The Soundpeats RunFreeLite are bone conduction headphones that are out to prove you don’t have to spend more money on a pair of Shokz OpenRun headphones to listen to your music and podcasts on your runs.
Tester Mike, who’s tested plenty of bone conduction running headphones, has been putting the £35/$29 RunFreeLite to the test, which promises customisable sound, a sweat and rain resistant design and an impressive 17-hour battery life.
Find out if these cheap headphones are worth grabbing for your next run.
JUMP STRAIGHT IN:
00:00 – Intro
01:52 – Price, design and key features
04:40 – The Run Test: Comfort and Fit
07:09 – The Run Test: Sound Performance
11:04 – The Run Test: Battery Life
12:32 – Verdict
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Some other videos you might find useful:
Best Running Headphones For Marathons, Garmin and more:
Shokz OpenRun vs OpenRun Pro:
Best Shokz OpenRun alternatives to buy:
Philips TAA6606BK Review:
Foreign Hey this is Mike from the Run testers And in this video I'm going to be Talking about some new running Headphones that I have been testing now We obviously do test a lot of running Headphones on the channel and a lot of Those do sit at a more expensive price Point so above that kind of 100 pounds 100 kind of Mark and we know not Everyone has that kind of money to spend On a pair of headphones when you're Going to buy the shoes and the kit and The watch as well so It's refreshing when we find a cheaper Pair of headphones that actually may Rival the performance of some of those More expensive headphones you know Ultimately the Pinnacle is probably Those kind of shocks headphones and then You've got things like Halo and nianka As well they offer kind of the best kind Of all-round performance and some of the Kind of Philips headphones as well So these are the sound Pete's Run Free Lights now these are so Sound Beats are A kind of small Chinese brand you can Pick these up on Amazon ultimately Um they cost Um 35 pounds in the UK I think it's kind Of 30 in the US so definitely you know At that kind of cheaper price point in Terms of headphones And in terms of the features you're
Getting a lot of things that really will Rival those other headphones that kind Of sit like as I said at that kind of uh Kind of top end in terms of kind of bone Conduction headphones so I've been testing this out the last few Weeks on all of my runs kind of indoor Runs and outdoor runs to see what They're like see if you know you can Actually sell save yourself some money And pick up a pair of cheap bone Conduction headphones and get something That gives you that kind of awareness When you're out when you're you know Indoors and you want that awareness Around you and you're running and also In your outdoor kind of near kind of Traffic and if you're racing as well So yeah I'll get into the key features I'll get into how I got on in my running And then give you my verdict on whether You should buy the sound Pete Run free Light All right Okay so let's talk a little bit about Design and really in terms of what You're getting here you're getting Something that's not really breaking From the norm in terms of the design of Other kind of sporty and kind of run Focused bone conduction headphones it's Kind of this net band style design it's Roughly around the same weight as Something like the shocks open run so to
Give you an idea of the kind of how Light these headphones will be and You're getting physical buttons on the Um headphones themselves and they can Play and pause music control volume skip Tracks Kind of activate your Um I'll handle your calls as well and You are also getting multi-point uh Sharing up with me lets you pair to two Devices at the same time and switch Between the two as well In terms of charging you are getting uh USBC and you've got this kind of latch Under here that kind of covers the port As well from a kind of durability point Of view you're getting something that's Ipx4 rated so you kind of sweat and Light rain protection ultimately so not Quite the highest protection you'll find A bone conduction headphones I think Shocks and Halo and nianka they have IP67 but this is going to give you some Protection In terms of that kind of uh as I said Sweat and kind of when you're out Running in some rain as well now the Other thing to kind of note on these Headphones is that they do work with the Companion app and then that companion App you have the ability to Kind of adjust uh the sound profile so You've got some kind of preset EQ modes And then you've got kind of a custom one
As well there you can adjust the volume You can see the kind of battery status From there as well so there's some room To kind of um adjust the sound profile On these headphones and again yeah these Are open ear bone conduction headphones So the idea is that it's keeping your Ears kind of not blocked up you know Keeping you aware giving you a balance Of your sound but also what you hear Around you and that's really the aim of These headphones To make them kind of an option that are Safer to use if you're out running in Busy environments if you're running on Your own and you want to be very aware Of your environments as well as hearing Your audio These are these this is what this design Is ultimately Um you know created for and then we get Into the battery life now Um soundpeats promises you can get up to 17 hours battery life and that is much More than what's promised on things that The shocks open run open run Pro the Other kind of headphones I mentioned Which kind of sit in a kind of eight to Nine hours but as I'll get into in the Kind of testing is it does it quite Match that kind of or make that 17 hour Battery life that's something I'll get Into as I said in my run test but yeah Those are the key things you need to
