Hi, friends!  This week, man.  This week has been busy busy busy.  I was in Philly last weekend for the CityFitGirls FitRetreat and then jet-setted off to Dallas for work.  Traveling always takes it out of me, but I kept with my workout schedule and managed to kill some awesome runs while I was out of town.  The best part of my week?  Accepting a position as a Spin Instructor at my old gym.  If you’re in Piscataway, NJ come hit up the Retro Fitness on Tues/Thurs at noon or Saturday at 11am!  I’m stoked to continue teaching on a more regular basis.  It’s truly something I enjoy and I’m looking forward to crafting new classes and sharing my knowledge with a whole new crew.

Now for the bad news, my headphones died on me.  Yes.  The headphones I had been raving about here, died.  I guess that’s what I get for consistently buying $16 pairs.  No shame.  Except, it is getting quite annoying to have to keep contacting the companies to get replacements.  You get what you pay for.  So, I was ECSTATIC (I’m not overexaggerating in the slightest here) when I remembered that Aftershokz was sending me a pair of their new Trekz Titanium Bluetooth headphones.  They honestly couldn’t have come at a better time.

They couldn’t have come at a better time for a multitude of reasons.  Aside from the fact that I was in desperate need of something Bluetooth and fancy, there have also been an unsettling amount of women running who have been murdered, so safety while out alone doing my morning runs had been a bit more of a concern than usual.  If you knew me, you’d know that I am a worrier.  My mother is a risk manager and, oh my god, did I inherit that gene.  I’m the type of person who looks for the nearest exit in the room, has to sit facing the door at a restaurant, and locks every single possible door when I go to sleep.  That’s why these headphones are such a godsend.

Aftershokz aren’t your usual Bluetooth headphones.  They don’t actually go in your ear.  Instead, they send vibrations through your cheekbones to emit sound.  That means you can actually hear what’s going on around you.  That and you’re not blasting sound straight into your ear which is always a concern of mine since I’ve been known to pump the volume up a little too high on more than one occasion.

I put them to the test.  I took them out for a run on the treadmill.  I wanted to test a couple of things: were they comfortable, could I actually hear my music, could others around me hear my music, were they going to die on me like so many before.

Verdict:

Comfort: They are pretty comfortable!  They wrap over your ears and around the back of your head.  Unfortunately, I have a kind of tiny head so they aren’t as snug as they could be.  They do offer an elastic thing you can buy to tighten them and I’m seriously considering going down that path because I really like these bad boys.  They hurt my ears only when I was running on the treadmill because of the up and down motion, but running outside and doing circuit workouts/ellipticalling/spinning/weights were a non-issue.

Sound: This is where I was most astonished.  You guys, they actually work.  They are loud and you can hear your music really crisply which I was not expecting given the fact that the sound is going through your cheekbones.  Seriously so cool.  Also, no, people around you cannot hear your music.  I tested it out by taking a video while playing music at the highest volume and also having my boyfriend listen in.  You can’t hear it anymore than you would someone’s regular headphones on full blast.  Another key factor: these are great for phone calls.  I work remotely and often take conference calls in all sorts of places.  I’ve had issues in the past with headphone speakers and people not being able to hear me, not the case with these.  They even cancel out other sounds around you so the person on the other line can only hear your voice.  Check and mate.

Durability: I will be ASTONISHED if these don’t last me. There is a clear level of quality with these headphones.  You turn them on and there is power there.  There are also a variety of different functions that these headphones can do that my previous headphones could not ie. dial a previous number, put a caller on hold, skip songs, etc.  These are not cheaply made headphones in the slightest.

Overall, I’m a huge fan.  I’m even more of a fan because, through Oct 31st, AfterShokz will donate 25% of proceeds to Bright Pink – a non-profit that focuses on breast and ovarian cancer awareness and education.  They will also be donating anytime anyone uses the hashtag #AwareWithPink.  I love it.  Philanthropic organizations always get my kudos.

These are my real and honest thoughts regarding this product and, honestly, I’m impressed.  I have been using them for everything including, most notably, my walks with Boo.  I can’t tell you how nice it is to still be aware of your surroundings while listening to a podcast or music.  PS.  Happy National Dog Day from the BOO!!!