My Favorite Amazon Buy of the Day: Shokz Bone Conduction Headphones.
Bone conduction headphones are ideal for activities where hearing your surroundings is crucial for your safety. This is because they use technology that transmits sound vibrations to the inner ear, keeping the ear canals open. Shokz is one of the best, if not the best , brands making bone conduction headphones right now; the top-of-the-line model in the Shokz line is the OpenRun Pro 2 , which I had the chance to test. But the OpenRun Pro is also a quality headphone, and it’s currently on sale for $109.95 (originally $179.95), the lowest price they’ve ever been sold at, according to price tracking tools .
If you’ve never used bone conduction headphones, it’s worth giving them a try, and the Shokz OpenPro are a great way to get started. Technology has advanced significantly since their inception. Their main drawback has always been that bass isn’t as good as in-ear headphones. The OpenRun Pro are designed to compensate for this—you won’t get the same powerful bass as regular headphones, but it’s the best you can get from any other bone conduction headphone.
As the name suggests, they’re designed for outdoor use. They feature IP55 dust and water resistance, are lightweight and comfortable, and their design allows them to be worn with bike helmets and sunglasses.
These headphones can also be used as regular headphones at home, as they allow you to take calls; just keep in mind that they don’t block out sound. If you plan to use them in a place with loud music or a lot of ambient noise, you’ll hear everything, so regular headphones might be better for you—but that would defeat the purpose of open-back headphones.