"Good" Bluetooth headphones for Trail running and hiking/backpacking?

[ChiliManiac]

I know that, on these forums it would seem that "good" and Bluetooth are a bit of an oxymoron here, but I don't mean that in a bad way. I own a couple of entry level audio grade headphones already, ATH-m50x and the Sennheiser HD 598's. Which have woke me to this wide wonderful world of sound.

Now, to the question, I'm looking for a great out door headphone, I'm willing to drop between 200 and 500 on it if it's exceptional, and something that doesn't need a portable amp/dac. What I'm not looking for is something big and bulky, my biggest concern is toughness, weather resistance(heck, if proofing exist in the audio world, even better) and overall functionality. Sound matters as well, obviously but since I do a lot of trail running I was hoping one of you here would be able to point me in a direction you feel respectable. My phone is a Galaxy S7e, trail running with a wire, is a bit dangerous and really annoying at times...esp when you're following through on a turn and the wire yanks the pod out of your ear. I know little about audio, but do enjoy good audio or rather, can tell the difference between good and bad audio, so I'm hoping to learn. Thanks!

Thanks in advanced, and the wealth of information on these forums is crazy, already learning lots going through the archives.

*slight edit* In-Ear or on-ear are preferable.

 

[Dulalala]

Jaybird makes some good wireless IEM. They may not be the best in sound quality, but in the short time I owned one (I lost them...), they seemed very well built and if you route them the "tight" way you don't get any microphonics during running at all (a big issue for me when running with wired IEM). They also didn't fall out of my ears no matter how much sweat was going through them so that's a plus too. The signal range isn't the best though (in my experience) and I would experience drop outs or distortion every once in a while.

 

[ChiliManiac]

Jaybird makes some good wireless IEM. They may not be the best in sound quality, but in the short time I owned one (I lost them...), they seemed very well built and if you route them the "tight" way you don't get any microphonics during running at all (a big issue for me when running with wired IEM). They also didn't fall out of my ears no matter how much sweat was going through them so that's a plus too. The signal range isn't the best though (in my experience) and I would experience drop outs or distortion every once in a while.

Signal range really isn't an issue for me, since I'll only be using them outside or running, and my jacket has a phone pocket near the top. Hmm, they're on my list that I've been looking at. The Reviews on Amazon are about 40% like them, 20% hate them and those that do hate them, really really hate them.Would you say, for the running and workout activities it sounds like you're more on the enjoy/like side of things? The other brands for this category that I've been looking at are the Bose Sport Free and the Sony XB80BS Extra Bass. I've heard nothing but awful things about the build quality from the Power Beats, and I stay away from beats in general, my Solo 2's that Apple gave me for free when I bought my new rMBP back in 2015 started to show wear and tear withing a few months of use, heh.

 

[Dulalala]

Signal range really isn't an issue for me, since I'll only be using them outside or running, and my jacket has a phone pocket near the top. Hmm, they're on my list that I've been looking at. The Reviews on Amazon are about 40% like them, 20% hate them and those that do hate them, really really hate them.Would you say, for the running and workout activities it sounds like you're more on the enjoy/like side of things? The other brands for this category that I've been looking at are the Bose Sport Free and the Sony XB80BS Extra Bass. I've heard nothing but awful things about the build quality from the Power Beats, and I stay away from beats in general, my Solo 2's that Apple gave me for free when I bought my new rMBP back in 2015 started to show wear and tear withing a few months of use, heh.

I definitely enjoyed using them, my only issue with it was the cut outs and distortion from a bad signal, even though they were only in my pant pocket... It didn't occur often but whenever it did it was a bit annoying. However if you have a pocket in your jacket, it should be fine. They are also very durable, the build quality is good. You can check out some tear down videos of them to see what I mean. I used them for the sole purpose of running and in my experience they worked great for that application though to be honest, I wouldn't use them in any other situation.

I haven't looked at Sony at all when I was looking for wireless IEM but I did look at some Bose options, I didn't get them because they would jump around if I ran and we're much more expensive...

 

[ChiliManiac]

I definitely enjoyed using them, my only issue with it was the cut outs and distortion from a bad signal, even though they were only in my pant pocket... It didn't occur often but whenever it did it was a bit annoying. However if you have a pocket in your jacket, it should be fine. They are also very durable, the build quality is good. You can check out some tear down videos of them to see what I mean. I used them for the sole purpose of running and in my experience they worked great for that application though to be honest, I wouldn't use them in any other situation.

I haven't looked at Sony at all when I was looking for wireless IEM but I did look at some Bose options, I didn't get them because they would jump around if I ran and we're much more expensive...

Awesome, good to know, and thanks! One last question, big or small ears?

 

[Dulalala]

Awesome, good to know, and thanks! One last question, big or small ears?

If you mean mine, they are tiny. Granted you have to play around with the tips and fins a bit to get a good fit. If you have smaller ears, I would recommend to go with the Jaybird Freedom 2, I went with the X3 because the Freedom 2 were unfortunately out of stock when I bought them.

 

[ChiliManiac]

If you mean mine, they are tiny. Granted you have to play around with the tips and fins a bit to get a good fit. If you have smaller ears, I would recommend to go with the Jaybird Freedom 2, I went with the X3 because the Freedom 2 were unfortunately out of stock when I bought them.

Fantastic, thanks again! As far as Bluetooth headphones go, they're 80 bucks on Amazon, think I'll order a pair and if I don't like them I'll return them.