We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
Updated: 2026-09-20 · 7 min read · Independent comparison
If you want a long-battery open-ear pair with a charging case, app-controlled EQ and strong everyday versatility, choose 1MORE Fit Open Earbuds; if you need maximum water protection for paddling, surfing and heavy-sweat multisport use, choose H2O Audio TRI Run Open.
These two look like the same idea on paper — open-ear audio that keeps your ears free — but they solve very different problems. One is built around a case, a long runtime and software tuning. The other is built around surviving water. That single difference decides most of the matchup.
• 1MORE Fit Open Earbuds biggest strength: 38 hours of total playtime with the charging case, 11 hours per charge, and a 5-minute top-up that returns about 2 hours of listening — plus preset EQ via the app.
• 1MORE Fit Open Earbuds biggest trade-off: IPX7 is excellent for sweat, rain and splashes, but it is not the same as IPX8, and the ear-hook design means the sound sits outside your ear canal by design.
• H2O Audio TRI Run Open biggest strength: IPX8 waterproofing plus a bone-conduction driver and soft silicone wrap-around build aimed squarely at running, cycling, paddling and slope days.
• H2O Audio TRI Run Open biggest trade-off: About 6 hours per charge with no charging case and a 2-hour charge time — fine for a session, awkward for a full day.
• Who each pick is for: 1MORE for people who want one pair for workouts and the rest of the day; H2O Audio for people whose workouts involve serious water exposure.
The 1MORE Fit Open Earbuds S50 are the more "complete package" of the two. You get an open-ear hook design with a memory metal wire and ear hooks, a 13.6 mm diamond-like-carbon driver, Bluetooth 5.3 with a 10-metre range, and touch controls on the buds themselves. The whole set weighs 18 g for the buds, with a plastic charging case that adds 63 g and measures roughly 8.6 cm by 3.83 cm by 2.95 cm. That's a genuinely pocketable case, which matters more than people expect — it means the buds live in your bag, not on your desk.
The headline number is battery. 11 hours per charge, up to 38 hours with the case, and a 5-minute quick charge that buys about 2 hours. For anyone who trains several times a week and also wants to wear these on calls or while walking, that's the difference between charging weekly and charging constantly. The case itself recharges in about 90 minutes and accepts either USB-C or a wireless charging pad, which is a small convenience you notice once you've used it.
On the audio side, 1MORE leans on a DLC diaphragm and its PurePower driver tech, plus skin-friendly silicone directional sound loops that are designed to reduce leakage. There are four microphones with an AI-enabled ENC algorithm that the brand says cuts background noise by up to 30 dB — useful for voice pickup in windy or busy conditions. You also get preset EQ options through the app, which is the real differentiator here: if you don't love the stock tuning, you can shift it. Fit-wise, three pairs of ear caps (XS/S/M) ship in the box.
Who should skip it: swimmers and anyone who regularly submerges their gear. IPX7 protects against sweat, rain and splashes — not immersion. And if you specifically want the bone-conduction sensation of sound through your cheekbones, this isn't that; it's a directional open-ear speaker design.
H2O Audio TRI Run Open: Who It's For
The H2O Audio TRI Run Open is a very focused product. It's a bone-conduction open-ear headphone with a wrap-around sport fit, a plastic-and-silicone build in gray, and Bluetooth 5.3 with the same 10-metre range. There's no charging case in the box — just the headphones, a cable and a manual — and the battery is rated at 6 hours per charge with a 2-hour charge time.
Where it wins is protection. The IPX8 rating means it's engineered to handle watersports like surfing and paddling, not just sweat. That's a meaningful step above IPX7 and it's the reason this product exists. H2O Audio has also reworked the ergonomics: redesigned button placement and a soft silicone finish, which matters a lot when your hands are wet, gloved or shaking mid-effort. Physical buttons beat touch panels in those moments, and the placement is meant to make music control intuitive while running, cycling, paddling or skiing.
Audio is handled by a bone-conduction driver with a 20 Hz – 20,000 Hz frequency range, and the brand positions the sound as its best bone-conduction tuning yet, with amplified bass. Take the marketing language with the usual grain of salt, but the design intent is clear: keep your ears fully open for awareness while still delivering music. There's a waterproof mic for calls, and note the honest caveats in the specs — Bluetooth does not transmit underwater, and the TRI Run is explicitly not designed for swimming or underwater use. So IPX8 here means "survives heavy water exposure on the surface," not "take it diving."
Who should buy it: paddlers, surfers, cyclists, trail runners and winter-sport athletes who sweat hard, get rained on, or get splashed constantly. Also anyone who prefers physical buttons and a bone-conduction sound signature for safety and awareness.
Who should skip it: people who want all-day battery, a case, app EQ or noise-cancelling-style mic processing. There's no noise control listed here, no case, and 6 hours means charging most days if you use them heavily.
• Best for battery life → 1MORE Fit Open Earbuds. 38 hours total with the case versus 6 hours per charge.
• Best for quick top-ups → 1MORE Fit Open Earbuds. A 5-minute charge returns roughly 2 hours of listening; the H2O Audio takes 2 hours to charge fully.
• Best for water protection → H2O Audio TRI Run Open. IPX8 versus IPX7 — the TRI Run is built for splashes, spray and paddling.
• Best for sound customization → 1MORE Fit Open Earbuds. Preset EQ via the app; the TRI Run has no app tuning listed.
• Best for calls while moving → 1MORE Fit Open Earbuds. Four mics with AI-enabled ENC rated to reduce background noise by up to 30 dB, versus a waterproof mic with no noise-control spec.
• Best for gloved, wet or shaky hands → H2O Audio TRI Run Open. Redesigned physical buttons and a soft silicone finish beat touch controls in rough conditions.
• Best for travel and storage → 1MORE Fit Open Earbuds. The included charging case protects the buds and keeps them charged between sessions.
• Best for bone-conduction fans and surface watersports → H2O Audio TRI Run Open. A bone-conduction driver and IPX8 are the whole point of this model.
In my opinion, most people should buy the 1MORE Fit Open Earbuds. The 38-hour case-backed runtime, 5-minute quick charge, IPX7 sweat protection, four-mic ENC calling and app EQ cover more of real life — gym, commute, calls, rainy runs — than any single spec on the other side. I'd only steer you to the H2O Audio TRI Run Open if water is the deciding factor: if you paddle, surf, or train in conditions where IPX8 and physical buttons genuinely matter, that IPX8 rating and bone-conduction design are worth giving up the case and the extra battery. Buy on the basis of what your hardest session looks like, not your easiest one.
FAQ
No. The specs state clearly that Bluetooth doesn't work underwater and the TRI Run is not designed for swimming or underwater use. IPX8 covers heavy surface water exposure like paddling and surfing, not submersion while swimming.
The 1MORE Fit Open Earbuds, by a wide margin: 11 hours per charge and up to 38 hours with the case, versus about 6 hours per charge for the H2O Audio TRI Run Open. The 1MORE also charges far faster in a pinch.
Judge it against your routine rather than the spec sheet alone. If you want one pair for workouts and daily wear, the 1MORE covers more ground. If your sessions are wet and you need IPX8 plus physical controls, the H2O Audio earns its place. Check the current price on Amazon for both before deciding — the numbers move, and that's the only figure worth comparing live.
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