Know about the sound Pete's Run 3 Lite Let's get into how they got on in the Run test [Music] Okay so let's get into that run test and I have been using these the last few Weeks on all of my runs indoors and Outdoors and I'll start with talking a Little bit about the fit side of things And how comfortable they are to wear I Think the first thing I say is These are Nice and light and that's something I Would look for in headphones for running In general I think most people would I stay put or they don't disappear you Know you don't really notice them They're not super heavy in any way or Add massive bulk I think in general and Yeah the Weight Wise they're about the Same as a pair of shocks open runs give You kind of context Um and from that point of view I was Pretty happy in terms of the fit that You're getting here obviously the level Of durability you're getting isn't as Strong as some of the more expensive Headphones bone production headphones Out there It's an ipx4 rated design but I think in Terms of my testing it's been absolutely Fine And I've seen no performance issues I'm Not seeing any connection dropouts I've Used an iPhone and an Android phone I've
Paired them to an Apple Watch Ultra as Well and a Garmin and I haven't I've had No issues from that point of view so From a connectivity point of view Um the other thing I would probably talk About are the buttons and I think the Things for me if you've got buttons or a Button system on a pair of headphones You want to make sure that they're easy To access you know when you're running Different speeds Um That also you know actually you know They're responsive as well you know the Ones that you can use when you're moving And you're on the run I think first and Foremost I think they are responsive I Would say that maybe I would prefer them To be A little bit more spaced out in terms of Where they are on these headphones and It just means when you're running a Little bit quicker it might be a bit More difficult to distinguish between The the three bugs you've got here that You can double tap you know single tap Triple tap to kind of activate the Different controls but when you're kind Of running pretty easily that I think It's absolutely fine from that point of View and it's a good set of physical Controls to have here the only other Thing I would probably add is that It wasn't a major issue but something I
Did slightly notice on a couple of runs Is that you can feel oh I did feel this Kind of little kind of grilled area on The headphones and it wasn't Uncomfortable anyway but it is something That I notice and maybe running a little Bit longer than it may May become an issue but as I said it's Not become a problem it wasn't at a Point where I thought I need to take These off because they're not Comfortable so overall for me I think They're nice and light I think the Physical controls are pretty good Overall in terms of yeah being able to Use them and again yeah you've got a Good level of durability in terms of That ipx4 rated design here as well okay So into Sound Performance now with bone Conduction eventually are making some Compromises in terms of that overall Sound quality you're not going to get The the bass the warmth the power you Know that you're going to get on in air Or kind of on-air headphones so you have To be willing to accept some of those Things but things are getting better We're seeing with those kind of latest Generation shocks headphones With a kind of uh last generation Philips headphones that I tested those Had kind of a nice Bassy sound although You're making some sacrifices and Battery life front so things are
Starting to get better and you are Getting a better balance I think with These kind of newer bone conduction Headphones so with the Sound Beats Run Free light I think out of the box they Definitely sound a little on the muddy Side there's good you know good amount Of power there I think you know when you Look at comparing some other bone Conductor emphas I think you know kind Of arriving what you're going to get From kind of shocks and they anchor and Those kind of Halo headphones that we've Tested But ultimately it is a little bit muddy Sounding Out of the Box you know so you Know you're not getting that great Clarity and kind of detail that you're Getting on the kind of kind of top end Bone conduction headphones ultimately But you have that companion app that uh Sound Beats companion app which I think Really elevates what you're getting from The kind of Sound Performance here you Have those kind of EQ modes you have Those preset and those kind of custom EQ Support kind of features there and then You can get something that I think Sounds a lot brighter sounds a lot more Balanced Um you kind of removes some of that Muddiness that you're getting it's not Totally removed but I think it Definitely seemed a little bit more
Route well-rounded in terms of that Audio quality and I think actually for a Pair of 35 pound bow connection Headphones it really does rival I think What you can get from those kind of more Expensive headphones I think ultimately You're going to get something more Detailed and more clear on things like The shocks open run the niankas the kind Of halos particularly as well but I Think actually you can get some really Enjoyable sound from these and crucially I think the bounce between What you're hearing outside and what You're hearing from their headphones is Good you know it's not getting drowned Out uh by things like traffic and wind And also when I've been indoors running You know kind of the kind of speaker Systems around me in the gym as well so From that point of view I think you know Where you really want it to deliver It's done a very very good from that Front so I said out of the box they Don't sound great and you do get that Kind of muddiness and I think that's Because it's the the kind of preset Sound Pete's EQ mode it isn't Particularly fantastic in terms of that Balance but you do have the scope to Adjust things from the app and I think It really pays off to download the app To get the best sound quality out of These headphones so I think you can get
