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Last Chance to Score My Favorite Workout Headphones on Sale for Memorial Day

Shokz headphones quite literally saved my life, and if you do things outside, you should consider picking up a pair with a $40 Memorial Day discount.

Russell Holly
Russell Holly is a Managing Editor on the Commerce team at CNET. He works with all of CNET to assemble top recommendations as well as helping everyone find the best way to buy anything at the best price. When not writing for CNET you can find him riding a bike, running around in Jedi robes, or contributing to WOSU public radio's Tech Tuesday segment.
Expertise 7 years experience as a smartphone reviewer and analyst, 5 years experience as a competitive cyclist Credentials
  • Author of Taking your Android Tablets to the Max
Russell Holly
3 min read

I have one piece of advice for anyone who lives to walk, run, ride or really do much of anything outside near cars and that is to stop wearing normal headphones. As much as I love my great big over-the-ear headphones with spectacular noice canceling, when I'm near moving cars, it's a must to hear the world around you. Specifically, in my opinion, you need OpenFit true wireless headphones from Shokz, because they're the best you can buy. And during Memorial Day sales, these headphones are also significantly discounted.

I love a good pair of headphones, but I don't love spending a ton on them. My threshold for spending on headphones is about $100, which is why when all of my cycling friends started raving about bone-conduction headphones a few years back, I was more than a little hesitant because I would probably only use them wen working out. But the OpenFit headphones from Shokz are designed to use in places where bone conduction may not be enough, and as a result I am rarely seen without mine on.

Shokz makes some of the best open-ear headphones you can buy today, and a discount here never hurts. This price is within $5 of the lowest we've ever seen them go too. 

A week after I picked these up, I was nearly sideswiped by a pickup truck, and the only thing that saved me was hearing it come up behind me. There's a reason these are recommended on our list of the best running headphones you can buy. 

If you're only looking for outdoor-friendly workout headphones, my first recommendation is always Shokz. Bone-conduction headphones sit just outside your ear, resting on the bone. Music vibrates through a set of pads into your skull, and you hear those sounds as if they're coming from a speaker a few feet away. You can hear everything you're listening to on your phone without interrupting the sounds coming from the rest of the world around you. For cyclists and runners -- really anyone who does anything outside -- this is a game-changing experience. It's more accurate and pleasing than normal headphones with "passthrough mode" and you sacrifice very little in audio quality. 

My favorite bone-conduction headphones, and I've tried them all, are the OpenRun Pro headphones from Shokz, the company formerly known as Aftershokz. They're waterproof (which means easy to clean when I'm all sweaty), the battery lasts me about seven hours on a charge (perfect for those 70-mile riding days), and they're comfortable enough that I can wear them all day and not feel them pressing on me. They charge magnetically with a proprietary charger, but Shokz includes two cables in the box in case you lose things like I do. Oh, and right now the price on these has dropped to an incredible $140.

If this headphone deal still a little rich for your blood, no worries. Shokz also has cheaper OpenRun and OpenMove bone-conduction headphones with up to six hours of battery life and IP55 dust- and water-resistance with prices from $80

Whether you're physically active outdoors or you just like exploring new things, I highly recommend giving these headphones a try.

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