Shokz
Shokz OpenSwim Pro
This is the headphone swimmers actually use, and it's important to understand how: Bluetooth doesn't work underwater — radio waves die within an inch of submersion — so in the pool you're playing files from the built-in 32GB MP3 player (it handles MP3, WAV, FLAC, AAC, and M4A, roughly 8,000 songs). That dual-mode design is the whole appeal: Bluetooth 5.4 with multipoint on land for your run, then flip to MP3 mode for laps. The IP68 rating is genuine swim-grade — good to about 2 meters — unlike the IP67 OpenRun, which Shokz explicitly says not to swim with. Swimmers who've fought with in-ear waterproof buds falling out at every flip turn love that the wraparound band just stays put, cap or no cap, and bone conduction actually sounds better underwater than in air. Battery runs 9 hours over Bluetooth or 6 in MP3 mode, and a 10-minute charge buys 3 hours. The caveats: the physical buttons are fiddly to learn (the app helps remap them), dry-land sound has the usual thin bone-conduction bass, and loading music means dragging files over USB like it's 2008 — no Spotify offline. It also uses Shokz's proprietary charging cable, so don't lose it. If you don't swim, buy the cheaper OpenRun; if you do, there's really nothing better.
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Specifications
Highlights
Pros
- ✓True swim-rated IP68 build, tested to about 2 meters
- ✓32GB MP3 mode holds ~8,000 songs for underwater listening
- ✓Wraparound fit stays secure through flip turns, with or without a cap
- ✓9-hour Bluetooth battery; 10-min quick charge adds 3 hours
- ✓Multipoint pairing across phone and watch
- ✓Bone conduction sounds clearer underwater than most swim earbuds
- ✓Doubles as a regular open-ear sport headphone on land
Cons
- ✗Bluetooth is useless underwater — you must pre-load files over USB, no streaming apps
- ✗MP3 mode drops battery to 6 hours
- ✗Physical buttons take real learning; owners call them fiddly
- ✗Thin bass on dry land, like all bone conduction
- ✗Proprietary magnetic charging cable
- ✗$180 is a lot if you only swim occasionally
Owner Insights(190 discussions)
The OpenSwim Pro is the headphone lap swimmers actually recommend to each other, because it solves the two problems that kill every other option in the water: Bluetooth physically doesn't work underwater, and in-ear waterproof buds fall out at flip turns. Shokz answers both with a 32GB onboard MP3 player and a wraparound band that owners report staying put through push-offs, cap or no cap. Reviews and owner discussions are overwhelmingly positive - in a category full of compromises, this is the rare one people describe as simply working.
The practical experience splits by environment. Underwater, bone conduction sounds surprisingly good - owners consistently say audio is clearer submerged than in air, and better than any in-ear swim bud they've tried. On land it becomes a normal open-ear Shokz: Bluetooth 5.4 with multipoint, 9-hour battery, and the familiar thin bass that makes it a podcast-and-awareness device rather than a music-first one. The friction lives in the workflow. Loading music means dragging owned files over the proprietary magnetic cable - streaming-service downloads are DRM-locked and will not transfer, which blindsides Spotify-only buyers. The unit also wakes up in Bluetooth mode every time, so flipping to MP3 mode is a small pre-swim ritual, and the button combos take a couple of weeks to stop feeling fiddly.
Buy it if you swim laps regularly - there is genuinely nothing better, and the dual-mode design means triathletes carry one device for everything. At $180 it's a $50 premium over the OpenRun, which is the right pick if you never get in the water, and roughly the same money as in-ear swim MP3 players like Sony's NW-WS series that swimmers report losing at every turn. The main pre-purchase homework: make sure you actually own some music files.
Pros
- +Swimmers who fought with in-ear waterproof buds falling out at every flip turn call this the fix - the wraparound band stays put pushing off the wall, with or without a cap over it
- +Bone conduction genuinely sounds better underwater than in air - lap swimmers report clearer, fuller audio submerged than any in-ear swim bud they've tried
- +The 32GB MP3 mode is the whole point and it works: drag-and-drop file transfer runs about 225 songs a minute over the magnetic cable, and it plays MP3, FLAC, WAV, AAC, and M4A
- +Dual-mode design earns its price for triathletes and swim-runners - Bluetooth 5.4 with multipoint on land, flip to MP3 for the pool, one device for the whole week's training
- +Physical buttons are prominent with a crisp tactile click - owners can operate them mid-flip-turn or with winter running gloves on
- +IP68 is real swim-grade waterproofing, and long-term owners report no water ingress after months of pool sessions
- +9-hour Bluetooth battery with a 10-minute charge buying 3 hours covers even long open-water days
Cons
- −Streaming subscriptions don't transfer - Spotify, Apple Music, and Tidal downloads are DRM-locked, so pool music means owning actual files and loading them over USB like it's 2008; this is the complaint that surprises the most buyers
- −The device reverts to Bluetooth mode on every power cycle - owners find re-toggling to MP3 mode at the pool edge a small but daily annoyance
- −The button combos take real learning - owners call navigation and configuration fiddly until muscle memory sets in, and the app can only partially remap them
- −On dry land the sound has the usual thin bone-conduction bass - fine for podcasts on a run, but noticeably worse than ordinary earbuds for music
- −Proprietary magnetic charging/data cable - lose it and you can neither charge nor load music until a replacement arrives from Shokz
- −$180 is hard to justify if you swim occasionally - the cheaper OpenRun covers everything except the pool
Common Questions
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