Designed from insights gained by top runners around the world, the Jaybird RUN True Wireless Bluetooth Sports Earphones delivers a secure, run-specific comfort-fit. And at the same time, it is marketed as being sweat proof, water resistant and offers skip-free customisable sound.
As well, the earphones are also packed in a wire-free case and have a compact form factor, whilst being lightweight too – at a weight of only 6.2 grams per piece.
Jaybird RUN is built with the runner in mind
Said Jeff Taylor, Jaybird Athlete & Partnership Manager at Jaybird, “The Jaybird RUN is inspired by our athletes, and tested and built with the runner in mind who listens to music or podcasts and wants to feel as free as possible. Being runners ourselves, we understand how bulky headphones can get in the way.”
He added, “The Jaybird RUN compact form factor fits securely and delivers music without a single wire. We’ve perfected the Jaybird RUN experience, so you will forget you are wearing them and we’re excited to share them with runners everywhere.”
Comes in two colours
The Jaybird RUN comes in two colours – Jet (black/grey) and Drift (grey/white). Both are relatively neutral colours that would provably appeal to most runners.
Jaybird sent a review unit over
Jaybird recently sent over a review unit of the Jaybird RUN earphones – for me to test out, during my runs. The unit that I received was the Jet colour.
Streamlined and elegant charging case
The earphones came in a pill shaped charging case that looks quite streamlined.
In fact, this charging case can easily fit into the pocket of a standard pair of running shorts without appearing overly bulky or out of place.
What else is in the box?
Besides the earphones, the box also comes together with an instruction manual, a carrying pouch, USB 2.0 charging cable, four different sizes of ear fins, two sizes of silicone round ear tips and two sizes of silicone oval ear tips – in order to cater to ears of varying sizes.
The earphones themselves look decent enough, with Jaybird’s signature wing tips designed to keep the RUN secured in the ears and without dropping out.
Easy to charge the RUN
It is also quite easy to charge up the Jaybird RUN and pair them together with my iPhone 7+.
To charge them, you only need to plug the charging case into the wall socket using a standard USB 2.0 port. As most of us have plenty of these types of cables lying around, charging is a fuss-free affair – compared to many of Jaybird’s earlier earphone models, which required their own specialised cables to charge the device.
Pairing was simple and fuss-free
Pairing of the Jaybird RUN to my phone was also a simple process. I only needed to switch the RUN on and they were immediately detected on my iPhone 7+.
And for my subsequent runs too, the Jaybird RUN automatically switches on and powers up when I take them out of the case. I loved the convenience of this, as it means that I do not have to manually switch the buds on each time round.
It is also easy to put the Jaybird RUN into my ears when I am beginning each workout. I only need to push them in and give them a little twist, and then I am good to go. So this means that no fidgeting is needed to get a good grip.
I also thought that it had been pretty amazing that the RUN earphones fit me so well – straight out of the box, because people’s ears can come in so many different sizes.
Usually I need to play around with the wing tips and the fins in order to get a perfect fit; so the Jaybird RUN was the first time that I didn’t need to do anything like this.
Very comfortable to run with and does not come out of the ears at all
Taking out the Jaybird RUN earphones on my runs, I realised that they are very comfortable to run with – in fact, less than five minutes into each of my runs, I could easily forget that I am wearing them.
With the Jaybird RUN, I was really able to run completely free of wires and cables and the feeling was pretty liberating, I must say.
Sometimes, I admit that with some other earphones, having a wire at the back of my head can create a tugging or pulling sensation that can get in the way of my running – and this may not feel quite as comfortable after some time during my long runs. But there were no such problems created at all, with the Jaybird RUN.
I did several runs with the Jaybird RUN earphones, with the shortest one being about an hour, and the longest one being somewhere around two to three hours.
And even after roughly three hours of running, the earphones had still felt just as comfortable and secure as when I had first put them into my ears. In fact, it didn’t even feel as though I had earphones on.
Even when I had varied the speed of my runs, the Jaybird RUN also stayed securely and snugly in my ears and did not drop out at all. So for my easy runs, I was able to completely switch myself off and lose myself in my favourite music – with no cables or wires to get in the way of my running.
And when I increased my running pace to accelerate, the Jaybird RUN still stuck on and they didn’t pop out of my ears at all – so I am definitely quite impressed by this. Using the Jaybird RUN for a relatively fast interval session, they still stuck into my ears quite well.
