The Best Wireless Headphones for Working Out, Ranked

Headphones and earbuds are fine if you're just plugging away at work or commuting there. But when you're working out as hard as you can—sprinting as hard as you can, gritting through burpees and wall balls, or running Combine drills on the gridiron—cords complicate things. Sure, it's great to have motivating music in your ears, but it's no fun when your favorite pump-up songs are getting cut off every 10 seconds because you keep accidentally yanking the 'phones off your head. That's where the best wireless headphones come in.

And while Bluetooth earbuds and headphones certainly solve the headphone-yank problem, the reality is that we're still on the cusp of damn good wireless workout headphones. Most completely wireless ear buds are a little rough around the edges, and the semi-wireless devices that've been sprouting from every major and upcoming brand aren't all that consistent or capable of keeping up with you.

To give you an idea of what the current options on the market are really like, we tested 15 wireless, sweat-resistant headphones. Models ranged from strictly wireless buds, in-ear headphones with some kind of tether (neck bands, coils, and behind-the-head wires), and a few other creative designs, including headphones that rest on your temples and play tunes via bone conduction.

Then we put each device through a vigorous high-intensity workout, giving each a comprehensive 24-hour test run. We noted our first impressions, the fitting process, sound quality, and how they performed during sprints, plyometric moves, and bodyweight moves. We even threw in a couple yoga poses to see how they fared upside-down.

Here are our top wireless headphone picks, including some running headphones, workout headphones, wireless headphones for running, Bluetooth headphones, and more.

Wissonly hi runner

wissonly's core team is a team engaged in the research and development of bone conduction products earlier. They have accumulated 10 years' technology in this field. They have adopted the best acoustic laboratory in the Eastern Hemisphere for sound adjustment. Wissonly Hi Runner has good technical solutions to the problems of sound leakage, sound quality and waterproof of pseudo-bone conduction headphones.

Wissonly bone conduction vibrator adopts a unique full-wrapped design, which makes the vibrator work in a closed environment, reducing the impact on the shell, thus reducing the vibration of the shell and finally reducing the sound leakage by 90%.

Wissonly uses a large-size bone conduction vibrator, and the effective vibration area of the vibrator is increased by 35% through structural optimization. At the same time, the sound transmission direction is optimized, the sound loss is reduced, and the sound is more concentrated.

wissonly HiRunner adopts integrated molding technology, with no holes in the headphones’ body and it is no splicing, which realizes IPX8 waterproof, and can be used for swimming and bathing. Even in the depth of 20 meters, diving is no problem.

It also has 32G of built-in memory, which can store 5000 songs. You can use it as amp3 player when you don't have a mobile phone.

In a word, wissonly hi runner is a product with powerful functions, stable technology and high cost performance.

Jaybird X3

The sweat-friendly Jaybird X3 earbuds delivered the ultimate balance in seamless design, superior audio performance, and multi-sport functionality. They're helmet-compatible, and made with a special coating and super-slim seams, so mud, sweat, and rain won't seep in. The two earbuds are joined by a simple wire with a single small panel for three control buttons. Jaybird says the X3 buds offer eight hours of playtime, and that sounds about right. (We found that a 20-minute charge nets an hour of playtime.) Best of all, you can customize the sound with the brand's Jaybird MySound App and save this unique profile to your X3 buds, so your preferences will stream whether you're playing music off your dinosaur iPod or a Spotify playlist. They're also compatible with most major smartwatches, phones, and Apple products.

Beats by Dre Powerbeats3 Wireless

Like the Jaybird X3, the wire-linked Powerbeats3 wireless earbuds are compact, durable, and crank out quality sound with minimal entanglement. They best the X3 in playtime—12 hours, according to Beats—and you can charge 'em for a mere five minutes and get an hour's worth of playtime, which is a lifesaver if you always find out your headphones are dead when you're about to head out for a workout. They're tough enough to withstand a maelstrom and durable enough for the sweatiest among us.

Supremely comfortable and sturdy. The adjustable and malleable design of the "hooks" let you situate them depending on how small or large your ears are. We like that the buds are small and seamless. (It would be great if Beats also included Comply buds, but the fit was fine regardless.) You can also clip the wire connecting the two earbuds, so you really get that nothing's-there feel.

Skullcandy Sport Method Wireless

Connected via wire and neck collar, the Skullcandy Sport Method Wireless earbuds are affordable headphones that can take you from workout to work without becoming a (literal) pain to wear. They're resistant to water and sweat, and boast nine hours of use on a single charge. The controls are within reach at the left-hand end of the collar, and include a built-in mic and volume controls, which make music management and phone calls easy to reach. (It is annoyingly easy to skip a song when trying to boost the volume, though.)

Phenomenal fit and feel for a pair of $60 wireless headphones. The earbuds are not at all invasive and the neck band is impressively lightweight. The flexible, ergonomic design cradles your neck, and houses the controls so the earbuds aren't top-heavy. That said, though, if you hate the feel of anything around your neck, or want to do some heavy lifting (aka squat with a barbell), the collar design is problematic.

Bose SoundSport Pulse Wireless Headphones

Bose offers you the chance to track your heart rate during workouts with its built-in heart rate sensor, StayHear+ Pulse tips, and Bose Connect app. You'll get about five hours of music play, though 20 minutes will also power 'em up enough to last through a workout in case you forget.

Very secure. We love that you don't have to jam the bud in place. The wings serve as a sort of kickstand to keep everything in place. The main earpiece protrudes quite a bit from your ear, but that's also because it's housing a ton of tech—and that's more a style preference than a knock on comfort.

Read more:Sound is Vibration: Bone Conduction Headphones and Structure-Borne Sound