Training for the Cambridge Half using the Extreme
It's been a couple of years since we first launched a sport headphone, and since then we've extended the range to cover all needs. We now have ranges of wireless, earhook and neckband which all sound great and have been built to withstand a workout. We are so confident of their performance we have a warranty scheme in place. Our latest addition is the Extreme Bluetooth sport headphone that retails for £40, is sweat and water resistant and has a secure fit. Made for runners, that like music. Which is obviously ideal for Urbanz employee James as he is into both. He is very much our product guinea pig as he is ideally suited to testing our running headphones,
seeing as he is training for a half marathon after all and he always has Spotify on the go. Whilst he moans that the weather is not right for running, it is important to point out that we have a new product that needs testing and he should get out there and get the miles in. We gave him the Extreme Bluetooth Sport Headphones, in Green, to test out and evaluate.
Firstly, James' credentials. He's worked in the headphone industry for seven years. He runs four times a week and he likes his running gear and tech. He also calls a spade a spade!
Out the box: "Being Bluetooth, the only thing I would be concerned about would be the connection and how easy to connect to Bluetooth. Like most people, I ignored the instructions and tried to connect using initiative. To be fair, it was easy. Checked I had Bluetooth on, then found nearby devices and the paired and connected in seconds. The earphone has buttons to control, so played with these before setting out on a run. Last thing I want to do is get distracted when trying to change a song I dislike. So ensured I knew how to do it beforehand".
Fit: "The fit on the whole I'd say is comfortable. I usually wear in-ear headphones when running whereas these sit on the ear more (after hooking around the ear). At first securing them into place was fiddly. I thought my ears weren't compatible!! It was more the case that there was a 'knack' to putting these into place, as once I had the fitting down I was much happier. Other that securing them into place, they were lightweight and were comfortable. In all honesty, the only time you think about comfort is when something is uncomfortable and at no stage during my testing runs did I think they were uncomfortable."
Features: "Sound quality has always taken my preference over other features, so shall state early that I was impressed. The headphones comes with IPX6, which in normal people terms is a fancy term for 'sweatproof' and water resistant. Without sounding too bad, I sweat a fair bit when running so they is a nice feature to have. Previous generic smartphone earphones that I've used have had sound issues once the sweat seeps in, so knowing that this won't be an issues is a nice thing."
Performance: This covers a few bits previously mentioned but on the whole I was impressed. The sound quality is very good indeed, the fitting (after getting used to the secure fins!) was good as the earphone stayed in place throughout with no issues. The Bluetooth connectivity was good too. After the 4th hour of use I think it started to distort, so I charged up, and next time I went running it was back to normal. As I have only ever used wired headphones for runs, the only issue I'd have is to remember to charge them up.
Durability: This has been an issue for me in the past. I have occidentally trod on a pair of neckband headphones and have sent back no-end of earphones back to Amazon as the ear-buds have been weak. I have only used these headphones for 2 - 3 weeks, and been on a dozen runs so I don't think I can say they will last forever. They seem to be fairly durable saying that, with the neckband being flexible but strong. The earpad houses the battery for the Bluetooth so feels understandably solid also.
Value for money: James declined to comment to be as impartial as possible.
James has run the Cambridge Half for the passed three years, with his best being 2 hours 2 minutes. He is targeting a sub 2 hour half this year round.
Whilst James is ideally suited for testing and for reviewing internally, this post may come across biased to external eyes. So, to avoid this we are seeking product testers to genuinely trial the product and give feedback. Our intention is to give out a couple of forms, one regarding specification and another form for evaluation. The evaluation we'd love to post on our Blog, in our Running Headphones Review section to not only pad out that category but to also give our readership an overview on how the product performed in the real world by real runners. Not that James isn't real.
