What are the best headphones to use for running?

January 2, 2009 5:39 PM

What are the best headphones to use for running?

I have been using the ear buds that have clips and they have not been working well for me. Can anyone recommend a good set of ear phones that will stay put in my ears even during a long workout where I am producing a good amount of sweat?

posted by mdwiffle to health & fitness (16 comments total)

I use these sony earphones while running. they never fall out, have thus far handled sweat well and are cheap to replace. build quality is okay at best, so buy two sets.
posted by krautland at 5:51 PM on January 2 [1 favorite has favorites]

I use the exact same ones, for exactly the same reasons. Sound is decent, stays on your head unless your ear falls off, easy to wear with ear warmers for coldweather running, and cheap as dirt to replace. Definitely the only running headphones option. I don't understand how people run with regular ipod earbuds.
posted by ruwan at 5:58 PM on January 2

Running headphones are always an issue. The ones that go into your ear canals with a tight seal and block out ambient noise are not a good choice for anywhere in which you might encounter vehicles such as cars or bicycles. Traditional over the ear type phones tend to bounce around when you run, or if they are so light as to not bounce they usually don't have good sound. There might be a good pair of these for running, but I haven't seen them. If great sound is your desire then this category might have have the best option if you could just the right pair. That leaves the standard ear buds. They for the most part have poor sound and tend to fall out. The clip on varieties like you have are awful because while they may keep the phones from falling completely away from your ear, they also tend to pull them just a little bit out so that they sound awful. I have been using these Sennheisers. They are cheap and the little pad on the top does help keep them in place. They are also decent sounding phones. One sign of this is the impressively strong magnets they use, but most importantly they sound good in a listening test. They can not hold a candle to my Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5 Pros, but they are the best sounding normal ear buds I have tried. I notice from their website that they also appear to have an even better model (MX85) now with the same twist-fit design. I may have to get a pair of these.
posted by caddis at 6:10 PM on January 2

Nike Flight. Very lightweight, unobtrusive, wire runs down your back and not your chest, and you can hear cars coming. Best of all, $20 US.

Don't make my mistake and be seduced by the Nike Vapor ones. The hinges will loosen fairly quickly and the impact of running makes them shake loose.
posted by middleclasstool at 6:12 PM on January 2

I use a Sony earphone very similar to the first two responders. No earbuds I've ever tried will stay in my ears at all, not to mention while running. I don't think the sound quality is that great, but it's better than no music at all. I'm just glad they're so cheap.
posted by peep at 6:14 PM on January 2

Sennheiser PMX70, fantastic servants. 119 reviews on Amazon with an average 4/5 too.
posted by fire&wings at 6:57 PM on January 2 [1 favorite has favorites]

Can't beat Etymotic. Pricey, but I can never get iPod buds to stay in and the over the ear kind seem too bulky. It's true that they totally block out all external noise but these stay in my ears like they are glued in there.

I also find it helpful to use a head band or hat to help prevent sweat from getting in my ears.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 8:55 PM on January 2

I'm here to nth the suggestion of sennheisers, I use the MX75's because I don't like having a neckband bouncing behind me.

For running, their twist to fit system is way better than I could have imagined, the little pad at the top sits in the upper part of your ear to hold it in place and they give you a bunch of different rubber sizers for both the upper pad and the main bud. It also comes with a nice clip to attach the cord to your shirt at whatever point you want, I find this helps me to give just the right amount of slack. Basically, they seem to have thought of pretty much everything, and I've used them while running for an hour or so at a time without any trouble.

It also looks like they've come out with a yellow-ish color for at least some models, though I should note that the green color is far less vibrant in person, if that's an issue for you.
posted by dnesan at 9:03 PM on January 2

I do not run, but lift weights regularly.. I use the v-moda vibe, and they tend to stay put and give good sound.
posted by charlesv at 9:12 PM on January 2

"Sennheiser PMX70"

^^^ I have the same headphones. I use them to jog, and I've never had a problem with them. They're perfect. :-)
posted by coizero at 10:55 PM on January 2

Thirding the Sennheiser PMX70. Only (minor) issue I ever have with them is when I am doing bench presses, as I sometimes lean back on the bar, but for running they're perfect.
posted by backwards guitar at 5:27 AM on January 3

I spent a LONG time looking for decent headphones. Bought around 5 different styles before I finally found something that works for me. The Sony Active Style headphones are an over-the-ear clip style headphone, using a semi-soft plastic clip to hold it in place. They come with three different sized clips to fit different sized ears, and three different sized earbud covers to fit different sized ear canals. The headphone wire fits inside the plastic clip, so it could even be removed to be used as a standard earbud if you wanted. It's the first set of headphones I have ever found that I can comfortably use while running without needing to fiddle with the damn things every few minutes just to keep them in place. The review on the Sony site isn't very good, but that's based on one person that had a speaker die. I have had zero problems with them, and I use them a lot.

Another plus is the cord is a two-parter: Short cord if you have a music player on an arm band, add on the extension (with retaining clip) if your player is waist-mounted when working out.
posted by caution live frogs at 7:52 AM on January 3

I use "over the ear behind the neck" style (http://reviews.cnet.com/headphones/koss-hb-70-headphones/4505-7877_7-30235554.html?tag=mncol;lst) headphones. I run outdoors where I need to be able to hear the world in addition to the music. Advantages are:
Can easily prop them off the ear (above on cranium or around neck) if need to hear even better temporarily (i.e. when running through intersection), handle sweat well, never a fit problem, can wear with hat.
posted by giveandgo at 9:30 AM on January 3

Fourthing the Sennheiser PMX70s. I trained for a marathon in those things. Love them a lot.
posted by grrarrgh00 at 11:08 AM on January 3

I also have a pair of Sennheiser PMX70s, and they've been fantastic. I wear them for very long periods of time (I'm a slow runner training for a marathon) and I sweat like a pig.

A couple of caveats that nobody's mentioned:
- the headphones plus sunglasses can sometimes make the top of my ears sore, after three hours or so. If you never wear sunglasses or run for that long, it shouldn't be a problem.
- the back-of-head piece is annoying when it's cold out, when I wear a form-fitting wool hat and a collared wind jacket. The hat pushes the plastic down, and then it rubs on the collar and makes an irritating noise. This may also not be a problem, depending on the conditions you run in.

I'm not really tempted to get earbuds, even though it would solve both of those problems, because I feel like the back-of-head thing helps alert drivers that I'm wearing headphones and may not hear them. I don't know if they notice, but it makes me feel better.
posted by liet at 11:58 AM on January 3

a bit late, but here's my 2¢ -

i can't get a pair of earbuds to stay in my ears at all, so besides my iphone, i avoid them altogether. i still like compact, small headphones that i can cram in my pocket, so i go for clip-on, over the ear headphones.

for workouts i use these sonys - nothing flash, decent quality sound. i'm not a fan of the foam pads, but i'm getting sweaty and gross during workouts anyway, i don't need fleece-lined headphones.

for recreational use i wear these audio technicas. superb audio quality, great headphones all around.

neither of these headphones will fall off your head, ever, and both allow for ambient noise. as a side, any headphones of this style will have a bass response that earbuds just aren't capable of (i'm told the custom-fits and extremely high-range buds may be an exception, but i've not tried those). If you want anything better you'd have to go for full-sized headphones. and those are going to fall off ;).
posted by camdan at 11:04 PM on January 7