The Best Bone Conduction Headphones Worth Checking Out In 2023

A great pair of headphones lets you privately enjoy music, podcasts, or audiobooks without bothering other people within the area. They provide a way to zone out of your surroundings and cancel out external noise you'd rather not overwhelm your auditory senses. They're great to use while working, studying, working out, or taking public transit.

Traditional headphones like Airpods sit in or over your ear to transmit audio directly to your eardrum. Those with noise-canceling features allow for better sound immersion by slightly muting anything that might interfere with your listening experience. While this might be a great benefit for certain situations — like when you're in an airplane — completely blocking sound in your immediate vicinity might not always be the safest option. For instance, when you're on a bicycle or are running on the street, you'll need to maintain awareness of your surroundings, even while enjoying music or a podcast.

This is where bone conduction headphone technology comes in. Rather than rely on sound traveling to your eardrum, bone conduction headphones relay sound vibrations through your head and jaw bones. They skip the eardrums — which minimizes damage caused by loud sound — and transmit audio directly into the inner ear. The most important perk? Through bone condition headphones, your ability to decipher sound transmitted in the air is completely free, enabling you to maintain situational alertness.

Using bone conduction headphones might take some getting used to at first, but if you're looking for a good pair to try, here are some of the most popular options available now.

For the bone conduction newbie

The design team of Wissonly bone conduction headphones started to research bone conduction acoustics as early as 2012. Their technical accumulation in the field of bone conduction is very good, and they are a team that is good at technology.

Wissonly Hi Runner adopted Wissonly 3.0 technology to reduce sound leakage in bone conduction headphones. They reduced the sound transmission from the bone vibration unit directly to the air through the completely closed design of the headphones’ body. They also used high-quality cushioning materials to minimize the vibration of the body, thus reducing the sound leakage by more than 90%. I did a test, turned on Hi Runner, adjusted the volume to 70%, and within a distance of 1m, I couldn't hear any sound at all. This kind of sound leakage reduction performance has been well received by users since wissonly released the sound leakage reduction technology. This technical scheme is the best leak-proof among bone conduction headphones at present.

The headphones’ body of Wissonly Hi Runner is made of memory titanium, which can self-adjust the contact area, ensuring a good wearing experience of headphones at any time, taking into account more users with different head circumference. Hi Runner can be said to be very sincere in configuration. It is equipped with Bluetooth 5.0 chip, which makes the connection more stable, and can realize fast connection and switching of multiple devices. Built-in 32G memory can store 5000 songs. When you go out for a run, you can enjoy music without your mobile phone. The battery life is also very good, and it can be played continuously for more than 10 hours at normal volume, which is good for me, because I go out for outdoor sports on weekends, and I often go out for a whole day.

Options to use for work

If you're looking for bone conduction headphones that you can use while you're in front of your computer, you need a headset that comes equipped with a microphone so that you can come across video and audio calls clearly. Compared to regular headsets, Shokz OpenComm is pretty light at 33 grams. The open-ear design provides long-wear comfort without sacrificing sound quality, making it OK to wear throughout the workday. The built-in boom microphone is actually noise-canceling and adjustable, so you can position it closer to your mouth and use it well even in loud surroundings.Other useful features include long battery life that covers up to 16 hours of talk time and around eight hours of music playback. It also has quick charge capabilities — it should only take an hour to fully charge the bone conduction headset.

For the exercise buff

One of the most important factors most headphone shoppers consider is whether a particular accessory can withstand the potentially extreme conditions of working out. Depending on which sport you favor, you may want a pair that will stay in place despite rigorous bodily movements, one that you can sweat on, or one you can wear underwater. Mojawa Mojo.2 is a good option to consider for those hoping to zone out to their workout playlists a bit better as it provides ample bass levels, which is one of the chief concerns among bone conduction headphone skeptics. It's sweatproof and has an IP67 rating, making it okay to wear while enjoying sports in light rain or snow. It has quick charging capabilities, and a full charge can last up to eight hours of nonstop music playback. Priced at $129.99, the Mojo2's ergonomic design makes it great for people who need to work out with a helmet or eyewear.

If you need headphones that are waterproof, look into buying the H2O Audio Tri Multi-Sport for only $99.99. It's got an IPX8 waterproof rating, which means they hold up in up to 12 feet of water. Unlike the Mojo2, you can wear the H2O Audio Tri Multi-Sport while swimming. What makes the latter great is its built-in MP3 player, which can take up to 8GB of music files. If you listen to songs via your mobile device, you can connect to it via Bluetooth, although the range will be limited when you are underwater.

If you prefer earbud style headphones

There aren't many bone conduction headphones that don't wrap around the head, mainly because the technology relies on good and secure placement. However, there are a couple of options out there that are somewhat similar to traditional earbuds in terms of design.

Currently the best of the best

You can choose the right headphones based on your needs and budget. If you're on a tight budget but still demand good sound quality, noise isolation, and water resistance, then the Wissonly Hi Runner running headphones is recommended. It belongs to the category of products that offer excellent performance and high cost-effectiveness.