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We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
If you want all-day battery life in a tiny pair of in-ear buds, choose Travel Depot Mini; if you need a single open-ear clip that keeps your ear canal open and lets you stay aware while you run or ride, choose LICAEVEY GD28.
• Travel Depot Mini's biggest strength: up to 40 hours of total playtime with a 15-minute quick charge that gives you 2.5 hours of use, plus true in-ear stereo sound.
• Travel Depot Mini's biggest trade-off: it's a sealed in-ear design with no noise control listed, so it blocks your ear canal and you can't hear traffic around you.
• LICAEVEY GD28's biggest strength: an open-ear clip design that sits outside the canal, so your ear stays open and comfortable during long sessions, with an IPX4 rating for sweat and rain.
• LICAEVEY GD28's biggest trade-off: 7 hours of working time per charge and a single earpiece, so it's a mono listening experience, not a stereo pair.
• Both share: IPX4 water resistance, Bluetooth wireless, no headphone jack and touch or press controls depending on the model.
• Buy the Travel Depot Mini if you want two earbuds, long runtime and a compact case you can toss in a bag.
• Buy the LICAEVEY GD28 if you're a runner, cyclist or someone who hates the plugged-up feeling of in-ear tips.
The Travel Depot Mini is built around one idea: get out the door fast and stay out. The headline number here is the runtime. Travel Depot lists up to 40 hours of average battery life, and a 15-minute quick charge buys you 2.5 hours of listening. That combination matters more than it sounds. If you're the kind of person who grabs earbuds on the way to a commute, a gym session or a flight and forgets to charge them, this is the design that forgives you.
The charging case is part of the package, along with ear cushions and a cable, so the 40 hours is really the case plus buds working together. Type-C fast charging is the input standard, which means one cable for your phone and your earbuds.
Comfort is the second pillar. Travel Depot describes these as lightweight buds meant for small or large ears, with rounded silicone tips and a plastic enclosure weighing in at 0.11 kg for the whole package. The pitch is "forget you're wearing them," and the physical design supports that: nothing hangs off your ear and nothing clips onto it.
Who should buy it: commuters, students, gym-goers and anyone who wants two earbuds, a charging case and long runtime without thinking about it. The limited lifetime warranty is also a genuinely unusual detail at this tier.
Who should skip it: runners who need to hear traffic, people who dislike things sitting inside their ear canal, and anyone who wants a single-ear headset for calls only.
LICAEVEY GD28: Who It's For
The LICAEVEY GD28 goes the opposite direction. It's a single earpiece, not a pair, and it's an open-ear clip rather than a tip that plugs your canal. That design choice drives everything else about it. LICAEVEY's stated goal is an ear that feels no swelling or soreness even after long wear, and the not-in-the-ear approach is exactly how you get there. If in-ear tips always end up irritating you after an hour, this is the shape that solves that problem.
The clip uses a magnetic earhook to stay put, and the enclosure is ABS plastic in pink. Bluetooth 5.3 is the newer version here, with a listed range of 10 meters. Inside is a 13 mm film loudspeaker with what LICAEVEY describes as a real copper ring and three-frequency balance, plus a micro air hole intended to reduce noise. LICAEVEY also claims a leakproof earhole design so people around you don't hear your audio. That's a real concern with open-ear designs, and it's worth noting the company addresses it directly.
Battery life is where the two products diverge hardest. LICAEVEY lists 7 hours of working time, about 800 hours of standby and roughly 1 hour to charge from a 50 mAh built-in battery. Seven hours covers a long run, a bike ride, a work shift or a full day of errands. It does not cover a multi-day trip without a charger.
Controls are physical, not touch. The GD28 uses a single multifunction blind press: one press for play or pause, a long press to reject a call, a double click for the next track and a triple click to redial. If you've ever fought with touch controls while sweating, a real button is a blessing.
Who should buy it: runners, cyclists, delivery riders and anyone who wants one ear free to hear the world. It's also a reasonable pick for podcast listeners who only ever use one bud anyway.
Who should skip it: anyone who wants stereo music in both ears, and anyone who wants a charging case and multi-day runtime. Note the warranty is 90 days from the manufacturer, which is shorter than the Travel Depot's coverage.
• Best for battery life → Travel Depot Mini. Up to 40 hours versus 7 hours is not close.
• Best for situational awareness → LICAEVEY GD28. Open-ear means your canal stays clear and you hear what's around you.
• Best for stereo music → Travel Depot Mini. Two in-ear buds with a 20 Hz–20 kHz dynamic driver versus one earpiece.
• Best for long-wear comfort if tips bother you → LICAEVEY GD28. The not-in-the-ear clip avoids canal pressure entirely.
• Best for sweaty workouts in the rain → tie on water resistance. Both are IPX4, which handles sweat and light rain but not submersion.
• Best for quick top-ups → Travel Depot Mini. A 15-minute charge returns 2.5 hours; the GD28 takes about an hour for a full charge.
• Best for gloved or wet hands → LICAEVEY GD28. Physical press controls beat touch sensors when your fingers aren't dry.
• Best for a compact travel kit → Travel Depot Mini. It ships with a wireless charging case, cable, ear cushions and a manual in one package.
• Best for newer Bluetooth → LICAEVEY GD28. Bluetooth 5.3 with a 10-meter listed range versus Bluetooth 5.
In my opinion, the Travel Depot Mini is the safer buy for most people. Forty hours of runtime, a charging case, a 15-minute quick charge, two earbuds, touch controls and a limited lifetime warranty cover the everyday job of listening to music and taking calls far better than a single 7-hour earpiece can. I'd pick the LICAEVEY GD28 only if you specifically want an open-ear clip for running or cycling and you value hearing your surroundings over stereo sound and battery life. That's a real need, not a small one — but it's a narrower one. If price is the deciding factor for you, check the current price on Amazon for both before you commit.
can i wear waterproof headphones in the shower
IPX4, which both of these carry, is rated for sweat and splashing water, not for being submerged or directly sprayed. Steam and heavy direct water from a shower head go beyond what IPX4 covers, so I wouldn't treat either one as a shower product.
are headphones waterproof
No — IPX4 means water resistant, not waterproof. It handles sweat, light rain and splashes, but neither the Travel Depot Mini nor the LICAEVEY GD28 is designed to survive being dunked or worn while swimming.
The Travel Depot Mini, by a wide margin. Travel Depot lists up to 40 hours of average battery life with a 15-minute charge returning 2.5 hours, while LICAEVEY lists 7 hours of working time and about 1 hour to fully charge.
The LICAEVEY GD28, in my opinion. The open-ear clip keeps your canal clear so you can hear traffic, the magnetic earhook holds it in place, and the physical press controls work when your hands are sweaty. The GD28's IPX4 rating is also specifically aimed at sweat and rain during sport.
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