We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
Updated: 2026-09-28 · 7 min read · Independent comparison
If you want an open-ear headphone that keeps you aware of traffic, trail and conversation while you run or ride, choose BETAHEAR Bone Conduction Headphones; if you need a headphone that survives actual submersion in a pool, choose Sanpyl Swimming Headphones Underwater. Those two sentences are the whole decision. Everything below is just the reasoning behind it.
• BETAHEAR Bone Conduction Headphones — biggest strength: a genuinely open-ear bone conduction design that leaves your ear canal completely free, so you hear music and the world around you. It is also the lighter of the two by a wide margin at 29g, with a 10-hour battery and Bluetooth 5.3.
• BETAHEAR Bone Conduction Headphones — biggest trade-off: there is no noise control at all, and the sweat resistance described in the specs is aimed at sweat, not at being submerged in water. This is a land headphone.
• Sanpyl Swimming Headphones Underwater — biggest strength: an IPX8 water proof rating, which means it is built to be used in the water rather than merely splashed. It pairs that with noise reduction and intelligent voice prompts.
• Sanpyl Swimming Headphones Underwater — biggest trade-off: it is the heavier, bulkier option at roughly 55g, it uses the older Bluetooth 5.0, and it seals your ears with silicone earplugs — which is great in a pool and less great when you want to hear a car behind you.
• Pick BETAHEAR if your sports are running, cycling, hiking or driving and you want your ears open.
• Pick Sanpyl if your sport is swimming and you want music underwater with your ears sealed.
The BETAHEAR set is built around one idea: keep your ears open. There is no earbud and nothing pushed into your canal — the sound is delivered by a bone conduction driver that covers a 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz range, and it sits against your cheekbone instead of inside your head. That single design choice explains almost everything else about the product. Because your ear canal stays clear, you can hear a passing car, a cyclist calling out, a colleague saying your name, or a traffic announcement while you drive. For outdoor sports, that awareness is the feature, not a bonus.
The physical build backs that up. The body weighs 29g, which is light enough that the "ultra light" claim in the specs is not marketing fluff — and the frame is a memory titanium alloy neck strap with a food-grade silicone pad, rated to bend through 360 degrees without deforming. In practice that means you can toss it in a bag, bend it to fit, and it springs back. Bluetooth 5.3 handles the wireless connection, and the battery is rated for 10 continuous hours of music, calls and podcasts, with standby up to 240 hours. There is a built-in mic for calls and a remote-style media control for playback.
Who should buy it? Runners, cyclists, hikers and walkers who train outdoors and want situational awareness; people who find in-ear buds uncomfortable or who get ear fatigue after an hour; anyone who wants a single headphone for both workouts and desk work. Who should skip it? Swimmers, full stop — the specs describe sweat resistance for daily exercise, not water proofing, and there is no noise control to block out a pool or a noisy gym. If you want to disappear into your music with zero outside sound, this is the wrong design on purpose.
The Sanpyl headphone is solving the opposite problem. Its headline spec is IPX8 water proof, which is the rating that matters if you actually intend to put the headphone in water rather than just sweat on it. The product is explicitly designed so users can listen while swimming, and that shapes the whole package: a silicone body, a high-elastic soft back-winding beam, two sizes of silicone earplugs, and shark-fin style fins that rotate along the contour of your ear until they lock in place. The fins are there for a reason — they are meant to stop the headset from flying off during swimming, running or cycling.
Because the earplugs seal your ears, Sanpyl can also offer something BETAHEAR cannot: noise reduction. The specs describe a noise-canceling function that isolates outside noise and makes calls clearer. It also includes intelligent voice prompts that announce power on, pairing status, connection, incoming calls and low battery — genuinely useful when your hands are wet and your phone is on a poolside bench. The battery is a built-in 180mAh lithium-ion cell, it charges over USB at 100mA with a charging voltage of 4.75 to 5.75V, and it runs Bluetooth 5.0. In the box you get the headphone, four earplugs, a USB cable and a manual. It weighs about 55g and is listed for adults.
Who should buy it? Swimmers first and foremost — lap swimmers, casual pool users, anyone who wants music underwater without a phone in the water. Second, people who want a sealed, noise-isolating fit for running or cycling and don't mind the extra weight. Who should skip it? Anyone whose priority is hearing their surroundings. Sealed earplugs plus noise reduction plus a heavier 55g frame is the exact opposite of the open-ear philosophy. If you ride on open roads and need to hear traffic, this is not the one.
• Best for water use → Sanpyl Swimming Headphones Underwater. IPX8 is the deciding spec; BETAHEAR is sweat-resistant, not submersible.
• Best for outdoor safety and awareness → BETAHEAR Bone Conduction Headphones. Open-ear design and no noise control keep you connected to your surroundings.
• Best for long sessions → BETAHEAR Bone Conduction Headphones. 10 continuous hours of playback, plus up to 240 hours standby.
• Best for blocking out noise → Sanpyl Swimming Headphones Underwater. Noise reduction is listed as a core function; BETAHEAR has none.
• Best for all-day comfort and light weight → BETAHEAR Bone Conduction Headphones. 29g versus roughly 55g, with a bendable titanium alloy strap.
• Best for secure, locked-in fit during hard movement → Sanpyl Swimming Headphones Underwater. Shark-fin fins and a soft back-winding beam are designed specifically to prevent slipping.
• Best for hands-free control while your phone is out of reach → Sanpyl Swimming Headphones Underwater. Intelligent voice prompts announce power, pairing, connection, calls and low battery.
• Best for a modern wireless connection → BETAHEAR Bone Conduction Headphones. Bluetooth 5.3 versus Bluetooth 5.0.
In my opinion, most people reading this should buy the BETAHEAR Bone Conduction Headphones — because most of us run, cycle, walk and work far more often than we swim, and the open-ear design is the more useful everyday compromise. I would only point you to the Sanpyl Swimming Headphones Underwater if swimming is the actual reason you are shopping, because that IPX8 rating and sealed fit are things BETAHEAR simply does not offer. Decide which activity you do weekly, not which one sounds cooler, and the choice makes itself.
are headphones waterproof
Not automatically. Water resistance is a rating, and the two products here sit at different levels. The Sanpyl Swimming Headphones Underwater is listed as IPX8 water proof, meaning it is designed to be used in water without damage. The BETAHEAR Bone Conduction Headphones is described as sweat resistant for daily exercise, which is a much narrower claim than water proofing — so treat it as a land headphone.
are headphones water resistant
Many are, but "water resistant" is not the same as "water proof." Sweat resistance covers perspiration during running, cycling or hiking, which is what the BETAHEAR specs describe. IPX8 on the Sanpyl headphone goes further and is intended for use in the water itself. If you plan to submerge the headphone, buy for the higher rating, not the friendlier wording.
The Sanpyl Swimming Headphones Underwater, without question. It is the only one of the two with an IPX8 water proof rating, and its silicone earplugs and shark-fin fins exist specifically to keep it sealed and in place in water. The BETAHEAR headphone is an open-ear design for running, cycling, hiking and driving, and its specs make no claim about swimming.
The BETAHEAR Bone Conduction Headphones. Its whole design premise is an open ear that leaves your canal clear, so you hear music and your surroundings at the same time. The Sanpyl headphone does the opposite on purpose — sealed silicone earplugs plus noise reduction block outside sound, which is ideal in a pool and a poor fit on a busy road.
Whichever way you lean, check the current price on Amazon before you commit — the button on this page takes you straight there, and the specs above are what actually separate these two.
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