Everyone has their own reason for using waterproof headphones. Some people like to spend time around the pool with music on and using waterproof headphones ensures you can drop it in water without any worries. Others like being prepared in the event of heavy rain, since mere water-resistant headphones may not be able to withstand more inclement weather. While water-resistant headphones do well enough for the gym (it handles sweat and even water spills just fine), some people actually prefer waterproof headphones they can wear in the shower, allowing them to enjoy their music, podcast, or audiobook while cleaning up after a hard and grueling workout.
Of course, waterproofing isn’t the only important consideration when it comes to headphones. The best waterproof headphones provide excellent sound reproduction, so your music sounds great and your podcasts play through loud and clear. They fit great and stay securely in place when you wear them during an active day, whether you’re hitting the iron at the gym, exploring nature in the trails, or fixing up stuff in the garage.
The best waterproof headphones also come with good battery life, allowing you to use them for most of the day before requiring a recharge, Many will have a number of additional features, as well, from active noise-cancellation (ANC) and AI sound tuning to multipoint connectivity and more.
These are the best waterproof headphones fit for an active lifestyle.
Tribit Flybuds 3
Pros
- IPX8 waterproofing
- Long battery life
- Excellent fit
- Powerful sound
Cons
- No app
- No tuning EQ available
- No ANC
We’re always impressed by the price-to-features ratio of Tribit’s headphones. They’re able to integrate features usually found only in competing products at twice the price or higher, although it usually comes at the expense of a more hardwearing build. With these true wireless (TWS) earbuds, Tribit brings some impressive features, including IPX8 waterproofing, one-step pairing, and an excellent fit with the six pairs of included ear tips and three pairs of ear fins. It has a powerful sound with plenty of bass, too, although it’s not particularly tuned towards a distinct sound signature, so the listening experience can feel all over the place (not necessarily a bad thing). Battery life is actually generous, with the earbuds themselves providing a decent seven hours of playback, but the charging case adding a whopping 103 hours more for a full 110 hours. Seriously, that gives you several days’ worth of use without having to plug this thing in anywhere.
- Battery Champ True Wireless Earbuds for both phone calls, music, and video
Anker Soundcore Sport X10
Pros
- IPX7 waterproofing
- Excellent ANC for the price
- App lets you customize controls and adjust EQ
- Powerful bass sound
Cons
- There’s better ANC out there, albeit not at this price
- Putting the earbuds in the charging case takes getting used to because of the rotating hooks
Designed for sweaty workouts, these waterproof headphones pair TWS convenience with IPX7 waterproofing, allowing you to wear it not just in the weights room or the cardio area, but also in the shower while you’re cleaning up later. We like the way the rotating ear hooks secure the earbuds on each ear, although it occasionally makes putting everything back on the charging case a bit awkward (you’ll get used to it). It has button controls on each earbud for easy for easily skipping tracks and adjusting volume, while the ANC is downright impressive for something so affordable. Heck, it even has a transparency mode, which some more expensive earbuds don’t offer. Battery life is rated at eight hours for the earbuds, with the charging case housing another 32 hours of extra power.
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JBL Endurance Peak 3
Pros
- IPX8 waterproofing
- Excellent sound quality on voice calls
- Two days’ worth of battery life
- Locked-in, stable fit
Cons
- No ANC
- Bass-heavy sound may not suit everyone’s tastes
While many people we know aren’t fans of the ear hook design on earbuds, we definitely find it helpful when it comes to securing the headphones to your ears. In the case of these wireless headphones, the hooks enable a really stable and locked-in fit, especially when used in conjunction with the swappable ear tips and silicone “ear enhancers.” It has an IPX8 rating, so it can handle any encounter with water that won’t submerge it for over 30 minutes, with a bass-heavy sound that’s great for working out. Sadly, there’s no ANC, so you have to rely on the passive noise isolation from the seal of the ear tips, which allows for a pretty good listening experience all the same. A companion app is available, allowing you tweak the EQ, customize the tap controls, activate special features, such as Talk Thru (lets you take calls while listening to music by amplifying speech) and Ambient Aware (lets ambient sound pass through clearly). Battery lasts roughly nine hours, with another 40 hours stored in the charging case.
