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Comment by pjmorris | Hacker News Reader

Aftershokz Aeropex bone-conducting headphones. I could walk, hike, drive listening to music or phone calls while hearing the environment around me and without exposing anyone else to my taste in music :)

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I'm on my 3rd pair of (After)Shokz. Previous one was an Aeropex, which I still have and use some times but it rattles a bit, especially with lower pitched sounds. I replaced it with the newer OpenRun Pro. Same awesomeness, noticeably better sound quality and more volume.

I use them almost daily for running, cycling, walking and climbing. My only gripe with them is the long neck bad, so I've had to stop myself from splurging on a Mini when it came out. :D

* "neck band", not "neck bad" :facepalm:

Biggest surprise benefit to me is that they work well with ear plugs, for when I’m woodworking

Aftershokz OpenComm should be the default on all job sites. True, full ear protection via ear-plugs, hands-free communication, no bulk, and the opportunity to listen to your music without adding noise to the environment. Oh, and magnetic charging.

If you do any work in a noisy industrial or trade setting you owe it to yourself to get these.

I used to buy the 3M connect earmuffs but their connectivity is bad, the ear-cushions break down and the mini-usb charger port snaps off. I had to buy a new set of earmuffs once a year.

I use the Opencomm in my quite home office as well. No hot ears anymore. :D

I thought I’d like the OpenComms but the Bluetooth stuff seems flaky. Not sure if this is everyone or just me, but if you pair them to 2 devices (e.g. a phone and a laptop), then shut down one of those, the Aftershokz will beep every few seconds thereafter to let you know you lost the connection, even while you’re using the other audio source.

It’s crazy: shut the laptop and walk away to listen to a podcast on your phone and they just beep beep beep.

I'm single sided deaf and have exclusively been buying Aftershokz products since I lost my left ear in 2019. I own 7 pairs (because of an Amazon screwup mostly, but hey, free headphones). I thoroughly recommend them. I can wear them ALL DAY LONG and not feel uncomfortable. This makes calling and listening to music much better now.

I got a pair as well which I use for exercise, and to listen to podcasts when cycling somewhere for transport. A very good buy.

I got the cheaper truefree F1 - not bone conduction as such, but sit outside your ear canal and shoot the sound in. Work really well and a lot cheaper, though others can hear your music if it's quiet around, so not the best for some situations.

I use mine to listen to podcasts when walking the dog or doing chores around the house.

Can confirm. They're cool. Battery life is decent and yeah, they do exactly what's claimed here. Don't expect the most high def sound, but they're still completely acceptable for a lot of scenarios.

I had a circa 2016 set and they were rubbish.. Worth another look?

I think so. I was getting skin irritation if I exercised while wearing earbuds and the AfterShockz eliminate that problem for me. Sound quality is good for podcasts. I don't listen to much music at all with them.

It just depends on your use case. If you want to appreciate music while sitting at your desk, no. But if you need to listen to a podcast or music while trail running, biking, at the gym, or other situations where situational awareness is important, then the degrade in audio quality is worth the trade off.

The Aeropex/OpenRun is a massive improvement over my TREKZ Titanium from 2016. Still not anywhere near comparable to some nice headphones or IEMs.

seriously ? I have experienced the opposite. Got a TREKZ Titanium as leave-behind from my son. I love them. This Black Friday I got some OpenRun and had to return them as they did not sound just as good. what a mistery

Didn't get them this year, but yes those are amazing.

don’t you achieve basically the same thing with airpods’ transparency mode?

not if you're like me, and airpods don't stay in your ears

Only issue with AirPods is that they trap sweat in your ear. Usually fine for normal workouts but for long distance runs they’re not usable.

yup, true. i can’t wear them on long flights for example.

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