Sweat is deadly
Of course, there are a ton of wireless earbuds out there these days. And many of them are specifically designed for activities like running. They have ear hooks and ear loops that sit better in your ears. And they’re IP rated, so they’re tough enough to take a bit of sweat and dirt.
As a tech writer and avid runner, I’ve tested many of them while running, but none have been perfect. Either they don’t fit securely enough – and when you’re running, you need the earbuds to fit just right – or they just start acting weird. We’ve all experienced charging suddenly stopping, right?
I’ve always found that the stem shape of Apple’s AirPods or AirPods Pro fits my ears best. When I’ve run with traditional-shaped earbuds, they’ve always felt insecure (or even fallen out of my ears). However, if you sweat as much as you usually do, I wouldn’t recommend running with AirPods. You’ll kill them.
I learned this the hard way. Over the past few years, I’ve broken two AirPods Pro and an AirPod 3—the only two AirPod models from Apple with an IPX4 rating, meaning they’re splash-proof. But apparently that’s not enough to keep out my sweat.
Trust me, there’s nothing more demoralizing than finding what seems like the perfect pair of wireless earbuds for running, only to find that after a good few weeks, they suddenly stop charging or die in the middle of a run.
Sure, if you’re using cheap wired earbuds, they’re bound to break eventually. But since they’re a fraction of the price, replacing them won’t cost you too much. And that’s to be expected.