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JBL Reflect Aero
Pros
- IP68 waterproofing
- Great sound profile with EQ tuning
- Accurate touch controls
Cons
- Requires daily charging, especially if you use ANC
- Bass can be inconsistent, so you may have to fiddle with the EQ a bit
This is an excellent-sounding pair of waterproof headphones for the price, producing clear sound with plenty of details and unfiltered vocals. There’s also EQ tuning on the companion app, so you can customize the sound profile to your exact liking. It has ANC, which does help limit the amount of ambient sound you hear, although it’s not as effective as other ones we’ve tried when it comes to blocking some higher-frequency noises. Basically, it works, just not as good as those on more expensive headphones. For calls, it picks up voices really well and does a decent job cleaning up the audio, as those on the other end reported hearing us loud and clear.
Other features we like include a sound pass-through feature, multipoint Bluetooth, customizable touch controls, and an eight-hour battery life without ANC (plus another 16 hours on the charging case. This comes with three sets of ear tips and three sets of wings for finding the right fit. And yes, finding the right fit is very important, since the sound profile on these earbuds are very different when they don’t seal the ear canal properly.
- Note : If the size of the earbud tips does not match the size of your ear canals or the headset is...
Sony Walkman NW-WS413
Pros
- IP68 waterproofing
- Comfortable and secure
- Onboard storage and player, so you can swim wearing it
- 12-hour battery life
Cons
- No Bluetooth, so you can’t use it for music streaming
- Swimming-specific ear tip can muffle sound a bit
- Old-school music player doesn’t allow you to create playlists
We love TWS earbuds as much as the next guy, but with how easy they are to lose, some people still prefer going with older-style earbuds connected together via a flexible material. That’s what Sony brings with these Walkman-branded IP68 waterproof headphones. Instead of Bluetooth connectivity, it comes with onboard storage and a built-in player, so you can use it independent of another device. This makes it useful for folks who don’t carry a phone when working out, but especially so for swimmers, since it allows to listen to music while in the water, where Bluetooth tends to become unreliable. There’s only 4GB of storage, by the way, so you’ll be listening to the same playlists over and over. Still, it should be able to store 1,000 or so standard MP3 files, so you still get to fit in a decent-sized music library. Do note, it requires you to use a swimming-specific ear tip if you want to get in the water, which does muffle the sound just a little bit compared to the standard ear tips. Still, we think it sounds much better than bone conduction headphones, which are, pretty much, your only other option for swimming.
- With ambient sound mode you can still hear a degree of external sound so you can talk to a friend or...
LG Tone Free
Pros
- IPX7 waterproofing
- Very useful companion app
- Locked-in fit
- Great ANC
Cons
- You have to charge it daily or risk running out of power the next day
- ANC pass-through modes don’t block wind noise
Equipped with LG’s SwivelGrip adjustment dial, these IPX7 wireless headphones enable a perfectly flush in-ear fit, allowing them to stay on your ears through the busiest activities. Even better, it has integrated vent holes for enabling airflow, so your ears aren’t sweating with the earbuds locked in. Sound is very clear, with the app’s EQ making it pretty easy to really tailor the audio profile to your exact liking, complete with a virtual surround option that makes it excellent for watching movies and playing games. The ANC is very well-done and blocks out noises well, complete with two pass-through modes to keep you aware of your surroundings when you want them. Do note, the ambient mode doesn’t block out wind noise, which is a downer, so you can’t use this comfortably in very windy places. Other than that, though, the ANC features work as expected. Other nice features include 10 hours rated playback, 20 hours additional playback from the charging case, and UVC light on the case to clear the earbuds after every use.
- Note : If the size of the earbud tips does not match the size of your ear canals or the headset is...
