My second-generation Apple AirPods Pro are usually my go-to headphones for almost anything—except a run or workout. While they’re perfect any other time, they often don’t stay firmly in my ears when active. But theOladance OWS Sportsheadphones are tailor-made for any type of activity and offer a secure fit, water/sweat resistance, and nice sound.
Oladance OWS Sports
The Oladance OWS Sports earphones are designed to provide a great audio experience when doing any type of activity. The unique design takes a different approach than earbuds or bone-conduction models and hangs right at the front of your ear opening. That allows you to enjoy the music while still being able to keep track of your surroundings. The earphones provide up to 15 hours of playback on a single charge. They are also IPX 8 water and sweat resistant.
A Unique Design That Actually Works
With just a passing glance, the Oladance OWS Sports stands out with a very unique design. Instead of in-ear, on-ear, or even bone conduction headphones, the OWS Sports offer “open wearable stereo.” Basically, the earbuds sit right at the base of your ear canal instead of in them.
When first trying the headphones, it took me a few minutes to figure out how to wear them. Both earbuds are connected by a cord that runs around the back of your head. The buds wrap around the ear’s outside before turning around and ending up near the ear opening. The right earbud features the power/pairing and volume controls. The charging port is further up on the right side. On the left earbud is the control button that can accomplish several tasks depending on how many times it is pressed.
The fit plays a major part in the equation when looking at these types of active headphones, and the Oladance OWS Sports headphones pass with flying colors. Usually, I’m not too fond of these types of headphones. I have a large head and ears, shave my head, and wear glasses. I’ve used other types of similar headphones and have always been disappointed.
But the design works extremely well. I’ve used the headphones for a few weeks doing any type of outdoor task I could imagine. Whether it was going for a run, doing yard work, or walking the dogs, I made sure to wear the OWS Sports. No matter the situation, the headphones were completely secure. I tried to see if moving my head or if another movement might dislodge the headphones, but to no avail.
And the secure fit was very comfortable. There were a few times I forgot that the cord was wrapped around the back of my head.
As part of its outdoor credentials, the headphones have a special coating that provides an IPX8 water-resistance rating. That means the headphones will still work after being submerged in water up to 1.5 meters deep for 30 minutes. So you shouldn’t worry about sweat or even getting stuck in a rainstorm.
Even when I worked up a sweat, the cord and headphones felt comfortable and didn’t move. Another big plus is battery life. Oladance says you can go for up to 15 hours of music playback before needing to recharge the battery. I was able to slightly beat that mark before needing to recharge. When you need to juice up the battery, you’ll use the provided magnetic charging wire. You’ll also receive a storage bag that can hold both the headphones and cable.
The charging process was my least favorite part of the experience. The cable itself was just two feet long, causing problems with positioning where I needed to charge. And the magnetic connection wasn’t particularly strong. I had to be very gentle placing the headphones down on a table, or the cable would disconnect. Always make sure to see the charging light turn on before leaving the headphones.
There are four different colors of OWS Sports available. I used the yellow version, which should definitely help you stand out when outdoors. But you can also choose from a more mutedsilver,grayor apink hue.
Hear the Music and Your Surroundings
With the unique design, I was very curious as to what to expect in regard to sound quality. The results were mostly positive.
I tried listening to all types of music, everything from classical to hard rock, while using the OWS Sports. For the most part, I was pleased with the sound, with a few caveats. Because the headphones sit on top of your ear canal, the sound won’t be as overpowering as true earbuds.
But that’s definitely a good thing as you’re able to both hear the music while also hearing what’s happening around you, like a car horn or something else. The effect was similar to the Transparency effect found on Apple’s AirPods, maybe even better. During a run, I was able to hear cars behind me and dogs barking.
Vocals were strong, but not overpowering. I could hear all frequencies well, even though I would have preferred a little more bass. Though, with sports-focused headphones, I wasn’t particularly concerned. I did need to turn up the headphone volume for the best results, but I suspect that might depend on how the earbuds sit near your ear.
Using the headphones for calls was more of a mixed bag. I could hear the callers clearly, but anyone I talked to reported a substantial amount of wind noise and that my voice would sometimes fade in and out, especially while running.
Customize the Experience With the OWS App
If you want to tweak the headphone experience, you can download the Oladance app foriPhoneorAndroid. It’s a great way to see your current battery charge and more.
To better customize your music, there is an EQ option available in the app. Past the default, balanced option, you can quickly move to a surging bass or pure voice selection. If those aren’t enough, you can customize the low, middle, and high output. I had the most success using that option to fine-tune my music.
It wasn’t perfect, but after a bit of work, my tunes sounded somewhat better than the stock EQ. Definitely give it a try after downloading the app.
The app is also the place to head if you want to customize the multifunction button. you may choose a specific action while playing music or a call with a single, double, or triple tap. Along with being able to play/pause music, it was nice to be able to customize a tap for Siri.
In general, the multifunction button was a disappointment. Along with being too small to find by touch, the button was hard to press. While running, I tried more than once to quickly press the button to pause my music or advance to the next song, but I ended up needing to completely stop and find the button. Even if the button had extended more across the earbud, it would be much more useful.
Should You Buy Oladance OWS Sports?
Overall, I was impressed with theOladance OWS Sports. The earphones fit well and are a perfect companion for anyone who can’t get enough of the great outdoors.
The big question when considering whether the headphones are right for you is the cost. There are many headphones on the market, like Apple’s AirPods, for around the same price, that sport other benefits not found with this Oladance option. But if you have the money to spend, and are constantly active, the OWS Sports might be for you.
