Swimming, cycling, or running – and especially as the autumn and winter closes in (and continuing my useful things to have theme), can always benefit from extra musical accompaniment and this pair of bone-conducting headphones helps you stay aware, which is even more important in the darker hours of the day.

Having previously assessed out a plethora of earbuds and headsets, it was time to drop into the world of the MIXX Resonate Pro, to incorporate into my running and cycling routines. Although I don’t continually use music with exercise, as it can be distracting depending on your schedule, and the reality of earbuds falling out if crosstraining, this was the right time to see what the fuss is about.

As I’ve been meaning to test this style out, these arrived at a convenient time. On first impressions, they’re easy to connect to your Bluetooth for those curated playlists, or you can add up to 32GB of music into their integrated MP3 player (beneficial and imperative for swimming when your phone is far away), not only is the MIXX Resonate Pro genuinely very light on your head, it fits like a little headband and isn’t too much trouble at all once you get moving.

Giving you 7 hours from a full charge, these suit everyday running all the way through to marathon and even Ultra training – at all levels of experience -which is perfect for me because while I have done the long, long runs, these were so easy to wear and I could use them as and when required during the run itself. They do also offer hands-free calls, via Bluetooth, but this isn’t something I think I’d use them for, given the nature of running, cycling and escapism.

In terms of the great outdoors, you’ll be fine through all types of weather as they’ve got the IP68 rating, meaning they’re designed to work even when immersed in 1 metre of water, but no more! The good thing is that it covers rain, hail, and the in-between – which anyone training for anything will know you’re out there in all varieties of weather. In that respect, these are so much better than your standard earbuds because you don’t have to worry about water getting in your ears or any weather-related issues with the current tech you use.

This was my first time using the ‘open ear bone conduction’ style of headphones and while I personally wouldn’t use them in a public space, like a gym (although you could) or on the train, the sound they omit is strangely directed to your ears, which worked far better than I expected. The MIXX Resonate Pro sit just in front of your ears, on the edges of the cheekbones, and covert soundwaves into vibrations that are picked up by your ears – it’s pretty mad, but science! And the ‘open ear’ thing is central because it means you stay aware of your surroundings, useful wherever – or whoever – you are from rural to city settings. In the device box, you get a little magnetic charger (charge first!) to make sure they’ve got the power they need. And, as well as the long charge, they give you a 15-minute quick charge that gives a couple of hours listening.

After a good test in various running weather conditions, and we all know how quickly it can switch from sunny to heavy rain these days. They’re lightweight and felt secure on my head, and even as I was drenched, the music kept coming and – even better – I stayed aware of my surroundings, which included the edges of busy roads, and also a longer outdoor rural path that’s frequented by bikes to – covering many situations to stay alert, but also in the exercise mindset. The little controls I do sometimes struggle with on anything like this, and I usually stick to a sound level and certain playlists, but you can adjust both the volume and skip through tracks via the headphones if you need (on the right-hand side). The bigger multi-function button is also the power button, which I got the hand off in the end.

As a whole, they’re easy to use, charge, stream to and gave me a whole new experience, that also made me feel more in control – and comfortable – of where I was. The MIXX Resonate Pro do what they promise, so worth checking out if you’re considering!

Your new MIXX Resonate Pro are available to order now*: https://amzn.to/4hNee41

*This is an affliate link, the review is very much from my own assessments