How We Research
We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
If you want a pair of everyday wireless earbuds that pair fast, last all week on a charge and survive sweaty hikes and light rain, choose SGNICS Motorola Moto G; if you need headphones you can actually submerge, swim in and load with music without a phone, choose Hostena Full-Coverage Liquid Silicone. For hiking specifically, these two solve completely different problems, and picking the wrong one is the most common mistake I see shoppers make.
• SGNICS Motorola Moto G biggest strength: 31 hours of total battery life with a charging case, Bluetooth 5.3, 13mm dynamic drivers and touch controls — a conventional true-wireless earbud setup built for all-day phone use.
• SGNICS Motorola Moto G biggest trade-off: Its IPX4 rating only handles splashes and sweat, so it is not meant for immersion, swimming or heavy rain.
• Hostena Full-Coverage Liquid Silicone biggest strength: An IP68 rating, bone conduction open-ear design and a built-in 32GB MP3 player — it works underwater up to two meters and without a phone at all.
• Hostena Full-Coverage Liquid Silicone biggest trade-off: Bluetooth does not work underwater, so swimming forces you into MP3 mode, and it has no active noise cancellation or touch controls.
• Who SGNICS is for: Commuters, students and hikers who want normal earbuds for music and calls from their phone.
• Who Hostena is for: Swimmers and open-water athletes who need music in the pool and want to stay aware of their surroundings.
The SGNICS Motorola Moto G is a classic in-ear true-wireless earbud. You get 13mm dynamic drivers covering a 20Hz–20,000Hz range, Bluetooth 5.3 for a stable connection out to roughly 12 meters, and touch controls for answering calls, skipping tracks and waking Siri. Each bud weighs just 3.8g, and the rounded-tip in-ear shape is designed to sit comfortably for long stretches. Battery is the headline: the earbuds run about 7 hours per charge, the case tops them up three to four times, and total listening lands around 31 hours with both buds in use.
Who should skip it? Anyone who wants to swim, dive or fully submerge their headphones. IPX4 is a splash-and-sweat rating, not a waterproof one. If your hikes involve river crossings, rainstorms or laps in a pool afterwards, this is the wrong tool. Also skip it if you dislike in-ear fit or need to hear traffic and trail hazards clearly — a sealed in-ear design blocks more of the outside world than an open-ear one.
Hostena Full-Coverage Liquid Silicone: Who It's For
The Hostena Full-Coverage Liquid Silicone is a different animal entirely. It is an open-ear bone conduction headphone with an IP68 waterproof rating, meaning it is built to be submerged — the spec sheet says up to two meters underwater. The full-coverage liquid silicone body is soft against the skin and designed to sit alongside swimming goggles and a cap. Because it is bone conduction and open-ear, your ear canals stay open, so you can hear what is happening around you in a public pool or open water.
The second half of the story is the built-in 32GB memory. That stores roughly 8,000 songs and supports MP3, WMA, WAV, APE and FLAC, so you can load music from a computer with the magnetic charging cable and leave your phone in the locker. That matters because Bluetooth 6.0 does not transmit underwater — for swimming you have to switch to MP3 mode. Battery is 8 hours of continuous use with a 1.5–2 hour charge time and 90 hours of standby. It weighs 3.68 ounces, uses a bone conduction driver, and there is no active noise cancellation and no touch control scheme.
Who should buy it? Swimmers, triathletes and anyone whose workout happens in water. It is also a reasonable pick if you want situational awareness on land — open-ear design keeps you alert to cars and other people. Who should skip it? If you want rich, detailed music from a phone over Bluetooth with touch controls and a compact charging case, this is not that product. There is no noise cancelling, and the underwater MP3 requirement is a real workflow change — you have to plan and load your music in advance.
• Best for battery life → SGNICS Motorola Moto G. 31 hours total versus 8 hours continuous on the Hostena.
• Best for swimming and full submersion → Hostena Full-Coverage Liquid Silicone. IP68 versus IPX4 is not close; one is built to go under, the other is not.
• Best for phone calls and everyday Bluetooth use → SGNICS Motorola Moto G. Bluetooth 5.3 with an ENC mic and touch controls, including Siri wake.
• Best for hiking without a phone → Hostena Full-Coverage Liquid Silicone. The 32GB card and MP3 mode mean no handset required.
• Best for trail awareness and safety → Hostena Full-Coverage Liquid Silicone. The open-ear bone conduction design leaves your ears unobstructed.
• Best for music detail on the move → SGNICS Motorola Moto G. 13mm dynamic drivers with a 20Hz–20,000Hz range deliver the fuller, more layered sound of the two.
• Best for light rain, sweat and dust on a day hike → SGNICS Motorola Moto G. IPX4 covers splashes and perspiration comfortably.
• Best for a first pair of earbuds for a teen → SGNICS Motorola Moto G. Auto-reconnect, touch control and a case make it the simpler daily driver.
For hiking as most people actually do it — a few hours on trails, music and podcasts from a phone, maybe some sweat and a bit of drizzle — I would buy the SGNICS Motorola Moto G. In my opinion the 31-hour battery, Bluetooth 5.3 stability and 13mm drivers give you the better all-round experience, and IPX4 is enough for the conditions you will realistically meet. I would only switch to the Hostena Full-Coverage Liquid Silicone if water is the point: swimming, open-water training, or hikes where you want your ears open and no phone in your pocket. Check the current price on Amazon before you commit, since that is the one variable this comparison cannot settle for you.
can i wear waterproof headphones in the shower
It comes down to the rating. The Hostena Full-Coverage Liquid Silicone carries IP68 and is rated for submersion up to two meters, so shower use is within its design intent. The SGNICS Motorola Moto G is IPX4, which covers splashes and sweat but is not built for continuous water exposure, so I would not plan on showering in it.
are headphones waterproof
Not automatically. Water resistance is a graded scale, and the two products here sit at very different points on it. The SGNICS Motorola Moto G is IPX4 — splash and sweat resistant only. The Hostena Full-Coverage Liquid Silicone is IP68, the far more protective rating, and is explicitly designed for swimming.
do these headphones work underwater with bluetooth
No, and this catches people out. Bluetooth does not transmit through water, which is why the Hostena Full-Coverage Liquid Silicone requires you to switch to its built-in MP3 mode when swimming. That is exactly why the 32GB memory card matters — it is the only way to hear music while submerged.
which is better for hiking, the SGNICS or the Hostena
For a normal phone-based hike, I recommend the SGNICS Motorola Moto G: longer battery, richer sound and easier controls. If your hike involves water, or you want open ears for safety and no phone along, the Hostena Full-Coverage Liquid Silicone is the better fit. Neither is universally better — it depends on whether water is part of your route.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
When you buy through links on this page, we may earn a commission from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.
Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon or its affiliates. This site is an independent third-party review and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Amazon or the product brands mentioned.
See also: how CuiSuto Earbuds compares to RLSOCO Hard Case, Turtle Beach Recon 70 vs Earbay Headset: Headphones with, I love e iFecco Bone Conduction Headphones vs Ordtop Earbuds Sport, Hostena Open-Ear Headphones vs RELAXYO Bone Conduction Swimming