TOZO OpenReal Air Conduction Sport Headphones

The TOZO OpenReal Air Conduction Sport Headphones feature an open-ear design that is intended to help you remain aware of your surroundings while cycling without sacrificing sound quality. The sound quality is good, and they have a great battery life, but the wind noise while riding drowns out their sound.

Bone-conduction headphones are gaining popularity among cyclists because they don't go inside your ears, which allows you to remain aware of the sounds around you, in theory. However, they can be pricey.

The TOZO OpenReal Air Conduction Sport Headphones feature an open-ear design similar to that of bone-conduction headphones, but they rely on 'air conduction' rather than bone conduction. Instead of covering your ears, the headphones incorporate a small speaker that sits in front of your ears.

In the box, you get the headphones, a manual and a magnetic charging cable – and I found the headphone easy to set up. After your phone (or other device) establishes the Bluetooth connection, the pairing process is nearly instantaneous when you turn the headphones on.

Because the headphones don't go into your ear canal, I found them comfortable to wear for long periods without any numbness, but they're a one-size-only design and I found the headband strap around the back of my head was too long. It would be good if the headband was available in two or three different lengths, as if you've a large or small head you might find it hard to get a good fit.

The headphones themselves hooked over my ears well if I stayed still but they moved away from my ears with slight movements of my head while I was riding – though there was never any risk of them falling off.

The main issue with cheaper air-conduction headphones tends to be the size when you're wearing them with sunglasses and a helmet, but I found that my glasses and helmet straps fitted well over the top of the earpieces, and a positive of the strap being big at the back was that the headphones sat nicely underneath my ponytail.

Controls

The TOZO OpenReal headphones operate via both touch and physical controls located on the right side of the headphones. Only the plate on the right earphone is touch-sensitive and this allows you to play and pause music and answer calls.

Under the right module behind the ear, there are two small rubber buttons that control volume up/down, power on/off and next/previous song commands and I found these difficult to press with a helmet and glasses on and even more difficult with gloves on. A double-tap feature on the touch area, like that on Apple's Airpods, would be more useful when riding to change songs as I found myself using my phone to control the headphones.

Sound

The sound quality was good out of the box and TOZO's App enables you to customise the sound to improve it further, allowing you to change things such as the bass level.

However, the design's main advantage is also its main disadvantage – and the sound gets drowned out when it's particularly windy or if you're riding at higher speeds. If I had the volume turned up, I found I wasn't any more aware of my surroundings than if I had been wearing 'regular' earbuds. However, they were absolutely fine on the turbo for Zwifting.

Also, because the mini speakers sit in front of your ears, they do suffer from sound leakage when the volume is at 50% or higher. This isn't an issue when you're riding by yourself – but you might make yourself unpopular in your local library or in a train's quiet carriage.

Charging and battery

The claimed battery time of the TOZO OpenReal headphones is 16 hours when played at 50% volume and I found this figure accurate. Charging time is quick too, taking just one and a half hours to charge. In addition to this I was able to get two hours of play time after just 10 minutes' charging, which is handy when you realise the battery's flat just when you're about to go out for a ride.

Somewhat less convenient is their proprietary magnetic charging port – a USB-C charging port would have been more convenient, especially when travelling, when it means you'll have to carry yet another easy-to-mislay accessory.

Value

The £49.99 price is very reasonable and a fraction of the price of other open-ear or bone-conducting headphones we've reviewed.

At £118 the OneOdio OpenRock Pro Wireless OpenEar Air Conduction Earbuds are more than twice the price, but Iwein really liked their sound quality and comfort, if not their looks.

The Shokz OpenRun Pro bone-conduction headphones are even saltier at £159.95, and like the OneOdio earbuds they still struggle with wind noise at higher speeds, which is inherent in their design. But Steve found them light, comfortable and with a great sound.

The Aftershokz OpenMove Wireless Bone Conduction Headphones that Steve found light, effective and comfortable, are closer in price at their £79.95 RRP – and are often available for around £60.

Overall

The TOZO OpenReal Air Conduction Sport Headphones provide an affordable alternative to traditional headphones – and they have good battery life, compatibility with helmets and glasses, and a good sound quality. But they struggle in windy conditions, the buttons are difficult to press when you're wearing a helmet and they only come in one size.

That said, because of their design more expensive air-conduction and bone-conduction headphones face similar challenges from wind noise.

Verdict

Good sound quality and compatible with helmets and glasses, but they struggle in windy conditions