If you had asked me 3 months ago about what makes a good set of earbuds, good active noise cancellation performance would have been right up there. But now, open-ear earbuds have well and truly won me over — and they let in all of the ambient sound.
As someone who loves to go on a Sunday morning run or a mid-afternoon stroll, the ability to remain aware of my surroundings is a huge bonus. When I use my Beats Studio 3 headphones to go for a run I always have to take them off to cross busy roads, and this interrupts my flow. I'm then stuck trying to get the right fit when I put them back on.
But some of the best running headphones are open-ear buds, so it’s only right to ditch the overheads for something more fit for purpose. After testing a whole host of open-ear buds, I think I have finally found the ones that I’ll be using from here on out: the EarFun Clip earbuds.
Immovable and super comfortable
After previously testing the EarFun OpenJump open-ear buds and not getting on with them since they just didn’t fit me at all, I was pretty skeptical about the fit of the EarFun Clips. But as soon as I put the Clips on I knew I was in good hands. From running, hiking, to dancing around my living room to ‘Mr Brightside’ by The Killers, these buds did not budge. Once they were on, they were on.
With other open-ear clip design buds I have tested, it has been a struggle to get the correct positioning without them slipping. And with other styles of open-ears, like ones that wrap around the top of the ear, I can never get them to stay put.
The EarFun Clips were also super comfortable to wear for long periods of time. I used them throughout my work day and didn’t experience any discomfort. The buds are extremely light and it was almost as if they weren’t there at all.
Sweatproof and dustproof
The EarFun Clips have a durability rating of IP55. This means that they are resistant to water splashes and sweat, as well as dust.
The waterproof rating means that any sweat getting on the buds won’t affect their performance, and they can withstand water splashes from all angles. For me, this meant I could head out on a walk even if it was lightly raining.
Although they are dustproof, I always make sure my earbuds are in their charging case when I’m not using them. But if they do get left out for whatever reason, I give them a wipe before popping them back in the case to avoid any build-up.
In-ear sound quality
These buds don’t behave like open-ears at all. With open-ears I expect to experience some loss in sound quality because the earbuds are using a different method to send the audio into the ear.
The EarFun Clips use air conduction, which means the speaker is directing the sound at the ear canal, which is actually more similar to a traditional earbud. This is unlike bone conduction earbuds like the Shockz OpenRun that are recommended for running by Tom’s Guide.
The EarFun Clips are for runners who take music seriously. I can seriously imagine nothing worse than going on a run and not having motivation from my favorite music. And the Clips give me that music with great sound quality. I was also able to use the EarFun app to make sure the EQ settings were perfect for the music I like to listen to.
You can read more about how I got on with the open-ear buds in my full EarFun Clip review.
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