Well, obviously, we’re looking at how well-suited these are for workouts, but how are we testing that? These are the criteria we considered:
Stability – This is big for earbuds, especially. How locked down are these things in your ears? If they’re too small, moving around or falling out, no good. But an earbud that’s too big will give you similar options. All the options here have multiple buds to fit your ear, and they are all rock solid when in there.
Durability – Really, we just need them to handle sweat and the occasional drizzle. That said, a lot of the options here are overbuilt with amazing water resistance. I actually forgot the Adidas RPT-02 SOL outside during a day-long downpour. They still work fine. That would be the case for most of these options.
Sound – Workout sound has different needs from Hi-Fi vinyl sound. Here, you want the ability to get loud and stay clear. All these options do that, and funny enough, that makes them all good general headphones.
Noise Cancelling – Depending on your workout routine, you may or may not want your workout headphones to have ANC or active noise-cancellation. Running outside? Noise cancelling could be dangerous. Treadmill in a busy gym? Probably time for ANC. We’ve found picks with and without ANC just to give you options.
Cleaning – For earbuds, you don’t have to worry as much, but workout headphones can get a bit nasty. Especially those ear cushions. We only awarded models that required nothing more than a wipe down every week or two.
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