Saturday, November 18, 2017

Product Review: Aftershokz Trekz Air


"Disclaimer: I received Aftershokz Trekz Air to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!"




Hi everyone!

First of all, I want to say I am so excited to have the opportunity to test these out! Secondly, I should mention this is my first product review, will try to be as coherent as possible. And of course, keeps it real!


Receipt of the package, was like a kid on Christmas!




What's in the box? What's in the box?

  • Charging cord.
  • Ear plugs. You can cancel out noise and still listen to music through their bone conduction technology?!
  • Pouch to carry your Aftershokz Trekz Air's!
  • Instruction manual
  • And the Aftershokz Trekz Air's of course!



Setup: Working in IT and being somewhat tech savvy, I tend to skip reading instructions initially and try to figure things out on my own. Will do the basic controls and go from there.

First thing I did was charge it up the night before my first use. Light will change from red to a blueish white when ready to go.


Before heading out for my first run, I selected the power button, I hear a pretty voice, "Pairing". At this point, go to your cell phone's blue tooth options, on my cell, when selecting Blue Tooth, it auto performs a scan, your cell my vary. My cell saw the new device, I merely had to select the new device to pair it. I did this right as i was heading out the door, took place pretty quickly and easily, did not delay my run at all.


Basic controls: Power, and volume. Hold the power down button for a few seconds, you'll hear "Welcome to Trekz Air, Connected". Once your music is playing, the power button also doubles as the increase volume button, the decrease volume is right next to the power/increase volume button. You'll hear a chime for each volume level change. Hold the power button to turn off the device, you'll hear "Power Off".


One thing I did notice, if your music isn't playing, there is no light indicator to remind you that the device is still powered on. Remember to shut down the device when you are done.

Initial run: the first few seconds you have the device on, you do feel it's presence. But once you get going, you don't even realize it's there, it is extremely light. The bone conduction technology is very interesting. You can hear the music at a comfortable level and still hear your surroundings. My first test was at my trail. Could hear my music, the gravel, the wind and leaves, the babbling brook, and of course the bicyclist saying "on your left!".

Neighborhood run: I zig-zag through the streets of my neighborhood, followed by looping around on a heavily traveled road. Definitely feel safer now that I can hear my music and my surroundings comfortably at the same time!

First cold weather run: Was a bit chilly out, wind chill of 36! Time to wear a beanie hat. These headphones are the first wrap around the back of the head style that I have worn in a long time. When placing the beanie on, had to adjust my hat to be able to cover the top of my ears. Wasn't a problem, just worth noting. 


Taking calls? I tend to avoid taking calls on my run. Running is my therapy. Will do a test call for you. Update: test completed. Participated in a work conference call on my work from home day, and later a call with my wife. I could hear them very clearly. Neither of them mentioned any issues. Would say these pass the test.

Battery life: I'm not one to live on the edge with battery life. Will use for a few runs then charge. The specs state 6 hrs. I will be giving the battery a good test on November 19th, my first full marathon. Will provide an additional update after the 19th. Update: the battery lasted through the marathon, satisfied!


Additional controls: You can pause/restart music with the side button on the bottom right of the below pic. There are several additional controls, such as: skip a song, reject a call, place a call on hold to take another, redial, etc.

Full product description and specs can be found on the Aftershokz company website here.

Overall, through my first couple weeks of testing these bad boys, the Aftershokz TrekzAir headphones are very light and comfortable. You do feel them when you place them on your head, but like glasses, they are so light, you quickly forget that they are there. You can listen to your music and still be able to hear your surroundings at a comfortable level. I can hear my crazy neighbors drive by on my neighborhood runs, or bicyclists/other passersby along my trail, great safety feature, great characteristics, would definitely recommend these.

Purchase below
Score a bonus *BIBRAVE* trucker hat with your AfterShokz Trekz Air purchase with code “TRUCKER” at http://bibrave.aftershokz.com/.

Both items need to be added to the shopping cart for the code to be applied!


Let me know if you have any questions, comments, or concerns regarding this product. Will do my best to answer, and of course, provide honest feedback. 









9 comments:

  1. HEY, thanks for the review! I am in the same area, in the Lehigh Valley. You know how cold it's been. Do these fit well underneath a hat/headband? Or does it hurt/fatigue your head after a while? Any input would be great, thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey there! Sure thing, thanks for reading! I know what you're saying about the temps lately! I usually wear a beanie as it gets cold. The first couple times, had to adjust the hat a bit, now it's automatic, no issues. And definitely no discomfort. During the extreme temps, I also wear a balaclava, basically a ninja mask, putting that on can be a bit of a pain, but would be with any headphones. I did recently notice they don't like when you turn your head all the way to the side when wearing the mask, the mask turned the back of the headphones in a funny way, had to readjust.

    If you're wearing a hat or headband, you should be fine though.

    Let me know if you have any other questions. Thanks for stopping by!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know exactly what you mean. I ran with a balaclava this morning. Brr. I am seriously thinking about these headphones. I like the look of the trekz airs, too. Smaller compared to the originals. I know what you mean about them sliding around under a mask. I guess there are no perfect headphones. Trying out the freedom f5 but jaybird. So lightweight, but I can't get them to stay in my ears...

      I also foresee sweat becoming a problem with those. Not so much with the aftershokz, huh?

      Congrats on the first marathon! Philly? I ran that twice. Love that marathon.

      Thanks for the input! Let me know if you have any other thoughts!

      Delete
  3. Good review! Trying to decide if I want to spend this much money so reading all I can!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for checking it out! I'm still enjoying these, still my primary headphones! Used to always wear wrap around ear style until these, wore them recently when it was raining hard out. Definitely prefer the aftershokz now! and love being able to hear my surroundings on the run. I recently received a coupon code via email, use 'HEYYOU' to save $30 (expires 03/16).

      Good luck making your decision, thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  4. Hi, Nice thorough review! Any comments on wearing these headphones and wearing glasses too? I tend to take my glasses off to read my phone so hoping glasses on/off not an issue. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! I haven't had any issues with my glasses. Double checked. My glasses slid off with no disruption to the headphones. Able to place my glasses back on as well. The one arm of my glasses may be wide as it rubs my ear, but was still able to slide in without moving the headphones. Lol let me know if you have any questions! I still wear them every day! Unless its pouring, then I go with cheapies. Lol

      Delete
    2. Today was a good test! It was foggy this morning, plenty of moisture in the air. Had to remove my glasses several times. No disruption to the headphones!

      Delete
  5. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete

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