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These $36 headphones are my new budget pick when exercising
ZDNET's key takeaways
- The Soundpeats RunFree open ear headset is available on Amazon for just $36, possibly even less with a 10% coupon.
- The headset has long battery life, an open ear design, is lightweight, and is accessibly priced.
- The tiny buttons are challenging to press accurately while running, and the IPX4 rating may be limiting.
In order to maintain situational awareness and also trust a headset to stay on my head while working out, my preferred form factor for running is open ear bone conduction headphones. The folks at Soundpeats reached out to offer the affordable RunFree headset and I figured my readers who do not want to pay $100 to $200 for headsets might appreciate some thoughts on a low priced option.
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I took the Soundpeats RunFree with me on a vacation to Australia and used them on several runs, as well as walks where I wanted to talk to my family in the US. At first glance, the RunFree headset appears to be designed as bone conduction headphones with a similar around-the-head and over-the-ear look and feel, but they don't actually use bone conduction technology. Audio is provided via large 16.2mm dynamic drivers and air conduction with great success.
View at AmazonSince I use bone conduction headphones regularly, I paired these with my watch and phone while forgetting that they were not, in fact bone conduction headphones at all. Audio was clearly louder and clearer than bone conduction headphones and I was impressed with the quality of the audio despite having both ear canals fully open to hear my surroundings.
Headsets like this are typically worn to listen to music, podcasts, and audiobooks while working out, but after my runs, I decided to use them for FaceTime calls with my family. The audio both on my end and the receiver's end was surprisingly clear and all of the other participants in the call confirmed that they could not even hear the traffic sounds that were all around me. I did not anticipate being impressed by the dual mic call performance so this was definitely a nice benefit of the headset.
The Soundpeats RunFree are constructed of glossy silicone material with a coated wire that connects the two sides around the back of your head. They are very lightweight at just 31 grams, and don't feel as premium as other bone conduction open ear headphones I have tested, but that is expected for such a low price.
The headset provides a water-resistant rating of IPX4 so you can use it in light rain and sweat with them on. Although, it will be interesting to see how they hold up over the long term given that I sweat heavily while running and rowing.
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One benefit of using open ear headphones that connect together is longer battery life than earbuds. Soundpeats advertises a battery life up to 14 hours and in my testing with music playing over the Bluetooth 5.3 connection at about 70% volume I saw more than 10 hours of battery life. This is more than enough for a week of my running regime. The RunFree headset also charges via a standard USB-C connection, about 1.5 hours to charge fully, so no extra cable or charging dock is needed to use these when you travel.
Some compromises must be made to offer a headset for just $36 and the biggest compromise that I experienced was the three tiny buttons found on the right side of the headset to control audio playback. The center button is raised above the upper and lower volume control buttons, but all three are fairly close to each other and quite small. The USB-C connection port is covered by a silicone cover on the front of the right side opposite of the buttons.
Despite the two larger oblong pieces on each side that make the headset a bit top heavy, the Soundpeats RunFree headset is very comfortable to wear for hours. They also remain in position even with lots of head movement.
ZDNET's buying advice
Headphones can be an expensive accessory for adding to your workout kit, but the Soundpeats RunFree open ear headset is priced shockingly low at just $36. I tested them without looking up the price and estimated they were an $85 to $100 headset due to the long battery life, solid connectivity with zero audio issues, loud volume, and high quality call support. If you want something better than a 5-7 hour set of earbuds for working out then I highly recommend you consider the RunFree as an inexpensive option with solid audio performance.