An overall kind of bright You know kind of warm kind of you know Decent amount of power there as well a Good level of balance a little bit of Kind of detail there as well but not Massive amount of detail and then you Get a little bit kind of punch in that Sound as well so I think as I said for a pair of 35 you Know 30 bone production headphones these Do deliver pretty good sound you just Need to kind of play around that kind of EQ or use those EQ modes to get it but Yeah you know from a Sound Performance Point of View I've been relatively Surprised by what I've got with the Run Free light what I got from the kind of Music listening experience pretty much Mirror is what I got in terms of using The mics to handle calls if you want Something to handle calls in that is What you can do here I think the call Quality is good enough I don't think it Gets kind of you don't have somebody's Kind of top end kind of wind kind of Reduction kind of features that you get On the kind of higher end bone Connection headphones But ultimately I Think if you need to take calls with Them I do a okay job I think they're Better in terms of listening to your Music I think the calls or handling Calls they work pretty fine you've got The controls actually you know to
Control you know handling calls as well So if you want to use them for calls They do I would say a good job in terms Of what you see from other bone Conduction headphones but I wouldn't Expect Best in Class Performance Based On my testing and then we get into Battery life and now sound boots is Talking some pretty big numbers here say You can get up to 17 hours battery life From these headphones off a single Charge which you know that would say or You know would equate to a lot more Battery life that you're getting in Those top end bone conduction headphones You know almost more than double Basically Um in reality I don't think it's quite That 17 hours based on my testing an Hour's worth of running I saw the Battery drop by 10 which would work out To about 10 hours which is still better Than what you would get from those kind Of you know things like shocks open run The anchors the Halos Which again they fall off a little bit Off from their kind of big claims as Well of Kind of Night eight to nine Hours as well so from that point of view It does offer a little bit more than What you would get on those kind of top End headphones not quite those 17 hours But I think based on my testing if you Are listing at reasonably loud volumes
Then the battery life is going to be Significantly shorter than that kind of 17 hours I mean imagine you could get Longer than 10 hours based on you know Having the volume a little bit lighter You know running a little bit less Regularly a little bit less you know Shorter runs as well on a regular basis So you could probably get more but Ultimately I think if you are running You know with the volume I think Acceptable can allow us to get the best Audio performance I think you're looking At probably around the 10 hour mark Which is still very good and it's still More than what you're going to get on Those kind of top end bone conduction Headphones that cost you know more than The run-free light as well [Music] Okay so valid timing should you buy the Sound Pete Run free light now I think For 35 pounds thirty dollars these are Very good headphones for running from a Design point of view I think they're pretty much there the Kind of things that you would want They're light you've got physical Controls although you know maybe you had Some minor gripes around the the Positioning I think you know the Durability level is good enough I think For most people as well getting to Sound Performance as I said out of the box not
Great use that EQ mode in the app and You get something a lot nicer I think a Lot warmer more rounded more balanced as Well and you lose some of that muddiness That you get out of the box in that Sound profile for making calls and also Listening to music as well and then the Battery life well it doesn't kind of hit Those kind of lofty claims that sound Pete make here based on my testing I do Think you're still getting Level of battery life that really Matches those kind of more expensive Bone conduction headphones so I think You know you can't afford to get the Kind of top end headphones which I think Ultimately are going to get you maybe a Slightly more sleeker profile in terms Of design maybe better position head uh Kind of controls as well and I would say More D more clarity in detail and kind Of in terms of that Sound Performance Then that's kind of what you're going to Get for those kind of top end kind of Headphones bone production headphones But other than that I think you are Getting something very very good here You know you're not making huge Compromises in terms of paying a lot Less And if I personally if I had to buy a Bone production or pair of bone Conduction headphones I only had kind of 30 40 pounds to spend I would have no
Calms picking these up I think in terms Of what you're getting and the good side Definitely outweigh the not perfect side As well and I don't think you're making Massive sacrifices or compromises in Terms of paying more for those kind of Uh more expensive bone conduction Headphones so yeah for me the sound Pete Run free light very good cheap Um you know bone production headphones For runners don't be put up by the price Is ultimately what I would say because I Think you're getting a very good All-round performance from design Sound Performance and also battery life too Okay so that is our review on the sound Pete's Run free light now if you've got Any questions about these headphones we Didn't cover in the video do let us know In the comments there are other cheap Running headphones that you want us to Have a look at let us know about those As well as always like And subscribe hit That little bell to find out about Latest videos and yeah we'll see the Next run tested video Thank you Foreign
