oladance Wearable Stereo B1 headphones: first impressions
These oladance Wearable Stereo B1 headphones are very interesting because their open-ear design bridges the gap between bone conduction and in-ear running headphones.
• List price: $200 (US) / £200 (UK)
• Headphones weight: 25g / 0.9oz
• Weight with case: 59g / 2.1oz
• Colors: Black, Red, Silver, White
• Water protection: IPX4 – splashproof
• Battery life: 16 hours
• Quick charge time: N/A
• Full charge time: Two hours
• Charger type: Case and USB-C cable
• Dual device connection: No
• Compatibility: Gym workouts, commuting, home chores, walking, running outdoors
The main advantage of these sound-wise over bone conduction headphones is the superior quality and volume of the music. However, they are similarly affected by strong wind noise when taking calls, and you can’t hear as much of the outside world as you can when wearing bone conduction phones.
But this does make them very useful for hikers, runners and any outdoors people who want to be aware of the world around them.
You can wear them one at a time, the battery life is long at 16 hours and you charge them in the case via the provided USB-C cable. It would be good if the case also contained some charge for travelling without access to mains power.
The double-tap function to skip tracks or a few seconds forward in podcasts is great, as is the hold-down command for accessing the voice assistant. However, sliding your finger up or down (either side) to adjust the volume or the position of the headphones is harder to get right while running.
oladance Wearable Stereo B1 headphones: on the trails
Surprisingly, despite our concerns over the design, these don’t fall off when you’re trail running! When you first put them on they feel like they might just jump off your ear if you turn your head sharply or thump down a steep hill, but they stayed put at all times through woods, quarries, fields and trails. You can also get an additional rubber sheath for them if you have smaller ears or experience any slippage, and sunglasses seem to work fine balanced just on top.
Unfortunately, sliding your finger up or down (either side) to adjust the volume doesn’t work so well while running – it’s hard not to accidentally stop the sound with a single press as you try to locate the controls, then slide your finger up the touchscreen area while trying not to slow down or trip over.
It’s also difficult to scratch your ear or adjust the headphones without turning the sound off. With practice this obviously improves, but we find actual buttons are much easier to operate while moving at speed.
For such a high-priced product, you’d expect a better rating than splashproof to make the phones more suitable for use in the rain, and for the case to provide extra on-the-go charge. The other main downside is the gentle fuzz of the white noise that’s audible when you’re not listening to anything. This is only perceptible when you’re indoors, but it would be handy if you could power the headphones off without having to dig out the phone and use the app.
