Shokz OpenSwim is a bone-conduction headphone designed primarily for swimmers

Taking a bone conduction approach means that Shokz can deliver sound in a way that does not block the ear, allowing you to be aware of your surroundings with an open design that does not insert or ride up on your ear

Usually, bone-conduction headphones are found to sacrifice when it comes to overall sound quality, especially when compared to the best wireless earbuds or the best cheap wireless earbuds However, as we found with the Shokz OpenRun and Shokz OpenRun Pro models, the Shokz OpemSwim provides good sound both in and out of the water

Importantly, however, you can only get that sound by transferring audio files to the built-in music player, and unlike the other Shokz models we tested, the OpenSwim does not require a paired cell phone or other device from It lacks Bluetooth connectivity to allow wireless streaming

Read our Shokz OpenSwim review and a few small notes on why it is one of the best bone-conduction headphones and best waterproof headphones for swimming

The Shokz OpenSwim is one of the more expensive bone-conduction headphones: at $149 / £169 / $239 AUD, it is quite expensive for waterproof headphones that are ideal for swimming, and slightly cheaper than the third-generation AirPods

The OpenSwim is available in black and blue, and can be bought at a discount Be sure to bookmark our best headphone deals to check out the latest bargains

OpenSwim sticks largely to the same design used by XTrainerz, the swimming headphones that effectively replaced OpenSwim when AfterShokz rebranded to Shokz in 2021

Also not too far removed from the design of the OpenRun and OpenRun Pro headphones is a slender wraparound titanium frame with a speckled finish in the thin areas to distinguish them from their non-waterproof headphone siblings

Weighing only 105 ounces (about 30 g), this slender frame is welcome when wearing a swimming cap, as it can be effortlessly slipped under a swimming cap when used underwater

Shokz has placed three physical buttons on the underside of the right side of the headphones for turning on the headphones and adjusting volume, and another button discreetly placed just above them for switching between supported EQ modes and better control, which Shokz calls the "mode" button All buttons are easy to distinguish and ideal for use with your head above water

Unlike other Shokz headphones, the Swim is IP68 waterproof, making it suitable for underwater use as long as it is not submerged at a depth of more than 15 meters for more than 30 minutes

Again, OpenSwim is an open-ear MP3 swimming headphone; there is no Bluetooth connectivity, so like other Shokz headphones, it can be paired with other devices for streaming, call taking, and smart assistants can be called

What is there instead is a built-in music player that offers 4GB of storage and the ability to transfer MP3, WAV, WMA, and AAC files, using the same proprietary cable used to charge the headphones Drag-and-drop doesn't feel like the most sophisticated method in this day and age, but at least syncing and transferring files is fairly quick Audio can be placed in folders and the headphone controls can be used to select folders for playback

The mode button can then be used from the headphones to play audio normally, repeat files, or put playback into shuffle mode The mode button can also be used to switch between two EQ modes The first is the General mode, which promises a balanced listening experience when playing music There is also a swimming mode that plays audio underwater

The notable difference between these two modes is that the general mode makes the audio feel warmer and more balanced when listening to music, whereas the swimming mode seems to hollow out but shifts the emphasis to producing better clarity and power Ultimately, we found that using the headphones in general mode gave the best results both in and out of the water

I downloaded many podcasts that mixed music with general podcast chatter, and the water did not muddy the sound I regularly listen to the Hospital Records podcast, and the bass-enhanced sound was handled well by the Swim It too was clear, not terribly muddy, and joyful-soundingThe Swimming mode provided a boost to voice-based podcasts, where the increase in volume and clarity was most noticeable, but in general, using the General mode provided versatility for a wide variety of voices found to be available

Headphones with built-in music players generally take a big hit in the battery department, as it takes more power to play stored files than to receive wireless audio streams from an external playback device

According to Shokz, the OpenSwim takes eight hours per charge and two hours to fully charge from empty There is no fast charging option as found on other Shokz headphones If listening at maximum volume, eight hours is optimistic, and based on my testing, users should expect about five to six hours

If charging is required, the Shokz OpenSwim is not a standard charging cable; one side of the headphones must be clipped to a small box at the end of the charging cable This is a cable you don't want to misplace

The Shokz OpenSwim works well when used for swimming and sounds good in drier environments It is well designed, lightweight, ideal for extended wear, and has good battery life, but it is not top of its class A major drawback is the lack of Bluetooth connectivity for wireless streaming, making them unsuitable for non-swimming applications

Despite some compromises, the Shokz OpenSwim offers more than respectable sound If you like slim, lightweight, music-carrying headphones, this is a great choice and versatile enough for simply walking around, running, or even if you need something with reliable waterproofing for swimming