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If you want a headset built around clear calls and all-day open-ear comfort, choose Hostena Open-Ear Headphones; if you need a bone conduction headset you can actually swim with, choose RELAXYO Bone Conduction Swimming.
• Hostena Open-Ear Headphones — biggest strength: a noise-canceling boom microphone with one-touch mute and a rotating arm. In my opinion this is the more capable headset for calls, drivers and anyone who talks while wearing headphones.
• Hostena Open-Ear Headphones — biggest trade-off: it has no water-resistance rating and no built-in music storage, so it's a Bluetooth-only headset for dry land.
• RELAXYO Bone Conduction Swimming — biggest strength: an IP68 waterproof body plus 32GB of built-in storage for roughly 7,000 songs, which is what makes real underwater listening possible.
• RELAXYO Bone Conduction Swimming — biggest trade-off: no microphone noise control at all, and just 7 hours of playtime per 1.5-hour charge, so it's a workout tool rather than an all-day headset.
• Who each is for: Hostena for commuters, drivers, learners and long call days; RELAXYO for swimmers, runners and anyone who wants music with no phone nearby.
The Hostena set is a bone conduction headset with a clear job: keeping your ears open while your voice stays clear on the other end. It uses a bone conduction driver and an open-ear shape, so nothing presses into your ear canal. The brand states the whole thing weighs just 29g, and the item weight is listed at 4.8 ounces with the cable — that's the kind of number that matters when you wear something for hours at a stretch. If in-ear buds normally leave you sore after an afternoon, the open-ear approach here is the point of the product.
The real differentiator is the microphone setup. There's a noise-canceling mic using ENC algorithms that the brand says filters wind, traffic and office noise, a boom arm you can rotate through multiple angles, and a one-touch mute button on the headset itself. No diving into an app, no fiddling with settings mid-call. For a delivery driver on a noisy road, a learner in a car with an instructor, or someone on back-to-back calls in an open office, that combination is genuinely useful. Bluetooth 6.0, a 33-foot range and dual-device connection round it out — you can stay paired to a laptop and a phone and switch between them.
RELAXYO Bone Conduction Swimming: Who It's For
The RELAXYO X26 is built around one stubborn problem: Bluetooth doesn't travel through water. Its answer is 32GB of on-board storage — the brand equates that to about 7,000 songs — so the music plays from the headset itself, not from your phone. You load files by connecting the magnetic charging cable to a computer, then double-press the power button to jump between Bluetooth and MP3 modes. That mode switch is the whole trick, and the brand is explicit about it: use MP3 mode underwater, Bluetooth mode everywhere else.
The IP68 rating covers sweat and rain as well as pool water, and the brand notes it can be worn with a swim cap or goggles. The frame is memory titanium, which bends to follow the shape of your head and, importantly, holds its shape instead of snapping. It's an open-ear bone conduction design, so your ear canal stays clear and you keep some awareness of your surroundings — a real consideration in open water or on a road run. There are only three buttons, and the middle one handles power, play/pause, calls and mode switching, with volume up and down doubling as track skip and voice assistant triggers.
The trade-offs are honest ones. Battery is 7 hours from a 1.5-hour charge — plenty for a long swim session or a week of gym visits, but nowhere near the Hostena's 24. Bluetooth range is listed at 10 meters, roughly a third of the Hostena's 33 feet. And noise control is listed as none, so there's no mic noise cancellation here. This is a headset for moving through water and weather, not for sounding polished on a conference call.
Side-by-Side: Which Should You Choose?
• Best for call clarity → Hostena Open-Ear Headphones. ENC noise-canceling mic, rotatable boom, one-touch mute.
• Best for battery life → Hostena Open-Ear Headphones. 24 hours average life versus 7 hours on the RELAXYO.
• Best for music without a phone → RELAXYO Bone Conduction Swimming. 32GB of built-in storage for roughly 7,000 songs.
• Best for staying paired to two devices → Hostena Open-Ear Headphones. Dual-device connection with Bluetooth 6.0.
• Best for sweaty, rainy outdoor workouts → RELAXYO Bone Conduction Swimming. The IP68 rating is the deciding spec.
• Best for all-day office or driving use → Hostena Open-Ear Headphones. Lightweight, long runtime, quick mute.
• Best for anyone who hates in-ear pressure → both. Each uses a bone conduction driver and an open-ear fit; the RELAXYO adds a bendable memory titanium frame.
If I had to pick one, I'd buy the Hostena Open-Ear Headphones. In my opinion it covers more of everyday life: calls that actually sound like calls, a mute button you can hit without looking, 24 hours of runtime, and dual-device pairing for phone-plus-laptop days. The RELAXYO is the better specialist — if swimming is your main reason for buying bone conduction headphones at all, its IP68 body and 32GB of storage make it the only one of the two that works in a pool. Buy the Hostena for talking and listening all day; buy the RELAXYO for the water. Check the current price on Amazon before you commit.
how to bone conduction headphones work
They skip your eardrum entirely and send vibration through the cheekbone to the inner ear, which is why both of these use a bone conduction driver and an open-ear shape. That's also why your ear canal stays unblocked and you keep some awareness of traffic or poolside noise.
how to wear bone conduction headphones
Rest the transducer pads against your cheekbone just in front of your ears, not inside them, and let the band sit behind your head. The RELAXYO's memory titanium frame bends to fit and holds its shape; the Hostena relies on its lightweight build to stay comfortable over long sessions.
how to use bone conduction headphones
Pair over Bluetooth and control playback with the push buttons — the Hostena adds a rotating boom mic and one-touch mute for calls. For the RELAXYO, double-press the power button to switch to MP3 mode and load songs over the magnetic charging cable, because Bluetooth won't transmit underwater.
how to use bone conduction headphones for swimming
Use MP3 mode only, since Bluetooth can't travel through water, and load your music into the RELAXYO's 32GB of storage beforehand. The IP68 rating means it handles pool water, sweat and rain, and it can be worn under a swim cap or with goggles for a 7-hour runtime.
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