adidas FWD-01 Sport Headphones
Get ItI was skeptical when I unboxed adidas and Zound Industries’ FWD-01 in-ear headphones. Most brands have pivoted toward small, totally wireless buds when it comes to sport headphones; and the ones with a wire seem less bulky and obtrusive than these. But after listening to engineers and designers, then taking the headphones for a test run over the Williamsburg Bridge (as well as a gym session), I can say with confidence that I was pleasantly surprised. Plenty of in-ear buds house all the electronics in your ear, which is why most of them start to hurt half-way through your workout. That’s a lot of tech crammed in your ear canal. adidas and Zound Industries brought it all to the exterior of the bud (no easy feat).
Once you find the right combination of the bud and wing tip, and properly get them in place, you’re golden. The weight of the heaphones doesn’t yank them out of your ear, and—so far—neither have my workouts. They didn’t budge mid-run, or during 100 jump rope revolutions. Designers created and tested them with burpees to ensure stability no matter the movement. The cord is designed to look like a shoelace, but its flat design also ensures the control panel stays put. Since you tend to lose tactile sensations when you’re hustling through a sweat session, they kept the buttons easily detectable. Expect passive transparency so you can hear nearby traffic, lightning-fast USB-C charging, and 16 hours of playtime. Crank your favorite beats: The sound quality is top-notch, too. Oh, and the buds are magnetic, so you’ll feel secure rocking them all day long, without fear of losing a bud to the subway tracks or a storm drain. — Brittany Smith, Senior Editor
[$149; adidasheadphones.com]
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