Shokz OpenRun Pro 2 Review: Sporty Bone Conduction Redefined

Shokz released its newest generation of bone conduction headphones, the OpenRun Pro 2, in August 2024. Since then, many top-level athletes have been spotted wearing them during their training sessions. Should you follow suit and get a pair? After a month of use, we’ve come to appreciate their appeal—but also uncover a few notable drawbacks.

Pros

• Deeper sound with DualPitch low-frequency drivers
• Excellent fit and comfort; reduced pressure on the temples
• Battery life closer to the promised 12 hours
• Ideal for sports, with unexpected utility at home

Cons

• No built-in music storage
• Less suited to long hair or wearing hats/bonnets
• Lacks power noisy outdoor environments
• A secondary pair, given the relatively high price

They’ve been heavily promoted on social media, often showcased by athletes who run, cycle, or swim. To stand out against tech giants, Shokz built its name on bone conduction—transmitting sound through the cheekbone rather than the eardrum. The drivers sit between the cheekbones, ears, and temples, leaving your ears open. This approach benefits safety and comfort, while also appealing to some people who are hard of hearing.

Who Are the OpenRun Pro 2 For?

Primarily aimed at ruers, walkers, and cyclists, the OpenRun Pro 2 are not entirely waterproof for swimming. Shokz offers the OpenSwim Pro for full submersion and onboard music storage. Outside the water, the OpenRun Pro 2 promise enhanced audio, courtesy of a hybrid system that blends bone conduction with conventional drivers for deeper bass. Shokz calls this technology “DualPitch,” which cuts down on vibrations and delivers fuller sound than pure bone conduction alone.

From Bone Conduction to “DualPitch”

Compared to the original OpenRun Pro from 2022, these headphones mark a shift away from 100% bone conduction. Traditional bone conduction can sometimes struggle to produce satisfying bass and may cause tingling vibrations on the temple. In response, Shokz introduced “DualPitch”: mids and highs are still delivered via bone conduction, but the lows come through small speakers aimed towards your ears. Your ears remain open, but you get fuller-sounding bass. This means it’s not pure bone conduction anymore—except on the OpenSwim Pro—but it does notably improve audio depth.

Increased Battery Life and USB-C Charging

The basic design remains familiar: a wraparound frame made of nickel-titanium alloy, plastic, and silicone, with ear hooks ensuring a secure, comfortable fit. Weighing 30g, the OpenRun Pro 2 are rated for about 12 hours of battery life (up from 10 hours on the earlier model). Crucially, Shokz has swapped its proprietary charging cable for a standard USB-C port. The headphones offer 10 days of standby time, fully charge in about 1 hour, and can deliver roughly 2.5 hours of listening on a 5-minute quick charge. There’s also Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity and an IP55 rating, making them resistant to dust and jets of water (though not submersion).

Three Buttons + a Smartphone App

Operation is straightforward: there are two volume controls on the right side (with the “+” button also acting as the power switch), and a multifunction button on the left transducer for track-skipping, pausing, or calling up your phone’s voice assistant (e.g., Siri on iPhone). For additional features—like updating firmware, checking battery life, or pairing multiple devices—you’ll need the Shokz mobile app.

Two Sizes, Handy Case

Neither a classic earbud nor a full-size over-ear, this wraparound design requires careful storage. The OpenRun Pro 2 come with a semi-rigid case that’s a bit larger than a typical earbud charging case, so it’s best carried in a bag rather than a pocket. You can also wear them around your neck while not listening; since they don’t block your ears, that’s rarely uncomfortable. Shokz offers two frame sizes (Mini and Standard) and three colour options: Black, Orange, and a White special edition (in collaboration with Eliud Kipchoge).

Managing Expectations

With the OpenRun Pro 2 heavily promoted by high-profile athletes (and that flashy orange colour), it’s easy to have high hopes. But, depending on your environment, you might initially feel disappointed—especially if you’re coming from traditional earbuds or noise-cancelling headphones. In a busy city with traffic noise, you’ll quickly find these headphones lacking in volume; external noise can overpower your music.

This was also obvious in a gym setting. With a shared music playlist blasting over the facility speakers, it was nearly impossible to hear the OpenRun Pro 2, even when listening to podcasts. It’s tempting to revert to regular earbuds—particularly those with noise-cancelling. Yet, counterintuitively, we didn’t ditch the OpenRun Pro 2. Over time, we adapted our routine, and our opinion shifted.

Safety-First Awareness

Because bone conduction headphones leave your ears open, Shokz has always promoted safety and awareness. If you typically rely solely on your vision when ruing or cycling in traffic, the OpenRun Pro 2 encourage a more cautious approach. In bustling urban areas, city noise can make listening futile. However, in quieter spots—like parks or riverbanks—we resumed listening without missing a beat.

During runs, the headphones stayed perfectly in place. They’re lightweight, with minimal pressure on the temples. Even at higher speeds, they don’t jiggle or shift—a stability our legs couldn’t always match! In a city environment, being able to hear an approaching bus from behind was reassuring. Overall, the sense of freedom is unmatched by earbud-style headphones, which can feel claustrophobic or sweaty during workouts.

Unexpected Home Use

Although our main usage was ruing (often with podcasts rather than music), we realised these headphones are actually quite good for general home use. After exercising, we’d still have them on and happily transition to taking phone calls or playing music around the house. They certainly don’t rival premium over-ear sets, but the DualPitch system has improved low-end tones enough to make casual listening at home enjoyable. Call quality is decent, too: while the microphone doesn’t sit near your mouth, Shokz’s software does a fair job of noise suppression.

Limitations with Long Hair and Accessories

Despite these positives, the wraparound design does have some downsides. Anyone with long hair might find it awkward, especially if your hair is loose around your neck. Tying it back in a ponytail can help. In colder climates, wearing a beanie or ear-warmer alongside these headphones can be cumbersome. And at home, if you want to lie down on a pillow, the neckband pushes the ear hooks forward. Two available sizes primarily address ear positioning, but they don’t solve the basic constraint of the wraparound frame.

After a month of using the Shokz OpenRun Pro 2, we started paying more attention to how athletes handle audio gear. Many who want to stay aware of their environment either run without headphones or wear just a single earbud. The OpenRun Pro 2 target these users, providing a comfortable and fully open-ear experience. You can wear them without playing anything until you find a quieter space, then enjoy full stereo sound. Thanks to the DualPitch low-frequency drivers, the once anaemic bass of bone conduction is now improved and should suit most general listening.

Still, if you’ve grown accustomed to active noise-cancelling earbuds for city ruing, the OpenRun Pro 2 will require an adjustment. Yet, for us, they never ended up collecting dust, and we continue to use them for ruing, walking, or exercising in moderately quiet areas—often turning to podcasts but occasionally playing music as well.

A final caveat: the wraparound band can be problematic for long hair or wearing bulky headgear, and you’ll often find yourself maxing out the volume noisy outdoor settings. Nonetheless, the OpenRun Pro 2’s safety benefits, stable fit, and respectable audio quality (for bone conduction) make them an appealing secondary pair of headphones—one that you might end up using more often than you’d initially expect, especially for sports and at-home convenience.