Losing situational awareness of your environment because your earbuds or headset cut you off from the sounds around you can be super-dangerous if you're biking or jogging. Various solutions are out there. Some people use small Bluetooth speakers, but that may be objectionable to those around you. Biagi's The Dash earbuds mix-in audio via microphone, but (for me at least) i didn't get enough audio feedback about the world around me. By far the cheapest solution is to use earbuds that don't fully obstruct the ear canal. But, what if there was a solution that left the ears completely unobstructed. Enter The Aftershokz AS600PK Trekz Open Ear Wireless Bone Conduction Headphones.
Rather than going in the ear these wrap around the back of your head, go over the earlobe, and rest on your cheekbones. Audio vibrations go from the bone to your eardrums. And they work, sort of. More about that in a moment.
The feature set is similar to most other sports phones: You can make calls by pressing a button. They are sweat-resistant. Their titanium reinforced design is lightweight and still rigid. On paper they seemed like a natural for athletes on the go.
Even though they rely on vibration (and despite a promised technology called "leakslayer”), they are not silent to those around you. Much like a pair of sound buds, they do leak sound. If you were sitting next to me in the library with the sound up, I'd be pretty upset. Of course, many earbuds suffer from the same problem
There are two modes of using the Trekz, and each yields a very different experience. When used as described above the sound is reminiscent of what we used to call the AM radio sound. Bass is attenuated, mid-ranges are noticeably dominant. The sound is passable, but not audiophile quality by any means. Given the purpose of the set, to bring your music to a run or ride while keeping you safe, this should not be a deal-breaker. You'll be happy to have the music with you.
The surprising other mode is to use the (supplied) earplugs. These literally block sound from the ear canal, so substantially cancelling ambient sound from being heard. This boosts the perceived volume of the headset, and boosts the bass. You could use the earplugs in situations where you want to be isolated sonically. However, even with the plugs the sound was not even close to the best similarly priced phones.
I found the Trekz somewhat uncomfortable to use for extended (and sometimes even short) periods. The pressure on my cheekbones was irritating, and I sometimes found the vibrations made my ears feel "buzzy", even after I took them off.
