I bought Shokz OpenFit for myself as a birthday present back in July, so I figured it was about time I did a thorough review of my thoughts, how I’m using them, and my suggestions if you’re not sure about purchasing.
First of all, they’re very unique headphones built with certain features, including:
- DirectPitch technology – they aren’t bond conducting – but use this method for open-ear listening, which “addresses vibration and neckband issues”
- Situational Awareness – The headphones are open-ear so they don’t block other sounds around you.
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Other benefits include:
- Comfy over-ear design to hook around your ear, to stop them falling off. They don’t sit in your ear so there’s no feeling of claustrophobia others can give
- Long battery life
- Great call quality with a microphone
- Sweat-resistant and resistant to ‘light rain’
- Quick syncing – as soon as you put them on, they’re activated (doesn’t take a few seconds like others)
The target audience is outdoorsy people, which makes sense given the top features are situational awareness, sweat & light-rain resistance. I’ve been using them a lot inside too which I’ll detail below.
What are they great for?
I’m using the OpenFit constantly. I keep them in my ears pretty much all day. I find them extremely comfy and forget they’re in most of the time. They’re synced with my mobile but can be quickly synced to my laptop if I need it. You can’t unfortunately sync them to 2 devices at the same time but it’s not too much drama to swap.
They’re the best headphones I’ve ever used for calls. I haven’t tried with work calls on Teams yet.
The sound quality is excellent. They connect quickly, there’s no lag in putting them on. I listen to music with Spotify but also switch between social apps making it better so my husband doesn’t have to listen to my tiktoks. I sometimes just use one headphone which works well even if the other is put back into the charging box.
I use them for working out. I do a range of sports including boxing, indoor cycling, skipping, HIITs, weights, pilates and outdoor walking (plus running which I’ve mentioned below in the negatives). They stay on and don’t move. They’re also not dripping with sweat when I take them off after a workout, unlike other in-ear ones (sorry, TMI?).
I’ve also made some YouTube videos using them for sound – they pick up my voice clearly and never drop out.
Any negatives?
As mentioned above, you can’t sync to 2 devices at the same time. Although connecting them is quick and easy, it’s still a small annoyance especially when their other headphones can be synced to 2.
I’ve just started running and whilst the situational awareness is great, if there is wind, it does hinder it somewhat. If it’s windy when running, it means I have to turn my music up to hear it, reducing the feeling of situational awareness.
Similar to cooking, weirdly – if I’m frying food or have the air frier on – I have to turn the volume up high which I don’t like doing. As they aren’t in-ear, they don’t shut out outside noise. I know, I know – it’s obvious, but I hadn’t considered these scenarios. If I’m boxing or using weights, I can now hear everything – previously with my Samsung buds, even though I hated how uncomfortable they were, they’d tune out the noise. I didn’t consider this!
What are the touch actions like?
I can’t get to grips with the touch actions yet. I don’t like the feeling of pressing into my ear, so I haven’t been using them. You can press forward or back to change the song, but (weirdly?) you can’t change the volume. You can also pause, but it takes 2 taps which I don’t like as I usually miss the part you have to press, so it takes more like 5 taps. I hated this about my old Samsung buds as tapping them was uncomfortable. That being said when I have used it to forward through a song, it works and takes probably 2 seconds to complete.
The Shokz OpenFit charging box and case
I didn’t realise I’d get a case, so that was a happy surprise. It has a loop too making it easy to keep close on your wrist. The charging case is lovely to use and fits the headphones nicely. There’s a cute quiet ‘snap’ when you reattach both headphones and it highlights green or red to indicate charging.
My personal choices
I’m a HSP – a highly sensitive person – anything noisy affects me. I’m super sensitive to noise and hate loud noises. I’ve always been obsessed with headphones. I’ve tried cheap £20 headphones from Amazon, and Samsung Buds (I sold mine to put the money towards these) and I use Bose over-ear for work calls (with Teams) which helps to cancel out noise when in the office.
I love these Shokz OpenFit headphones. As mentioned, I hadn’t considered using them to do noisy things won’t drown out the noise which is weird considering they aren’t in-ear, so it’s obvious! I don’t regret buying them and would recommend them.
I’m on the lookout for better headphones to use for work. My Bose ones need the volume tweaking for EACH CALL which is a nightmare – okay, more like a small, constant inconvenience but when you’re on 6 (minimum) calls per day, it gets a bit annoying. The OpenComm ones are tailored for this but just under £200. I’d rather go for the cheapest, but they’re for sports, so I’m not sure if the microphone would be any good. I’ll update this blog if I decide to buy any.
How much are Shokz OpenFit headphones?
I bought them from the UK Shokz website for £179 but I signed up for the newsletter that got me 10% off so in total I paid £161 + free delivery. You can also buy them from Amazon, John Lewis, Selfridges etc.
If I’m accepted as an affiliate, I might get a discount code so I’ll post that here. Stay tuned! Until then, do as mentioned above to get 10% off or wait until Amazon Prime Day to see if they’re on offer.
Are Shokz OpenFit waterproof?
No, but they are sweat and rain-resistant. So basically they give the go-ahead for wearing in light rain but nothing heavier, although I’ve seen blogs from others who have worn them in heavy rain with no problems. This is from the UK Shokz website:
OpenFit features IP54 water resistance and is designed with a double-layer waterproof steel mesh and gauze for additional protection and enhanced sound performance.7 During your sweatiest of workout sessions, keep enjoying your music or audiobook worry-free.
Are Shokz OpenFit headphones bone-conducting?
No, they aren’t. This is from the UK Shokz website:
OpenFit isn’t a bone conduction headphone. Shokz introduces DirectPitch™, a brand-new audio experience made for OpenFit. It allows for premium audio quality that perfectly balances bold highs, clear mids, and surging bass.
I haven’t tried the bone-conducting headphones so I can’t comment but I’m pleased with OpenFit for sound quality and comfort.
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