Review: Philips SHQ2200/10 ActionFit Washable Ultra Light Sports Headphones

@bardelletta bought me these headphones for my birthday (I may have done a little research and steered her gently in the right direction).

I've had a few pairs of ear-hook headphones over the years and the most recent were from Jabra. They came with a flat cord to prevent tangling, an extension cable and in-line microphone/ volume control that works with the iPhone. All sounds good apart from the fact that the flat cord sticks to your skin and pulls the (heavy) headphones from your ears. The extension cable isn't water/ sweat-proof and after six months of running the contacts were all badly corroded. Finally the in-line mic isn't sweat-proof either so the volume control stopped working after about a month and the headphones would suddenly cause Siri to activate midway through my run!

Now I know that I run four times per week so they saw a bit of action over the six months but these things are billed as having "Military Grade Rain, Dust and Shock protection" so I did expect a little more for my £30.

Looking at cheaper options rather than more expensive therefore seemed a little counter-intuitive. The Phillips ActionFit seemed too good to be true, promising to be lightweight, rain proof/ washable and with an adjustable ear hook, and for £10 less than the Jabras. All the online reviews were fulsome in their praise although the running websites were quite dismissive (largely in favour of considerably more expensive options).

I've been using them for two weeks now and I am thoroughly impressed. The headphones come with three sizes of changeable ear caps that fit over the actual "speakers" and channel the sound directly into your ear; these have the added advantage of (I assume) helping to keep the sweat and rain out of the speaker and helping to keep the things in your ears. The ear hook adjusts fairly well to hold them on your ear and this is essential because these things are really light. The Jabras felt like a heavy lump sat on each ear while these are so light that you – quite literally – forget you are wearing them.

The sound quality is excellent. They are quite quiet and as they aren't noise cancelling and don't push into the ear canal you do get to hear background noise. I prefer this and actually think it is safer for running on roads. They wouldn't be much good in the gym though if you were trying to block out their choice of music with something of your own.

In summary; absolutely delighted. I need to see how long they last but at £20, as long as they last the same or longer than the others I will be happy.