Shokz OpenSwim
Pros
- IP68 waterproofing
- Keeps ears unobstructed, so you can hear your environment
- Onboard storage and player, so you can swim wearing it
- Very durable
Cons
- No Bluetooth, so you can’t use it for music streaming
- Muffled sound like you would expect from bone-conducting headphones
Like the Sony Walkman headphones above, these IP68 waterproof headphones have onboard storage and a built-in music player, so you don’t need to pair with another device over Bluetooth, making it useful for music playback during swimming. Instead of using earbuds, though, it uses bone conduction technology, so it’s able to transmit music without having to cover up your ears. Does it sound as good regular headphones? Heck, no. Like other bone conduction units we’ve tried, sound comes across as muffled. so it’s really all about having music playing while you’re in the water, instead of a having satisfying listening experience. It comes with easy-access controls in the back, so you can easily skip tracks and pause as needed, while eight hours of playback ensures you have enough charge to keep the music going until you finish your laps. The player, by the way, supports MP3, WAV, WMA, AAC, and FLAC files.
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Jaybird Vista 2
Pros
- IP68 waterproofing
- Good sound with EQ tuning
- Secure and comfortable fit
- Very rugged
Cons
- Not the best ANC
- Limited ear tip sizes
- Likely needs daily charging
We love the combination of size, fit, and sound quality in these waterproof headphones, which are IP68-rated to ensure a solid seal that capably keeps out water and dust. It’s rugged, too, with a MIL-STD 810G rating, ensuring it can withstand rowdy outdoor adventures better than most other headphones. There’s a nice soundstage to the audio produced by these earbuds, with plenty of power and a good load of rich details coming through. It’s not as bass-heavy as some other headphones in the list, but it does come with an adjustable EQ on the companion app to dial in your perfect sound. The ANC is decent, but far from the best, with some traffic sounds actually still coming through when we wore them on a walk down a busy road. However, the fit is stellar, with the earbuds not even budging when accidentally hit, while the onboard mic picks up voice clearly with very little interference even in windy settings (it does excellent wind filtering), making it great for phone calls. Battery life is rated at eight hours without ANC and should go down to just over five with the noise cancellation running, with the charging case holding another 16 hours’ worth.
- Note : If the size of the earbud tips does not match the size of your ear canals or the headset is...
Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro
Pros
- IPX7 waterproofing
- Clear, loud, and immersive sound
- Excellent ANC
- Compact size
Cons
- Optimized for Galaxy devices, so if you use anything else, you’re not getting the full feature set
- Battery life goes down to five hours with ANC running
We love the ANC in these IPX7 wireless headphones, which do an amazing job of blocking out noise and enabling select environmental sounds to come through in the available pass-through modes. We love the compact size, too, which fits very comfortably in-ear and enables a really tight seal. It supports 24-bit high-res audio, although only from compatible Galaxy devices, instead defaulting to the AAC codec on other devices. The ANC is good and we like the fact that it automatically adjusts the level of noise canceling based on the ambient sounds it detects, although we do wish there was a manual option to just crank it up any time we want. Features include an immersive sound profile with a very deep bass, 360-degree audio that’s excellent for movies, touch controls, a battery life of eight hours without ANC (five with ANC running). and some very convenient automated features (our favorite is auto-activating Ambient mode when it hears your voice).
- Includes 1 year limited manufacturer warranty
Jabra Elite 10
Pros
- IP57 waterproofing
- Rich, detailed sound
- Premium build
- Excellent ANC
Cons
- Fit is comfortably secure, but can fall out when hit
- Needs daily charging
We didn’t expect the ANC on Jabra’s IP57 waterproof headphones to be this good, delivering noise cancellation that can hold its own against the very best offerings from the top brands. Seriously, it’s one of the best ANC features we’ve used in TWS earbuds. Sound reproduction brings plenty of detail, allowing for an overall rich listening experience, which you can further customize from the companion app, while support for Dolby Atmos with head tracking enables more immersive 360-degree sound. We love the clarity of calls using these earbuds, along with the comfortable fit that feels snug without being too tight. Other excellent features include multipoint Bluetooth, multiple pass-through modes, and a battery rated at up to 27 hours total with ANC running (both earbuds and charging case).
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