Earbuds for the gym: what handles sweat and stays put
What the gym asks of earbuds
At the gym earbuds have a hard life: lots of sweat, sudden moves, jumps, exercises lying on a bench and short breaks when you take them out and put them back. A good gym bud has to stay put without pressing, handle sweat and be easy to clean after the workout.
Sound matters less than you might think: in a gym with music on the speakers, the bass is lost anyway. What matters more is that the music does not stop in the middle of a set because a bud fell out.
The hold: hook or small tip
For exercises with sudden moves, such as burpees, skipping or treadmill sprints, a hook behind the ear holds best. The GOG100 have a flexible titanium core that keeps the hook steady through sprints and burpees, and the ear canal stays open.
If you prefer buds that sit only in the ear, a small, light bud is less likely to fall out, because there is no weight pulling it. The Free7 weigh 3.9 g a bud and come with four tip sizes, XS included; a tip that fits keeps the bud in place even for exercises on your back.
The GOJ05 are the lighter hook option, at 8.1 g a bud, suited to long cardio and workouts without sudden jumps.
Sweat and the IP code
Sweat is salty water, and salt is harsher than rain. The IP code tells you how much the bud can take: IPX4 means splashes from any direction, IPX5 means water jets. For hard workouts, IPX5 gives you extra margin.
The GOG100 and Free7 are rated IPX5. The GOJ05 are IPX4, and their housing is made to be rinsed after heavy sessions. None of them is made for swimming or the shower.
To hear the gym or not
Open-ear buds such as the GOG100 and GOJ05 let you hear the trainer, the person next to you asking if you will be long on the machine and the treadmill alarm. For group classes and anyone who trains with a coach, that is an advantage.
If you want to shut out the gym's music and focus, in-ear buds with noise cancelling make the difference: the Free7 have hybrid ANC up to 38 dB. Use it while you work on the machines; between sets, switch it off so you hear around you.
Battery for a week of training
The GOG100 last 10 hours on a charge plus 32 with the case, and if you forget to charge them, ten minutes on the cable gives you roughly two hours. The GOJ05 last 8 hours plus 24. The Free7 last 6 hours with ANC on plus 24 with the case.
For three or four one-hour workouts a week, with any of them you charge the case about once every two or three weeks.
Hygiene after the workout
Gym buds collect sweat, dust and bacteria. After every workout, wipe them with a soft, slightly damp cloth, then a dry one, and let them dry before you put them in the case. Do not charge them wet: dried sweat on the contacts is the most common reason a bud stops charging.
Silicone tips wash once a week in warm water with a little soap. Do not lend in-ear buds to someone at the gym; with open-ear buds, which do not go into the ear, the risk is lower, but a wipe first does no harm.
With or without the phone
Many people leave the phone on the bench next to the machine or in the locker. Bluetooth has a short range and passes poorly through bodies and walls, so with the phone in the changing room the sound cuts out. Keep the phone a few metres away, in sight, or in a pocket or an armband.
In short
For workouts with jumps and sudden moves: the GOG100, with a titanium-core hook and IPX5. For quiet at the machines and very small buds: the Free7, with ANC and IPX5. For long cardio with the least weight on your ear: the GOJ05.
Every model is in the shop, under open-ear sport earbuds and noise cancelling earbuds.