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We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
If you want the lightest, glasses-friendly over-ear hook fit with a charging case that tops you up fast, choose Xmenha Open Over Ear; if you need marathon battery life, stronger bass and real sweat protection for hard training, choose TANALAZ i70.
• Xmenha Open Over Ear biggest strength: an ultra-thin memory titanium ear hook designed to sit alongside glasses with no pressure, plus a charging case that refills in about an hour.
• Xmenha Open Over Ear biggest trade-off: short single-charge playback — about 4 hours per charge and roughly 12 hours total with the case — and a low-power 5V/1A charging requirement you have to respect.
• TANALAZ i70 biggest strength: a genuine all-week battery setup — 6 to 7 hours per charge and up to 48 hours total in the case — backed by an IPX5 sweat and splash rating.
• TANALAZ i70 biggest trade-off: it carries more weight and bulk per ear than the Xmenha's featherweight metal frame, and its case needs about 1.5 hours to fully charge.
• Who each pick is for: Xmenha for glasses wearers and all-day desk, commute and light-jog use; TANALAZ i70 for gym, running and outdoor athletes who hate charging.
The Xmenha Open Over Ear is built around one idea: get audio onto your ears without anything entering your ear canal and without fighting your glasses. The hook is ultra-fine memory titanium — the brand describes it as barely thicker than a handful of hair strands — and it flexes like high-end memory-metal eyewear. In my opinion that's the whole pitch, and it's a good one. If you wear prescription frames daily, a hook that thin and that flexible is the difference between "I forgot I had them on" and "I'm taking these off after twenty minutes."
The open-ear placement is the second half of the story. Because nothing plugs your canal, you stay aware of traffic, announcements and people talking to you, which makes these a sensible pick for walking, cycling on quiet paths and commuting. The driver is a bone conduction type with a 20Hz–20,000Hz range and 32 ohm impedance, Bluetooth 5.3, and a 10-metre wireless range. Controls are touch-based and the noise control is described as sound isolation rather than active cancellation — so treat these as awareness-first earbuds, not as a way to block out a plane cabin.
Battery is where you need to be honest with yourself. You get about 4 hours per charge, extended to roughly 12 hours with the case, and the case itself charges in about 1 hour. The brand openly frames the 4-hour figure as the trade-off for the ultra-light build. That's fine for a workday of calls and podcast chunks, less fine for a long hike. Also note the charging guidance: use a certified 5V/1A adapter and keep power at or under 5W, because over-powering these low-power earbuds can cause overheating and permanent damage. Use a laptop USB port and you'll never think about it.
Buy the Xmenha if you wear glasses, want the thinnest possible hook, value fast case top-ups and want your ears left open. Skip it if you need long continuous playback or you train hard enough to soak your earbuds — there's no waterproof rating listed here.
The TANALAZ i70 is the athlete's version of the over-ear hook idea. Each earbud weighs just 4.9g, which the brand pairs with an ergonomic, skin-friendly shape and a slip-resistant fit aimed squarely at running, cycling, gym sessions and dog walks. The ear placement is listed as over ear with an open-ear earpiece shape, so you still get the awareness benefit — you hear traffic and surroundings while your music plays, which is exactly what you want when you're on a road or a busy trail.
Sound is the other headline. TANALAZ uses a dynamic driver — a 14.2mm premium driver per the description — tuned for deeper bass, clearer mids and fuller highs, with directional audio technology intended to cut sound leakage so what you're listening to stays yours. There's also ENC microphone processing for calls, which matters if you take meetings mid-walk. Impedance is 50 ohm, so these lean a little hungrier for power than the Xmenha's 32 ohm, but they're still a standard Bluetooth wireless design with no jack.
Where the i70 clearly separates itself is endurance and durability. You get 6 to 7 hours per charge and up to 48 hours total with the charging case, with a full case charge in about 1.5 hours. For most people that means charging once a week, not once a day. Add IPX5 waterproofing — sweat, rain and splashes — plus touch controls for calls, track skipping, volume and voice assistant, and Bluetooth 6.0 with multi-device switching between phone, tablet and computer, and you have a pair that's genuinely built for repeated hard use.
Buy the TANALAZ i70 if battery life, bass and sweat resistance top your list and you want to move between devices without re-pairing. Skip it if you specifically want the thinnest, most glasses-friendly hook possible — the Xmenha's memory titanium frame is the more minimal design.
• Best for glasses wearers → Xmenha Open Over Ear. The ultra-thin memory titanium hook is explicitly designed to be worn with frames.
• Best for battery life → TANALAZ i70. 6–7 hours per charge and up to 48 hours with the case versus roughly 4 and 12 hours on the Xmenha.
• Best for the gym and running → TANALAZ i70. IPX5 sweat and splash resistance and a 4.9g slip-resistant fit are made for training.
• Best for an ultra-light, barely-there feel → Xmenha Open Over Ear. The hook is the thinnest element in this comparison and the brand frames the short battery life as the price of that lightness.
• Best for staying aware outdoors → both, but differently. Both are open-ear; the Xmenha leans on bone conduction and sound isolation, the TANALAZ on an open dynamic driver with directional audio to limit leakage.
• Best for calls → TANALAZ i70. It lists ENC microphone processing for clearer voice pickup.
• Best for multi-device switching → TANALAZ i70. Bluetooth 6.0 with multi-device connection beats single-device pairing for juggling a phone, tablet and laptop.
• Best for quick top-ups → Xmenha Open Over Ear. Its case charges in about 1 hour versus about 1.5 hours for the TANALAZ.
• Best for long trips and travel → TANALAZ i70. 48 hours of total playback is the number that gets you through a week away without a charger.
I'd buy the TANALAZ i70. The 48-hour total battery, IPX5 sweat protection, ENC calls, Bluetooth 6.0 multi-device switching and 4.9g fit cover more of what most people actually do with over-ear hook earbuds — move, sweat and forget about charging. I'd only switch to the Xmenha Open Over Ear if glasses compatibility and the thinnest possible memory titanium hook are non-negotiable for you, and you're happy charging roughly every few hours of listening. Both are legitimate open-ear picks; the i70 is simply the more all-rounder of the two.
how to put on ear clip earbuds
Hook the curved section over the top of your ear so the driver rests just outside your ear canal, then adjust the hook until it feels balanced and doesn't press on your glasses arm. Neither of these models goes inside your ear, so there's no tip to insert — you're positioning, not plugging.
how to wear earbuds with ear hooks
Slide the hook down behind your ear and let the earpiece sit lightly against the outside of your ear. The Xmenha's memory titanium hook is flexible enough to bend into shape; the TANALAZ i70 relies on its ergonomic 4.9g shape to stay put on its own.
are ear hook earbuds good
For awareness and comfort, yes — both of these leave your ear canal open so you hear traffic and surroundings, which is why they suit running, cycling and commuting. The catch is bass and isolation: you won't get the sealed, thumping feel of in-ear buds, and the TANALAZ's directional audio is there to keep leakage down rather than to block noise.
how to wear ear hook earbuds
Place the hook over the top of your ear, seat the earpiece outside the canal, then tap the touch area to confirm the controls are where your finger naturally lands. If you wear glasses, put the earbuds on after your frames so the two don't fight for the same spot.
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