Cleer Audio Arc 2 Sport

Best-sounding open-style earbuds with ear hooks

JBL Endurance Peak 3

Best new ear-hook style true-wireless earbuds under $100

$200 at Amazon

Show more (5 items)

Not everyone enjoys wearing earbuds with ear hooks, but they offer an extra level of security because their around-the-ear design tends to keep them from falling off your head. This is an important feature if you wear earbuds for running or biking, activities that can involve a certain amount of head jostling that can lead to a bud slipping out of your ear and possibly getting lost.

Here’s a look at the best earbuds with ear hooks, all of which we’ve tested. Most of them are affordable, with most costing less than $100. We’ll update this list as new sports earbuds hit the market.

Best sports earbuds with ear hooks of 2023

Shokz, the company formerly known as AfterShokz, has long been the leader in bone-conduction headphones. Models like the OpenRun Pro, which deliver sound to your ear through your cheekbones, are popular with runners and bikers who like to leave their ears open for safety reasons. However, Shokz’s new OpenFit model, the company’s first true-wireless earbuds, don’t use bone-conduction technology. They have an open design that fire sound into your ears using custom speaker drivers, which Shokz dubs “air conduction” technology.

I was impressed by how lightweight (8.3 grams) and comfortable they are — they have one of the best ear-hook designs I’ve tried (Shokz calls it a Dolphin Arc ear hook). It’s soft and offers just the right amount of flexibility to conform to the shape of your ear, with “dual-layered liquid silicone that provides a pliable fit,” according to Shokz. The earbuds also sound quite good for open earbuds, though not quite as good as Cleer’s Arc 2 Open Ear Sport earbuds ($190) that also have an ear-hook design.

Pros:

• Lightweight and very comfortable
• Excellent design
• Sound quite good for open earbuds
• Good call quality

Cons:

• Pricey
• Touch controls could be a little better

Read our Shokz OpenFit review.

1More makes a couple of open sports earbuds with ear hooks. The Fit S50 buds are the flagship ($120) and feature a little better sound than the Fit SE S30, have a more premium design and are fully waterproof (IPX7 rating). But I like the fit a little better on the step down S30, which is IPX5 splash-proof (can sustain a spray of water) and costs half the price, making it a better value.

The case is bulky and feels a little cheap (the lid is flimsy) but the buds themselves seem sturdily built and the ear hooks are nice and flexible. They have 14.2mm drivers that output decent but not great sound (there’s a bit of distortion at higher volumes), which is par for the course for these types of open buds that sit on top of your ears and fire sound into them. They’re also good but not great for voice calling. A companion app for iOS and Android allows your tweak the sound with an equalizer and you can update the buds’ firmware. The buds are available in black or white and offer up to 10 hours of battery life at moderate volume levels.

Pros:

• Comfortable fit
• Affordable price
• Good sound for open earbuds
• Good battery life 

Cons:

• Design is a bit plain
• Case lid feels slightly flimsy

Cleer’s original Arc earbuds were solid sport earbuds that featured decent sound for open-style buds that sit on top of your ears and fire sound into them. This new-for-2023 model steps up the sound quality and offers additional refinements and feature upgrades, including a new “enhanced” charging case with UV sterilization and multipoint Bluetooth connectivity (Bluetooth 5.3), all of which makes for a significantly improved product.

Cleer says the Arc 2 Sport buds feature “greater flexibility for improved comfort,” and I did find them more comfortable to wear than the original Arcs. That said, not everyone loves this style of open earbuds, which lets sound in so you can hear ambient sound around you for safety purposes.

With a new six-axis motion sensor, you can actually control the buds with head gestures — you answer calls by nodding and skip tracks forward by turning your head to the right and skip a track back by turning your head left. Thankfully, those motion controls can be turned off if you don’t want to use them. 

These are among the first buds to support Qualcomm’s aptX Lossless format, if you’re one of the few to have an Android device that supports that audio codec (plenty of Android phones support aptX Adaptive). Since these aren’t high-end noise-isolating earbuds, you probably won’t be able to tell the difference in sound quality — I couldn’t — but all that aside, these do sound very good for open-style earbuds. They lack a bit of oomph to their bass but they’re punchy enough, offer good clarity and didn’t distort at higher volumes. They also played sufficiently loud. 

