The Shokz OpenFit earbuds are designed to provide audiophile sound quality for runners and cyclists, without isolating you from the world outside. They pass both tests with aplomb, delivering hi-fi performance unrecognisable from typical in-ear sport headphones.
Unlike the AfterShokz Trekz Air (£150) or Openmove (£80), these aren’t bone conduction earphones. Instead, they use ‘DirectPitch’ technology to fire sound through the air, leaving your inner ear open and able to receive ambient noise from the world around you.
The result is a balanced, engaging widescreen sonic performance. This is coupled with a comfortable fit, decent battery life and faultless Bluetooth connectivity, in a compact package that may cause you to revise your opinion on cycling or running while listening to music.
Shokz OpenFit wireless earbuds specification
Cycling with headphones is a thorny subject, with the debate over road safety, diminished focus and reduced ability to notice mechanical issues still raging.
Although it’s not illegal in the UK, there are numerous reasons not to ride with headphones. However, Shokz – the artist formerly known as AfterShokz – claims to have sold more than 7 million sets of headphones, many of them to cyclists.
The Shokz OpenFit earbuds are claimed to “break free from the constraints of traditional earbuds and… elevate any activity from work to play”.
In essence, they’re diminutive speakers that sit just outside your ear canal without forming a seal that blocks ambient noise. Shokz also says this is more hygienic than in-ear headphones and reduces the risk of ear infections.
There are four EQ modes: Standard, Vocal, Bass Boost and Treble Boost; or you can indulge your inner Steve Albini and dial in custom settings.
The OpenFits are IP54 water resistant and charge via a USB-C port on the case, with a cable provided.
Claimed battery life is seven hours – long enough to listen to Radiohead’s entire album catalogue once, or the Sex Pistols’ 11 times. A five-minute charge is said to provide one hour’s listening.
A companion app enables you to monitor battery level, customise controls and access the user guide if, like me, you’re prone to unboxing new tech, discarding printed instructions and ploughing ahead.
Shokz OpenFit wireless earbuds performance
Much of my 20 years’ journalism experience has been while working on guitar, vinyl and tech magazines. In that time, I’ve reviewed a wide musical spectrum of amplifiers, effects pedals, turntables and headphones.
To assess the sonic and practical performance of the Shokz OpenFit headphones, I took them out on my long-term review bike, a Ribble Hybrid AL Leisure. They were put to use on my daily commute and a handful of longer road and light gravel rides, and subjected to all the wind and rain this relentless British summer has lavished upon us.
The headphones were also tested over 100 miles of running, with a critical focus on their usability, battery life, comfort and ability to deliver quality hi-fi performance without drowning out traffic noise.
The OpenFits initially feel slightly unstable. To fit them, you slip the flexible Dolphin Arc hook around the top of your ear, rotate it backwards along the auricle and the bud sits just behind the tragus, leaving your ear canal uncovered.
I was sceptical they would stay in place, but throughout a month of rigorous testing, the fit was flawless. This exceeded my past experience of sport headphones, several of which I’ve abandoned because they repeatedly fell out of my ears.
I also encountered no problems wearing them with a helmet and cycling sunglasses.
The OpenFits are said to work with any device that conforms to the Bluetooth 5.1 protocol. Pairing with my Google Pixel 6 phone was almost instant.
The connection has remained rock-solid throughout testing, unlike most Bluetooth headphones I’ve used previously.
Shokz also claims you’re able to connect to two devices simultaneously.
Shokz OpenFit wireless earbuds sound quality
Passing all of these usability tests would of course amount to nil if the OpenFits flunked their audio exam. However, they ace that too.
Sound quality is in a different league from any sport headphones I’ve tried. In fact, they beat the majority of in-ear phones I’ve used and don’t concede much to my favourite mid-priced over-ear headphones, the Meze Audio 99 Classics. That’s seriously impressive for buds weighing 8.3g each.
To assess their credentials, I reached instinctively for audiophile testing favourite, Come Together by The Beatles (Abbey Road1969).
Suppressing traumatic professional memories of beard-stroking aficionados at hi-fi shows critiquing the sibilant upper frequencies from Ringo’s hi-hat, I was blown away by what I heard.
Whatever musical genre I threw at them, The OpenFits delivered brilliantly balanced, detailed sound with none of the tinny, fatiguing qualities that often blight in-ear headphones.
Bass is remarkably full and punchy, only straying occasionally into slightly flabby distortion at higher volumes.
The expansive hi-fi performance may not win you many friends in the office, however. DirectPitch results in significant bleed and my desk buddy Jack Luke was treated to my full six-hour trip-hop and dream-pop playlist as I tested the battery life.
Most important to cyclists, though, is the ability to enjoy your favourite music without muting the outside world, and the OpenFits excel here.
Floating through my commute in a state of blissful shoegaze reverie accompanied by Slowdive’s eponymous 2017 album, I remained fully conscious of approaching cars, cyclists’ bells and the apologies of a dog walker whose errant pooch strayed into my path.
Overall volume was sufficient that no sonic detail was sacrificed to road noise or wind – although I didn’t exceed 20mph.
If you need to cut the music suddenly, a double-tap of either bud obliges, while answering phone calls is straightforward.
Shokz OpenFit bottom line
The Shokz OpenFit wireless earbuds may challenge your opinion about riding while listening to music.
They deliver performance to keep even the fussiest audiophile cork sniffer happy, providing powerful, nuanced and immersive sound without disconnecting you from the world outside.
Battery life is decent, they stay in place during even the most strenuous effort, and they play nicely with helmets and glasses.
The price is as high as the fidelity, however. A quick look online will throw up a handful of bone conduction options for less than £100 and in-ear sport headphones for substantially less than that, although I’d be surprised if they sound as good as the OpenFits. My own JLab Audio Epic Air Sport in-ear headphones (£99) certainly don’t get close.
Ultimately, it’ll come down to what you want from your earphones. If that’s absorbing sound quality that doesn’t hamper your road safety, and a product that just works, I’d recommend these in a heartbeat.
Like all the best tech, the OpenFits keep out of the way while enhancing the fundamental purpose of riding a bike or running – having fun.
