sound to the inner ear primarily through the bones of the skull. This creates a more natural listening experience with minimal sound leakage.
Not only are they good from a safety perspective, but bone-conduction headphones can be useful for anyone that suffers from hearing loss because of problems with their outer or middle ear. The downside is that bass is often lacking compared with in-ear or over-ear headphones.
Is open-ear the same as bone conduction?
The short answer is 'no'. While open-ear headphones also leave the ear canal unblocked, they're powered by air conduction. Usually, there’s one hole that transmits sound through the air to the ear and another that reduces sound leakage using what's known as anti-phase sound. The positive of this that you can be more aware of your surroundings; the negative is that you often need to use them at a higher volume to ensure sound clarity.
Bone-conduction headphones are relatively new within the music tech world, which is why there's not a great deal of options on the market. So, we've rounded up both conduction and open-ear headphones below, to give you plenty of choice.
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