Did you know that there are headphones that provide sound through bone conduction? Me neither. When AfterShokz sent us a pair of Trekz Titanium bone conduction headphones, I didn’t know what to expect.
First off, bone conducting technology is this newfangled method of beaming sound through your cheekbones. They rest on the sides of your face, but the sound you’ll hear is exactly as if you had a pair of earbuds sitting directly in your ears. Weird, I know.
I’ve played with the Trekz Titanium for a month now, and while it won’t be replacing any of my heavy-duty headphones for long periods of gaming or music listening, it’s pretty much perfect for workout sessions and strolls in the park with Pokemon Go at the ready. It’s wireless, too, so I never had to worry about messing around with cords in my pocket.
With a noise-cancelling microphone on each earpad, it doubles as a headset, and can be used to receive and end phone calls using the controls. It was easy to hold a conversation with the Trekz Titanium in spite of the ambient noise.
Speaking of the control arrangement, it’s easy to figure out where the volume buttons are—assuming you don’t want to pull out your phone to control the volume. The voice alerts help with just about everything else, including setting the whole thing up.
The Trekz Titanium loops around the back of your head and the two pads should be placed on your cheekbones, in front of your ears. It might take a few minutes for you to figure out how best to place it, especially if you wear glasses like I do. They’re definitely more comfortable if you don’t have any glasses on. Either way, I never had any issues with them falling off my head, which is a huge step up from having earbuds fall out.
One of the biggest issues with wearing earbuds or in-ear monitors when you’re outdoors, aside from the chance of them falling out the instant you speed up your walk, is the fact that you can hear everything around you while still listening to music. Nothing’s more dangerous for a pedestrian than being unaware of your surroundings and getting run over from behind. In this regard, the Trekz Titanium is a godsend.
With 6 hours of battery life, the Trekz Titanium never ran out of juice whenever I used it. Interestingly, you can even check how much power’s remaining by hitting either of the volume buttons if you have your music paused.
Trekz Titanium won’t replace whatever you’re using for couch gaming, but that’s not what they’re for. They’re intended for outdoor use and exercise, and they definitely excel at the task AfterShokz designed them for.
Disclosure: AfterShokz provided us with a review unit. They retail for $129. You can get them directly from AfterShokz.