They have an IPX5 water- and sweat-resistance rating, which means they can withstand a sustained spray of water, and battery life is very good at up to eight hours on a single charge, plus there’s a little more than three additional charges in the slim but still somewhat bulky charging case. It’s big compared to an AirPods charging case, but svelte compared to other cases that house this style of earbuds.

These offer respectable performance for voice calls, but callers did say they heard a certain amount of white noise when I spoke to them from the noisy streets of New York — that whooshing sound is the by-product of the earbuds’ noise-reduction efforts. 

Pros:

• Improved design with smaller charging case
• Very good sound for open earbuds
• Good battery life and support for aptX Lossless
• Option to control buds with head gestures 

Cons:

• Pricey
• Lack a bit of oomph to their bass
• Voice-calling performance is decent but not great

The Soundcore Sport X10 have an interesting design with rotating swiveling ear hooks that flip up when you’re using them and flip down when you want to set them in their charging case, which has a smaller footprint than a lot of buds with ear hooks. 

As long as you get a tight seal, they sound good, with powerful, punchy bass and good detail. They also have active noise canceling, which is effective though not as good as Sony or Bose’s noise canceling. They’re also fully waterproof with an IPX7 rating, which means they can be fully submerged in up to 3 feet of water for 30 minutes. Battery life is rated at up to 8 hours with an additional three charges in the charging case.

Pros:

• Swiveling ear hooks for a more secure fit
• Smaller charging case than other earbuds with this design
• Good sound and battery life
• Fully waterproof 

Cons:

• Noise-canceling performance is only average
• Some people may not be able to get a tight seal

JBL has upgraded its ear-hook style sport earbuds for 2023. Available in black or white, the Endurance Peak 3 buds offer better battery life (up to 10 hours with four extra charges in their case) improved voice-calling performance and an IP68 rating that makes them fully water- and dust-proof. They also have an Ambient Aware transparency mode and Talk Thru mode that can automatically lower your music’s volume level and open up the buds to the outside world. That means you can have conversation with someone without removing the buds from your ears.

They stayed on my ears very securely during runs and I thought they sounded quite good, though they do have a bit of bass push (i.e. they have powerful bass). Just be aware that if you don’t get a tight seal, sound quality will be significantly worse. Also, like other earbuds with ear-hook designs, the case is on the beefy side. That said, the buds do seem durable and if you get a good fit, they’re an excellent and less pricey alternative to the Beats Powerbeats Pro. I also thought the touch controls worked well; I was easily able to toggle through the sound modes.

Pros:

• Improved battery life (up to 10 hours)
• Improved voice-calling performance 
• Good sound quality if you get a tight seal
• Fully waterproof 

Cons:

• Case is fairly large
• Some people may not be able to get a tight seal

With so many new wireless earbuds and headphones being released on what seems likely a weekly basis, it’s not easy for companies to differentiate their products in the marketplace. Skullcandy hopes its new voice-driven platform, Skull-iQ Smart Feature Technology, will do just that. Similar to the Apple AirPods’ “Hey Siri” feature, Skullcandy’s version allows you to say “Hey, Skullcandy” to issue hands-free voice commands without touching a button. Skull-iQ debuts on the sports-oriented Push Active, and the $100 Grind Fuel, which will be firmware updatable via the Skullcandy App.

With their ear-hook design, they’re essentially a more affordable version of the Beats Powerbeats Pro and they fit my ears slightly better than the Powerbeats Pro. I’m not usually a fan of ear-hook style buds, but this is one of the better ones. 

The Push Active True earbuds are equipped with Bluetooth 5.2, are IP55 splashproof, have built-in Tile Finding Technology and are rated for up to 10 hours of battery life on a single charge at moderate volume levels. 

Pros:

• Affordable
• Good sound quality if you get a tight seal 
• Control with Skullcandy’s voice technology
• Built-in Tile Finding Technology

Cons:

• Case is a little large
• Some people may not be able to get a tight seal

Battery Life Rated up to 9 hoursNoise Canceling NoMultipoint NoHeadphone Type Wireless earbudsWater-Resistant Yes (IPX4 — splash-proof)

The Beats Powerbeats Pro earbuds have been on the market for a few years but remain popular and are now available in several color options. Their jumbo charging case is a notable drawback, but they offer many of the same features as Apple’s AirPods 2 (they’re equipped with Apple’s H1 chip) but have better sound so long as you get a tight seal (they should fit most — but not all — ears well). There’s no active noise canceling but battery life is strong at up to 9 hours and they’re IPX4 splash-proof.  

