Forums >Gears and Wears>Do airpods stay in your ear while running?
Joggaholic
Asking before I waste my money.
I run on the treadmill (a lot) while watching Netflix. I've accidentally snagged the headphone wire too many times that I'm surprised my tablet has survived this long. I have had several wired earbuds that wouldn't stay in my ear without adding those foam/rubbery accessories on them.
Ok, can't say anything about the air pods, but if you're worried about things falling out you might take a look at the Trekz Air or Trekz Titanium. The sound is pretty darn good and they let you hear what's going on around you too! Perfect for running outside so you can still hear traffic.
Not affiliated in any way with the company, just a satisfied customer.
Ray
Fighting senescence
I had similar frustrations, so when I spotted some wireless earbuds on the cheap (FiveBelow, IIRC), I bought 'em to try. They are a tiny bit tricky to get to stay in, but so far have worked great on the TM for me. So maybe, check out discount store pairs first? (I just use mine for podcasts, though, so probably don't notice if they aren't tremendous at sound quality)
Happy Garmin newbie
Renewing my interest in running, sloooowly
an amazing likeness
Should you be willing to consider alternatives to the Airpods, look at Bose SoundSport. Really impressive how well they stay in and yet are comfortable.
Acceptable at a dance, invaluable in a shipwreck.
I have run with a pair of Apple AirPods most days since early October. One of my concerns before purchasing them was whether they would stay in while running. The wired Apple headphones, particularly the right one, would sometimes fall out, especially in cold weather (< 30F). It was almost as if my ear canal enlarges just enough so it won't stay in. Or the plastic contracts, but that doesn't really make sense.
With a few exceptions, the AirPods stay put. The times I've shifted a cap or tried to remove a shirt without thinking about them, one has fallen out. I don't think I've ever had one fall out due to cold weather.
On roads, and the treadmill, on the few occasions when one has fallen out, it's no big deal, they are easy to find and the sound stops when one falls out so you know.
I typically don't wear them on rocky trails in the mountains, where they might fall between rocks or down a slope. Otherwise, I do wear them on the less technical local trails around NoVA without problems.
The AirPods are probably my favorite Apple product.
Problem Child
I run with a guy who wears them and he hasn't had problems with them falling out on our runs. Usually an 8-8:30 pace on roads. I'd assume if he was afraid of them falling out he would stop wearing them.
Many of us aren't sure what the hell point you are trying to make and no matter how we guess, it always seems to be something else. Which usually means a person is doing it on purpose.
VDOT 53.37
5k18:xx | Marathon 2:55:22
No experience with Airpods, but second rmcj's recommendation of Trekz. They stay put and the sound is decent while still being able to hear your surroundings. Although there is a slight sound leakage which might annoy folks on an airplane seats next to you, if you have them at full blast.
Mel
I used to have issues with the wired Apple earbuds falling out when I got sweaty, but my AirPods have stayed put so far. They’re expensive, but worth it imo - they work perfectly and are totally unnoticeable while running compared to cheaper wireless headphones (including the Trekz, which I tried and couldn’t stand - YMMV).
https://www.strava.com/athletes/5411361
Related question, do the AirPods stand up to sweat exposure?
Mine have held up so far, but I've only had them since Christmas. I'd be interested to hear from anyone who's had them for longer!
The Limping Jogger
I started wearing them over a year ago... work gift for my wife that got re-gifted to me. At first you think you look like an idiot but they really are pretty good. They've stayed in for 2000+ miles, including 20 mile runs during the Chicago summer, which is a good sweat test. Never worn them in a race though. As long as I'm not moving things past my ears (to brush the airpods) they have stayed in for me.
The design does not allow for sound isolation, which works well outside... or you can use just one. For a gym, I want to drown out the background music/ noise so not so great for that unless you want to turn the volume way up.
"Only a few more laps to go and then the action will begin, unless this is the action, which it is."
Pet peeve of mine. I don't understand why over the ear headphones have become the antichrist. Ear buds while sitting in the library work fine, not so much when I'm running. Yet, the industry seems hell bent on forcing a one size fits all ear bud on the population, when clearly, one size doesn't.
You can still buy over the ear. It's not (yet) a BETA vs VHS situation.
In my experience, the Plantronics BackBeat FIT are a very good wireless alternate for running.
I've had mine a couple of months and run with them most days. They have yet to fall out.
My annoyance with them is that it appears impossible to effectively pair them with anything but an iPhone or an Apple Watch. Carrying my phone is fine for most ordinary training runs, but not in a race. I don't want to have to shell out for an Apple Watch simply to use it as a bluetooth MP3 player. But maybe I will wind up doing that next time I run a 6-day.
I'll add my two cents. I've had mine for a bit less than in a year and in general I love them. A few issues though:
-When I was asking around, I was told "they'll feel like they're about to fall out and they never will". However, this proved false on my first run with them and they fell out. It appeared there was some damage but it was my fault for not grabbing it. Since then they've fallen out a few times but generally I can tell when that is about to happen.
-I do spend a fair amount of time on the run adjusting them, but way less than I used to with the stock apple ear buds.
-Possibly related to damage: they do occasionally flake: either I'll only hear sound in 1 ear or it's very faint in 1 ear. I haven't used them enough in heat to confirm this is sweat related but I believe it to be so. Also, occasionally only one ear pairs, and I have to do a few things to fix that but that's a minor inconvenience.
-Possibly related to damage: frequently the left ear does not charge in the case. This is fixable with moving it around and they charge quickly, so even if I'm ready to start running it isn't a huge deal but it is annoying.
I've had a really hard time finding a pair of wireless headphones that work for me while running, and this is the best yet. I would have said powerbeats are better because they sound better, require no fiddling and never fall out. However, I had at least 5 pairs including free replacements and they just could not handle sweat. It proved so frustrating that there were times I wanted to trash them mid run. I like the idea of the ones coming out but that feels like a "fool me 6 times, shame on me" scenario.
Also, I saw this yesterday which I found interesting on the topic of support.