If you’re a runner who takes part in races, you’ll often see in the race rules that wearing earphones is either forbidden or not recommended because they want you to be able to hear the race officials in case of an emergency. People almost always disregard this “rule”, but what if there was a better option? One that could let you listen to your music AND keep you safe because you can hear the surrounding area?

There IS an option! Trekz Titanium is a wireless headset that uses Bluetooth to connect to your listening device of choice. (In my case, I had to use my phone, because my incredibly old iPod Nano does not have Bluetooth capabilities.) It also has a built in microphone so you can actually take calls on your phone while out for a run (I get a few alerts regarding e-mails I have received when I use this!).

The way these work is that the headphones wrap around the back of your neck and over the tops of your ears. What looks like the “earpiece” is actually bone conducting transducers that sit on the backs of your cheekbones and conduct the sound via vibrations through your cheeks into your inner ear. Mind = blown.

The headphones sit solidly on my ears, although if you’re not used to them, you will notice the weight of them a little bit (they aren’t heavy though – don’t mistake me for saying that. It’s just a different sensation than what I’m used to with my earbuds). The pinching mechanism used to keep them attached to your head is not painful and I noticed no discomfort through a 5K run.

The headset has an on/off button located on one side as well as a port for charging (a full charge will let you listen for six hours) and buttons to turn the music up and down. Not pictured is the other side of the headset that has a single button that, depending on how it’s clicked, can either pause your music or skip a song, as well as a whole host of options related to your phone (i.e., receiving, dialing, etc.). I highly appreciate the fact that the buttons rely on a tactile response as opposed to a heat option, because when I’m running outside in the winter, the last thing I want to do is take off my gloves to push a button (like on my freaking iPod.  UGH.).

As a bonus, you do get a carrying case for the headset. This is beneficial because the headset is rather awkwardly shaped and there’s really no good way to carry it around without this case.

It also comes with some earplugs and some adjustment clips that can be used to help fit smaller heads.

So how did these FEEL? Well, my initial reaction was that they were really, really weird. I was so unused to hearing music without something crammed in my ears. It was kind of like the first time you heard music come from a discman or a walkman – maybe not something all that impressive today, but I remember being quite young and stunned by hearing music on a walkman for the first time ever. It’s a little jawdropping! For people who find earbuds are especially uncomfortable to wear, this may be a really good option for you.

It’s worth noting that these are not especially private headphones. If you’re running beside someone who doesn’t have loud music playing, they will be able to hear your music.  It’s not a problem really, especially not in an outdoor race, but it’s not something I would personally feel comfortable wearing to the gym since I don’t want my music to interfere with other people.

As far as the sound quality goes, I’m a very average music listener with very little demands. I found the sound quality to be completely on parr with my regular headphones and noticed no significant drop in quality (I am not a musician and don’t tend to notice many differences in music across multiple headphones/speakers/etc.). The quality is good enough that I can hear my music while I’m running and that’s all I really want!

My biggest complaint about the Trekz Titanium is that the audio doesn’t go to a level that I consider loud enough for *me*. It hits max sound level right around what I would consider “medium volume”. That being said, it’s loud enough to cover the sound of my breathing (something that is really, REALLY important to me, I hate listening to myself breathing while running), so many users may find the volume perfectly loud enough.

So what do you think? Is this something you would use? Are you intrigued by the idea of music that conducts through your cheekbones and not through your ear canal??

Trekz Titanium headphones by AfterShokz can be purchased on their web site for $129.99 USD.

This post features a product that was sent to me for review.