Note that the Powerbeats Pro are frequently on sale, so you should only buy them if they’re substantially discounted.

Pros:

• Durable design
• Equipped with Apple’s H1 chip 
• Good sound quality if you get a tight seal
• Good battery life

Cons:

• Case is fairly large
• Some people may not be able to get a tight seal
• Released in 2019 (they’re kind of old) 

Read our Beats Powerbeats Pro review.

The OpenRock Pro buds aren’t so different from a lot of open sports earbuds with ear hooks that cost a little more than $100, but their charging case is different. Most of these types of buds lie flat in their charging case. However, these slide vertically into their charging compartments and the case closes from the top — a little like a Zippo lighter.

They’re sturdily built, comfortable to wear and feature good sound for open ear buds with ample bass thanks to 16.2mm drivers. Voice-calling performance is also decent — they have four microphones. Available in black or silver, they’re IPX5 water-resistant (they can withstand a sustained spray of water) and have excellent battery life — up to 19 hours at moderate volume levels. 

Pros:

• Comfortable fit
• Innovative case design
• Good sound for open earbuds
• Excellent battery life 

Cons:

• OpenRock logo is a bit garish
• Slightly pricey

There are several open earbuds on Amazon with an ear hook design that’s similar to that of the Oladance OWS2 buds. But these buds look and feel a little more premium than many of those. This second-gen model includes some upgrades, including Bluetooth 5.3, multipoint Bluetooth pairing capabilities and increased battery life (up to 19 hours on a single charge at 50% volume).

I found them comfortable to wear and they have a little bit bigger sound than some of these open sport buds (they have 16.5 mm drivers), though they do distort a tad at higher volumes. I also liked their glossy finish in the orange color I tried. The case is slim but a bit long and the buds are a little pricey at $150, but overall they performed well and seem durable. They’re IPX4 splashproof.  

Oladance also makes the newer OWS Pro, which have a lighter design and smaller charging case. But those buds cost $230. 

Pros:

• Comfortable fit
• Bigger sound than some open buds with ear hooks 
• Premium look and feel
• Excellent battery life 

Cons:

• A bit pricey
• Charging case is a bit large lengthwise

Battery Life Rated up to 15 hoursNoise Canceling NoMultipoint NoHeadphone Type Wireless earbudsWater-Resistant Yes (IPX8 — can be fully submerged for long periods of time)

While the Tribit MoveBuds H1 only sound decent, not great, there’s a lot to like about them. They feel sturdy and are fully waterproof with an IPX8 rating. They also have very long battery life — up to 15 hours — and support Qualcomm’s aptX audio codec. Many Android smartphones offer AptX Bluetooth streaming.  

• Durable design
• Very long battery life 
• Support for aptX audio codec for Android devices
• Fully waterproof

Cons

• Case is a little large
• Sound quality isn’t quite as good as competing models

Not necessarily. Buds with integrated ear hooks or wingtips (or sports fins) are designed to help keep your earbuds in your ears. It’s really a design preference. Some people like the look and feel of earbuds with ear hooks while others prefer earbuds with sport fins. That said, if you’re looking for an open buds design, you’re more likely to fin open earbuds with ear hooks than sport fins. 

Because they’re bigger than your typical earbuds, earbuds with ear hooks usually come with a fairly large charging case that may not fit so well in a pants pocket (especially tight jeans). That said, we’re seeing better designs for not only the buds themselves (and the ear hooks) but the cases are getting more compact. 

Generally, excellent — and usually significantly better than what your get with standard earbuds. That’s because earbuds with ear hooks are largely and can house bigger batteries. Typical battery life ratings for buds with ear hooks are in the 10-15 hour range while traditional true-wireless earbuds are usually rated for anywhere from 5-8 hours of playback time at moderate volume levels. 

!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)
{if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?
n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};
if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version=’2.0′;
n.queue=();t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;
t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)(0);
s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,’script’,
‘https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js’);
fbq(‘set’, ‘autoConfig’, false, ‘789754228632403’);
fbq(‘init’, ‘789754228632403’);

Xem chi tiết và đăng kýXem chi tiết và đăng ký