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We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
If you want a lightweight everyday headset for calls, cycling and training with fast top-up charging, choose SANOTO Bone Conduction Headphones; if you need genuinely swim-ready headphones with built-in music storage, choose VLOP Bone Conduction Headphones.
• SANOTO's biggest strength: an everyday Bluetooth 5.3 headset built around clear calls — ENC dual-microphone noise reduction, dual-device pairing and a 10-minute charge that gets you to 70% and roughly 3 hours of playback.
• SANOTO's biggest trade-off: it's an IPX6 splash- and sweat-resistant design that the maker explicitly says is not for swimming, so it stays on land.
• VLOP's biggest strength: a hybrid bone + air conduction driver with 32GB of internal storage and a sealed, IP68/IPX8-equivalent build — it plays music underwater with no phone involved.
• VLOP's biggest trade-off: underwater you lose Bluetooth entirely, so you have to triple-click into MP3 mode, pre-load your tracks and start with a full charge.
• SANOTO is for: commuters, cyclists, office and gym users who want calls and music all day with almost no charging downtime.
• VLOP is for: swimmers and multi-sport athletes who want one headset that works in the pool and on the run.
The SANOTO AS23 is the more conventional of the two, and that's meant as a compliment. It's an open-ear, bone-conduction headset that sits on an ear hook, keeps your ear canal open, and transmits sound through the bones rather than pushing a speaker into your ear. The result is the thing bone conduction is genuinely good at: you hear your music and you still hear the car behind you, the gym announcement, the colleague at your desk.
What stands out in the specs is how much of the design is aimed at voice. The ENC dual-microphone setup is there to pull your voice out of background noise on calls, and Bluetooth 5.3 is the current-generation connection for low latency and a stable link. It also pairs to two devices at once — a phone and a tablet, say — so you can take a call on one without unpairing the other. In my opinion that dual-connection feature is the quiet hero here, because it's the difference between a headset you use sometimes and one you leave on all day.
Buy it if you want a land-only, call-first, always-charged headset for work, cycling and training. Skip it if the pool is your main training environment — that's simply not what this model is built for.
VLOP Bone Conduction Headphones: Who It's For
The VLOP VP01 is a different animal, and the difference starts with the driver. Instead of pure bone conduction, it uses a hybrid setup that combines bone-conduction vibration with directional air conduction, which the brand says gives clearer mids and stronger bass than a traditional bone-conduction design. Whether that lands for you is a taste question, but the design intent is clear: keep the open-ear safety and comfort, and add back some of the low end that bone conduction alone tends to thin out.
The headline feature, though, is water. VLOP describes a sealed internal structure rated equivalent to IP68/IPX8, suitable for swimming and underwater training, with standalone playback in the water. That last part is the whole ballgame: Bluetooth does not work underwater, so the headset carries 32GB of internal memory instead. You load your music, triple-click the multi-function button to switch into MP3 mode, and swim phone-free. Supported formats include MP3, FLAC, WMA, WAV and APE, so you're not locked into one codec.
The rest of the spec sheet is aimed at people who move between sports. Bluetooth 6.0 handles the on-land side, a titanium memory frame adapts to most head shapes and is described as staying put with goggles, helmets or glasses, and the whole thing weighs 26 grams. Battery is quoted at up to 8 hours depending on mode, with magnetic charging — and VLOP is refreshingly honest that MP3 playback drains faster than Bluetooth, and that a low battery can trigger automatic mode switching as normal behavior.
Buy it if you swim, or if you want one headset that covers pool sessions, runs and cycling without your phone. Skip it if you mostly want a desk headset for calls — the 32GB storage and underwater engineering are features you'd be paying for and never using.
• Best for swimming → VLOP Bone Conduction Headphones. Sealed IP68/IPX8-equivalent build plus internal playback; SANOTO is explicitly not for swimming.
• Best for phone-free listening → VLOP Bone Conduction Headphones. 32GB of built-in storage and MP3/FLAC/WMA/WAV/APE support.
• Best for calls → SANOTO Bone Conduction Headphones. Dedicated ENC dual-microphone noise reduction is a call-focused design choice VLOP doesn't list.
• Best for charging speed → SANOTO Bone Conduction Headphones. 70% in 10 minutes and a full charge in about 50 minutes.
• Best for juggling two devices → SANOTO Bone Conduction Headphones. Dual Bluetooth pairing means phone and tablet stay connected at once.
• Best for bass-leaning sound → VLOP Bone Conduction Headphones. The hybrid bone + air driver is specifically engineered for enhanced bass.
• Best for helmet and goggles wear → VLOP Bone Conduction Headphones. The titanium memory frame is described as staying secure over eyewear and helmets.
• Best for a simpler everyday routine → SANOTO Bone Conduction Headphones. One mode, one connection style, no mode-switching to remember before a workout.
If I had to pick one, I'd pick the VLOP Bone Conduction Headphones — because the swimming capability and 32GB of onboard storage are things you can't add later, while Bluetooth calling is something almost any headset in your bag already does. The one caveat I'd keep in mind is that underwater listening is MP3-mode only, so you have to plan ahead and charge fully. If your training never touches water, though, I'd go the other way: the SANOTO is the easier, lighter, call-first headset, and that 10-minute fast charge is a genuinely useful habit-killer.
FAQ
No. They carry an IPX6 rating, which covers sweat, rain and splashes, and the manufacturer states clearly that they are not suitable for swimming. For pool use, the VLOP's sealed IP68/IPX8-equivalent design is the one built for it.
No — Bluetooth doesn't transmit through water. You switch to the built-in MP3 mode (triple-click the MFB button) and play the music stored in the 32GB of internal memory. Charge fully first, because MP3 mode uses more power than Bluetooth.
Both are open-ear designs, so both keep you aware of traffic. The SANOTO leans toward all-day use and calls with its dual-device pairing and fast charging; the VLOP leans toward multi-sport use with its titanium memory frame and phone-free playback. Pick based on whether water is part of your routine.
The two are built for different jobs, so value depends on which features you'll actually use — swim-proofing and 32GB storage, or ENC calling and rapid charging. Check the current price on Amazon for each before deciding.
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