In fact, this was the case, too, when I took the Jaybird RUN out for a one hour run on a wet and drizzling Saturday evening. Even though my ears had been feeling rather wet due to both my sweat as well as from the rain coming down, but the Jaybird RUN still stayed securely inside my ears and the grip had remained tight throughout my run.
But the ultimate test of whether a pair of earphones come out of the ears is to shake your head around. So I tried that too – and I found that the Jaybird RUN was still inside my ears – and didn’t seem to have moved much.
Taking the Jaybird RUN out of my ears after a run is also really easy – I simply need to give them a gentle tug and they come out. Though the earbuds may get a bit grimy after each run, simply give them a wipe and they’ll look as good as new again.
Buttons are easy to use
The buttons on the Jaybird RUN are also quite easy to use as you are running, should you want to switch music tracks or crank the volume up or down. In fact, I didn’t need to stop my run in order to use the buttons.
The only downside though, is that you may have to push the buttons quite hard in order to use them, invariably pushing the Jaybird RUN into the ears.
RUN cancels out the surrounding sound
When you put both earbuds into my ears, the Jaybird RUN cancels out the surrounding noise so that you can fully concentrate on your music as you are working out. For me, as I usually run at a park, this is not an issue for me.
But for those who run on the roads where there may be traffic to watch out for, I suggest you should use only one earbud so that you are still aware of the cars in your surroundings.
However, do remember to use the right earbud if you are using one earbud, because this one is the controlling earbud. The left earbud is just a “slave” and it cannot function on its own.
Bluetooth connectivity
In terms of the Bluetooth connection of the Jaybird RUN, too, I didn’t really experience much problems with this.
There had been only one occasion, about half an hour into my regular run, when the Jaybird RUN Bluetooth connection had dropped and there was sudden silence in my ears – this happened without me touching the earphones at all.
I had suspected that the drop in the connection during that time, may have been due to the area that I was running at, a construction site. But when returning to that same area for subsequent runs, I did not experience the drop in Bluetooth connection again.
So this had been a once-off problem – because for the rest of the time during my test runs, the Bluetooth signal had remained strong and steady.
Sound Quality
Sound wise, the Jaybird RUN is not the most powerful earphones that I have used, but that is understandable though – due to a lack of room in the earphones to pack in a solid driver.
Nevertheless, I think that the sound quality in the RUN is decent enough for me. For the default setting, the bass is a little bit on the weak side, but the mids and highs are quite clear and crisp, though.
Easy to adjust the sound quality on the Jaybird app
But if you are not happy with the quality of the sound and you want to make some changes to it, you can always use the Jaybird app in order to adjust this. I like this feature because it is great to cater to different tastes and preferences of people. Unfortunately there are some limitations in which the bass can be increased within the Jaybird app, though.
And adjusting the sound is also quite a simple process. Using the Jaybird app, you only need to use your finger to adjust the sound levels to what you like, and the system will automatically save your new settings within the RUN.
So this means that you don’t need to adjust the sound each and every time you take out the RUN, to use.
Battery Life
The battery life in the earphones is advertised as being four hours. And when fully charged, the charging case that the earphones are packed in, gives you an extra eight hours of battery life. So this means that you can get a solid 12 hours of juice altogether, when you are on the go.
I haven’t tried running for four hours straight, to test if the charge does indeed hold for this length of time – my longest single run with the RUN has been roughly between two to three hours long.
But I think that unless I want to use the Jaybird RUN continuously during a full marathon race, the four hours of battery juice, would give me plenty of juice in order to keep me going during my long training runs as well as most of my races.
As well, the case can charge the earphones up quite fast – five minutes of charging in the case, can give you about an hour of playing time. This is great news for those who always forget to charge their earphones.
Would love to continue using the Jaybird RUN to train for my upcoming marathon
Apart from some minor drawbacks, I really love using the Jaybird RUN earphones – my overall experiences with these earphones have been largely positive.
I think that they are a solid option for runners who are looking for a pair of true wireless earbuds.
In fact, I would love to continue to use these earbuds to listen to my music for my running and training, as I gear my marathon training up towards the Nagoya Women’s Marathon this March.
The Jaybird RUN is currently available in Singapore and it has a recommended retail price of S$299.
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