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The H20 Audio Tri Run are bone conduction headphones that come in cheaper than many of the best running headphones from Shokz, who are the dominant brand with regards to bone conduction buds.
They get the job done in terms of fit, sound quality and battery life, but don’t excel in any area and only offer good, rather than truly great, value. The H2O Audio Tri Run headphones are still worth considering if you’re looking for bone conduction headphones for your runs, but buds like the Shokz OpenRun Pro 2 offer a higher level of performance, and there are options from brands like NANK that are a bit cheaper.
Design & Key Stats
- Price: $99
- Water resistance: IPX8
- ANC? No
- Transparency mode? Full awareness
- Battery life (buds): 6 hours
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The Run Test: Likes
The H2O Audio Tri Run headphones use the classic bone conduction headphones design with earhooks on each side and a band, and this creates a very secure fit that we also found comfortable for runs of any length. We were able to wear the headphones alongside a hat and glasses without it feeling too cluttered.
There are three button controls on the buds which are simple to use during runs, and you can control playback and the volume easily with them.
Listed at six hours the battery life on the headphones is not that impressive – you can get 8-10 hours from other bone conduction headphones. However, even when using the headphones at max volume all the time the H2O Audio Tri Run did live up to this battery life, which is not always the case with bone conduction buds.
While it didn’t blow us away overall, the found quality of the headphones was good enough given the relatively low price and open design. The upper ranges were clear even at max volume, with no distortion.
Finally, as you’d expect from bone conduction headphones, you get full awareness of your surroundings when using the H2O Audio Tri Run buds, which is great for running in busy areas.
The Run Test: Dislikes
While all bone conduction headphones suffer a bit in comparison to in-ear buds when rating sound quality, the H2O Audio Tri Run buds are also not as good as top Shokz models or open headphones on this front, lacking in bass in particular. They also have a lot of cheek tickle at high volumes.
The battery life is a little underwhelming too, as mentioned above, and while the H2O Audio Tri Run headphones are OK value, they’re not cheap enough to be a really compelling alternative to better bone conduction options from Shokz, which are also often in sales.
Verdict And Alternatives
The H2O Audio Tri Run headphones get the job done as decent value bone conduction buds, and if you’re a runner with exactly $100 to spare they might be your best option, but if you can upgrade to the Shokz OpenRun Pro or Shokz OpenRun Pro 2 you’ll get better sound and battery life.
The NANK Runner4 headphones offer a cheaper alternative, and you can also get cheaper open headphones that aren’t quite as good for awareness as bone conduction buds, but still good on this front while offering better sound quality.