Buying Guide · Run Tech
We compared five popular open-ear headsets on the one thing that matters when your phone rings mid-walk or mid-run: whether the person on the other end can actually hear you.
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Open-ear headphones have become the go-to for runners, walkers and commuters who want their soundtrack without tuning out traffic. But most were built for listening — and the moment you take a call outside, the person on the other end hears the bus, the wind and the street before they hear you. We looked at five of the most popular open-ear options for people who talk as much as they listen. One clearly stood out for calls.
We compared each headset's published specs — microphone and noise-reduction technology, fit, water resistance and battery — and read through owner reviews and forum threads from runners, cyclists, commuters and remote workers to see where each one shines and where owners keep running into trouble.
The criterion we weighted most: call clarity outdoors. Across the category, owners kept coming back to the same complaint — call quality ranges from "fine" to "poor" once you step outside. If you take calls on your walks, runs or commute, the microphone and its noise reduction matter more than an extra hour of battery or a little more bass, so that's what we weighted heaviest.
ThrumTone is built around the job most open-ear headsets treat as an afterthought: making you sound clear outside. Its StillMic™ call noise reduction (ENC) separates steady background noise — traffic hum, crowd chatter, engines — from your voice before it's sent, while the wraparound open-ear design keeps both ears free so you still hear everything around you. Add Bluetooth 5.3, IPX5 sweat and rain resistance and magnetic snap charging, and it's the most call-focused everyday pick on this list.
Why it wins: it's the only headset here that leads with outdoor call clarity — the criterion we weighted most — without asking you to wear a boom mic on your walk or run.
The OpenComm2 is Shokz's headset built specifically for talking, with a noise-cancelling boom microphone that swings toward your mouth and up to 16 hours of talk time. On a video call at your desk it's hard to beat. The trade-off is that boom arm: great in the office, awkward on a run or a brisk walk — it was designed for conference calls rather than for being out and about.
Shokz's flagship running headset pairs bone conduction with air-conduction drivers for noticeably fuller bass than older open-ear models, and it's rated for up to 12 hours per charge. It's comfortable, polished and a long-time favorite with runners. For calls it's respectable, but it's tuned first and foremost for music, and its IP55 rating makes it splash-resistant rather than waterproof.
Suunto's open-ear headset is aimed squarely at endurance athletes. It's IP66-rated, runs up to 24 hours with its included power bank, adds head-gesture controls and built-in LED lights for low-light runs, and syncs with Suunto watches. It's a fantastic training companion — just not one designed around taking calls.
H2O Audio's TRI Run is a no-nonsense, IPX8-rated open-ear headset with a snug, secure fit that shrugs off downpours and heavy sweat. It's durable and simple, but its battery is shorter at around 6 hours, and calls aren't what it was built for.
Every headset here keeps your ears open, and each has a real strength — the OpenComm2 for desk calls, the OpenRun Pro 2 for music, the Wing 2 for long training days and the TRI Run for wet ones. But if your phone rings while you're out walking, commuting or running, the pick built for that moment is ThrumTone: StillMic™ keeps the street out of your calls, the open-ear design keeps you aware, and right now it's 50% off.