Waterproof headphones for swimmers
The best waterproof bone-conduction headphones for your swims
SUUNTO Aqua, £159
£159
Pro: 32GB of music storage
Con: A little more trouble to set up
Waterproof, open-ear bone conduction headphones with offline audio and motion sensors providing basic swim metrics. Out of the water, you can pair them to your phone with bluetooth, but as bluetooth doesn’t work well underwater for swimming you pre-load them with tunes, which you manage via the Suunto app. You can play, stop and skip tracks using the buttons on the side of the headset or use head movement controls, skipping a song by shaking your head, for instance. Motion sensors also provide swim tracking such as stroke position, glide time, breath frequency, but don’t expect the same metrics as sports watches. The open-ear design allows you to retain awareness, while the sound quality is excellent. The charger (not waterproof) doubles up as a power bank, so you can top up other devices. JT
H2O AUDIO Sonar 2 Pro
£117
Pro: Sound quality is crisp and clear
Con: Clipping the headphones onto the goggle straps is fiddly
The SONAR 2 PRO builds on the brand’s popular underwater headphone design but it’s now 40% smaller and with a sleeker fit. You manage your music via their new H2O Audio PRO app, which is easy to navigate. The sound quality is crisp and clear, both in and out of the water, while still allowing you to retain full situational awareness. Although it was fiddly at first, I liked the way the headphones fit onto your goggles. The tactile buttons make it easy to adjust volume and switch between tracks. You can also live-record audio straight from your phone – I‘ve recorded hours’ worth of Radio 1 dance playlists and podcasts. The battery lasts ages between charges. AW
H2O Audio Tri 2 Pro
£154
Pro: The wetsuit leash means they’re great for open water
Con: None
Fully submergible and ideal for swimming, these bone conduction headphones give you a choice of streaming via bluetooth or pre-loading MP3s – the latter being the only option in the pool. Once loaded with tunes, the headphones were so easy to use. I simply turned them on and they began my playlist – no need to change modes or even press play. Underwater, the sound is clear, rich and bassy. The headphones come with a hard case, or you can buy a hard charging case (£48) to keep them fully charged. The open-ear design gives great situational awareness, so you can still hear your coach, and for open water they come with a little rubber leash to secure them to a wetsuit zipper. JT
SHOKZ OpenSwim Pro
£169
Pro: Superb sound quality
Con: Switching between MP3 and bluetooth is awkward
Fully submersible, the Shokz OpenSwim Pro is made for swimmers and feels comfortable and secure, the non-adjustable band sitting below my swim cap. Offering a choice of bluetooth or MP3 playback, these bone conduction headphones are ideal for multi-sports. Pre-loading with MP3s, however, is the only option for swimming as you can’t stream bluetooth underwater. We found switching between MP3 and bluetooth a touch awkward as it reverted to bluetooth when powered up, but once set correctly the sound quality was superb; below the water it was crisp and powerful. It took a while to master the small multi-function buttons (the volume up button is also the power button on, for instance), but you can use the app to customise the buttons. JT
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Jo Tinsley
Jo is the Gear Editor for Outdoor Swimmer and also writes news and features for the website. A keen open water swimmer and long-distance walker, she loves seeking out lakes and lidos close to her home in the Mendip Hills, Somerset. She is the author of The Slow Traveller, editor and founder of independent magazine, Ernest, and has previously tested outdoor clothing and kit for BBC Countryfile Magazine, BBC Focus and Ernest Journal.
