Been using and abusing some inexpensive bluetooth headphones (Plantronics BackBeat Fit Bluetooth Headphones and then Mpow Cheetah Bluetooth 4.1 Wireless Headphones) which after 1-2 months stop charging. I use them inside to watch TV while on the trainer. Looks like the micro-USB charging port has some crusty dried sweat around the opening but I don’t see anything actually in there at the actual plug socket. I admittedly don’t do anything active to dry them off before I plug them in to charge. Do other’s have similar issues of these relatively inexpensive bluetooth earphones being practically “disposable”? Do the more expensive models (think Beats and Jaybird or other?) resist this issue? Am I just abusing my stuff and if I was a little more fastidious would they last longer? Ideally there would be Bluetooth wireless exercise-style headphones that charge by induction (and therefore not need to be plugged in) but I haven’t been able to find something like that. Assistance appreciated.
The Soul headphones are waterproof. I can’t help you with comments because I don’t have them but, am thinking about getting a set. Not cheap.
I use Beats Powerbeats2. They stand up to the turbo trainer well, have a little rubber grommet that closes the micro USB port, and also stand up well to running with a hood up. They stopped adjusting the volume the other day when I was running with my hood up and they were quite steamy, but once they’d dried out they are back to normal.
They’re not waterproof, but work well for me. I’d read a lot of mixed reviews and was quite hesitant getting them initially, but they work well for me. Don’t put them through the washing machine. My first pair didn’t survive.
I’ve been using a set of Motorola Buds for the past 6 months or so and really like them. They have a rubber plug that seals the micro usb port when not charging and I just wipe it off before charging if it’s still wet when I do so. They were purchased on sale for ~$20 but I see them for less than $30 on Amazon right now.
YMMV,
Hugh
I actually use the cheapest, single ear BT earpiece (one’s for just talking on the phone) that I can find at Best Buy or Target. I’m normally out the door for about $20. Just make sure it will work for playing music, I bought one for $10 that didn’t work for music.
I’m just using it as a distraction and don’t care about sound quality. So far this year I’ve gotten to season 8 of Futurama on Netflix while running on the treadmill with it.
jaretj
My MPOW cheetah are going on 8 months now and work fine. This is also LOTS of heavy sweat, water dumping on my head, etc. My girlfriends have lasted the same amount of time?.
I highly recommend Jaybirds. I have owned a pair for 3 years now. They are sweat resistant, however, I’ve had them replaced 3 times. They come with a lifetime warranty and their customer service is top notch. I’ve explained the symptoms each time and they immediately authorize an exchange. You pay for shipping to return the product, but they ship a brand new pair back free of charge. Late last year, my 2nd replacement pair started acting up and I knew right away it was sweat damage. When I spoke with their customer service this time, they put me in contact with a product manager and they said they wanted to upgrade me to the Jaybird 2 that has extra sweat protection. In addition to the upgrade, they also provided me a ‘special’ pair that had a double coating. Their engineers wanted to test this on a handful of the Jaybird X2’s, and since I apparently was sweating a lot and ruining multiple pairs, they thought I would be a good candidate. The product manager has personally emailed me several times to see how the new pair of Jaybird’s are working for me and to let him know if I need anything else. These are worth the money and I recommend Jaybird to anyone who will listen…
same experience and I would absolutely not recommend the Jaybirds because of those reasons, customer support is good but clearly not a very ‘robust’ product given that most have had to replace multiple times which is a pain in the ass. I have had a set of the MPOW’s now (paid $35) for a few months and they fit better, have 3x the battery life as the Jaybirds.
Yeah, I’ve killed 4 Jaybirds in the past 3 years. (I bought 2 separate sets.) While there’s never a problem with the exchange, it’s somewhat irritating to have them die on a regular basis. I would def consider something else first now, especially as for how pricey the Jaybirds have gotten (they don’t even sell the cheaper ones anymore, I think.)
That definitely should be taken into consideration when purchasing bluetooth headphones. I’ve been using the X2’s for about 4-5 months and haven’t had any issues yet, however, my training has only recently picked back up, so it hasn’t been exposed to a lot of sweat yet. I feel more comfortable knowing that when my headphone’s inevitably succumb to the sweat, I can get them replaced for relatively cheap (shipping cost). If the X2’s prove to have a similar lifespan as original Jaybirds, I’ll definitely rethink my allegiance to them as the shipping cost does add up. Great customer service and lifetime warranty outweighs that cost for now.
That definitely should be taken into consideration when purchasing bluetooth headphones. I’ve been using the X2’s for about 4-5 months and haven’t had any issues yet, however, my training has only recently picked back up, so it hasn’t been exposed to a lot of sweat yet. I feel more comfortable knowing that when my headphone’s inevitably succumb to the sweat, I can get them replaced for relatively cheap (shipping cost). If the X2’s prove to have a similar lifespan as original Jaybirds, I’ll definitely rethink my allegiance to them as the shipping cost does add up. Great customer service and lifetime warranty outweighs that cost for now.
I wouldn’t buy the X2s now. $180 for BT headphones is simply not worth it, when you can get <$30 ones that live at least 3 months, and are usually warranteed for 12-18 months.
I bought my Jaybirds for about $70-$85, which is the upper limit which I would go with something like this given the amount of competition in the market now, even with great replacement policy. (It still takes 2-3 weeks total turnaround for the return, so you’ll probably need a backup set anyway.)
i second the power wireless beats, love them and bike and run with them
stay away from Jaybyrds they died twice on me in 6 months and the company customer service gave me a 20% off coupon but i was done with them at that point NEVERAGAIN
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I currently use the Jaybird, have had them for about 3 years. My initial set did fail about 1 year in and they sent me a replacement without too much pain on my part.
While I was awaiting my replacement jaybird’s I purchased http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0092MD7CK?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage
which allowed me to use cheapo headphones. It worked great and I would probably not purchase jaybird like headphones again because of it.
Ankar has a new set
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016YACK7K?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_sfl_title_5&smid=A294P4X9EWVXLJ
Supposed to be pretty good.
I’ve gone through multiple cheap in ear BT headsets. They all ended up failing and not worth the hassle of return/replacement after one time.
I’'m now using the Monster iSport on ear headphones
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BBQDDXS?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00
Seem to be pretty well designed against sweat and moisture. They sound really good. They stay on while biking (trainer), rowing (C2), running and lifting. They are fairly comfortable for about an hour or so.
IMO none of the in ear phones will last due to sweat getting on the electronics within the plastic housing. At least with the on ear models the sweat really never comes in contact with the part of the headphone containing the electronics. Battery life is another benefit to the on ear models. At least double what the best in ear models do.
Give the Mpow Swift a try not the cheetah. My cheetah didn’t last that long but Swift been going on for over a year and a half now with tons of sweating and many heat acclimation sessions. The more expensive models don’t usually last that long from what I’ve heard.
Here’s another vote for the MPOW Swift. I use mine while running and on the trainer and they’ve been bulletproof so far.
Anyone have a recommendation on a set that also have internal storage? Would love to run with music without having to carry a phone with me…