I think part of my hesitancy of buying one for myself is the knowledge of how stupid I will most probably look wearing it. I came to the conclusion long ago that any type of hat or headgear most definitely did not favour my head. I was quite surprised when I saw this baby swimming around quite happily wearing a headband which was a perfect fit so obviously was made with small children in mind. I hadn’t realised that these headbands were widely available and I must say thinking about them piqued my interest. So much so that once I returned home I looked them up online. Jukes was an unknown brand to us, but as you can see from the number of headphones we’ve included in this round-up, it certainly made an impression. Of all the headsets we tried from Jukes, these were by far the most versatile for lane swimmers. For us, Naenka’s runner pro headphones take the gold. Not only did these offer great storage space for our MP3 music, but its Bluetooth function was almost unmatched. Our music barely cut out while swimming and was always crystal clear. And even though the charger is delicate, we still found ourselves reaching for these the most – a clear winner and something we now won’t be hitting the pool without. I have to admit in hindsight that I was fairly ignorant about the use of a swimming headband, my first reaction to them was one of confusion. I viewed these headbands in the same way as I saw a headband worn by other sporting types, tennis players, football or rugby players etc. Those headbands were designed to keep sweat out of the eyes during play and it was this aspect of things that confused me.

At first I used to see what I term (for want of a better phrase) dedicated swimmers wearing headbands whilst swimming. Though we tried several in-ear headphones, this set from Sony were the only ones that actually impressed. Two types of earbuds, in a variety of sizes, come as standard, so you can wear these while running or cycling, then switch to the swimming buds for the pool. The wraparound headband design also makes these as easy to operate as the on-ear options we tried, meaning we weren’t getting tangled in wires. As a life-long wearer of swimmers’ earplugs, I have always relied on silicone putty earplugs for keeping my ears dry. You could also try wrapping a swimming cap all the way around your head, but to be honest, this is far from fool-proof.

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They are ideally suitable for a wide range of water activities including swimming, canoeing, surfing and water skiing.

There were also nice touches to these headphones such as the battery warning from the moment you switch on so you’re not caught unawares. The earplugs were also by far the best quality on test and we loved the addition of a silicone rubber case which made storing our headphones all the easier. Plus, the charger has a cradle design which is secure and gave us total peace of mind.

Wateproof headphones FAQs

At first I viewed these headbands as a sort of fad or fashion accessory for swimmers but after reading about them I have come to the realisation that they are in fact quite a smart and useful accessory for swimmers, whether they be dedicated or just fun swimmers like myself. I, nor any of my family have ever had a problem caused by swimming or water be it pool or sea, although having now spoken about it aloud so to speak I will most likely end up having to see my doctor soon. Isn’t that always the way. When it comes to bone conduction technology, AfterShokz are a brand that knows what it’s doing. And the brand’s foray into waterproof headphones for swimming are a resounding success. In fact, if they had just been Bluetooth compatible, they probably would have been our best buy. Choosing our best buy proved to be a lot more challenging than we thought. And ultimately, it came down to two choices and the seemingly minor details that separated them.