Naenka Bone Conduction Runner Pro Wireless Waterproof Headphones

The Naenka Bone Conduction Runner Pro Wireless Waterproof Headphones are a good shape and nicely constructed, but the sound quality and volume are too weak to be effective on the bike. While marketed for 'sports' (including cycling) in general, they're probably better suited to the runners in the name.

These follow the familiar layout: the two speakers sit just in front of your ears without blocking them, the controls are just behind your right ear, and a band wraps around the back of your head.

Naenka has managed to keep it all relatively thin too, which is very useful for cycling with its helmets and glasses. Above the ear these rise 5.2mm, leaving more than enough space.

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Control is via three buttons: an on/off button, a plus button, and a minus button. The on/off also switches between Bluetooth and MP3 modes. I found both modes effective, with MP3s that I uploaded playing without a hitch, and the Bluetooth connection to my phone not dropping once during the test period.

One thing that these headphones really sell themselves on is their waterproofing, what with them being IP68 rated – they can survive even in 3m of water. I can't though, especially not on a bicycle, but neither very sweaty rides (on lovely dry land) or torrential downpours caused them any issues.

Low life

The battery life claims are vague, with the Naenka website saying 240 hours on 'standby' and the product documentation saying 'six hours at 65% volume.' I had to use these headphones at 100% for pretty much the entire review, and needed to charge them after around four hours of use.

By contrast, the cheaper Aftershokz OpenMoves offer six hours of continuous playback.

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Charging is done via a magnetic charger via a USB port, and takes about two hours. One unfortunate thing with everything this waterproof that I've tried is that the charging leads are proprietary, so if you lose your cable or forget it, you can't charge them.

At the moment this is something that essentially all waterproof electronics suffer with, but is nonetheless pretty annoying.

Uneasy listening

The sound quality is not as good as similar headphones I've used, specifically the Aftershokz Trekz Titaniums that have been a staple of my commutes for the past five years. The bass doesn't really have much punch so music doesn't sound great, and the treble is too quiet, so I often struggled to hear spoken words too.

Travelling at speed, wind noise can easily make it impossible to hear, which – when combined with traffic noise – means that use in urban areas is difficult.

Value

The RRP of these is $149.99 – currently around £111 – which is middling for this kind of thing, if rather high for the performance. The £79.95 Aftershokz OpenMove Wireless Wireless Bone Conduction Headphones beat these for sound quality and volume, for instance, though on the downside they're only rated to IP55.

For £149.95 you could go for the AfterShokz Aeropexes, which offer superior sound quality and battery life, and are also totally waterproof, though they lack MP3 storage for phone-less use.

If you don't mind having your ears blocked, the 15g HolyHigh Wireless Earbuds last ages on a charge, are very waterproof and work brilliantly for £36.99. They also have a mono mode so you can at least keep one ear open.

Overall

These headphones actually have a lot going for them – they are well specced with great waterproofing, a comfortable design, and the option of MP3 playback. However, the sound quality is simply not up bike use, and the battery life isn't great either; for cycling, if not for other sports, these positives are unfortunately irrelevant.

Verdict

Well built and promise much, but sound quality, volume and battery life are all too low for serious cycling use