Any Suggestions for Me?
TL;DR: Any suggestions for someone who doesn't need great sound but wants compact and long lasting open ear earbuds with a good microphone for potentially noisy environments?
Hey all, I'm looking to buy some open ear/bone conduction/air conduction/whatever earbuds and hoping for some insight from folks who already have them. Price isn't really a concern, but less expensive is always nice, and after reading reviews and reddit threads and coming to what I think might work well for me, I thought I'd ask you folks. Leaning toward Openfit 2+ or Pro?
My ideal checklist, roughly in order of importance:
Comfortable! That said, I know it varies a lot depending on the person.
Good microphone for phone calls; my partner's hard of hearing and I work outside in the wind.
Durable, enough said.
Loud enough to listen to near outside sounds, construction noise, etc.
A small enough case to fit in my pocket would be really nice, as that's what I'm used to.
I would prefer to be able to wear ear protection with them, but don't need to. Muffs are my preferred ear protection, but plugs are an option if conduction actually works with them(?).
I'd like them to be low profile, not visually obtrusive to others, but that's not a deal breaker. I also wear beanies or sunhats most of the time working outside so it makes that easier.
I'd also appreciate if they connect automatically when I take them out/don't require me to open an app or get out my phone. Always had to open settings and select my old earbuds when I wanted to use them.
That's my list, and I'd love your thoughts! If you care to read more, feel free:
If I wanna \*listen\* to music, I can go in my car or use my Bose SoundLink resolve; earbuds are for podcasts, music, phone calls at work, etc.
I don't wear glasses.
To me, dots and other clip on earbuds seem. . . Tough/uncomfortable and eventually painful to wear with a winter hat, they seem less secure, I bet I'd notice them wiggling when I turn my head, they look weird, etc. but maybe that's just me being opposed to unfamiliar things?
Part of me wants to try conduction because it's novel and interesting, but I'm not actively looking for that and folks say it can be too quiet sometimes?
After reading a bunch online, I was kinda down to Openfits and Aerofits, but I really value outside input if you have any!
My old earbuds are KOVONs that I'm hoping to replace with Shokz of some kind.
KOVON pros: Small, case fits in my pocket, it's hard for people to notice when I'm wearing them, they're loud enough, have good battery life, still work after I've dropped them multiple times in and out of the case, I can use just right, just left, or both earbuds if I want. . .
Cons: They caused in ear discomfort and earwax buildup, they had a terrible microphone for calls, there were charging issues with age, they were easy to dislodge while chewing or moving too much, the silicone earbuds got damaged easily, there were Bluetooth pairing issues with age, there's only one button per ear and, as far as I know, it doesn't give any control to mute or unmute during group calls, to change volume, to skip songs, etc.
Well, I think that's all. . . Appreciate any opinions y'all have and look forward to reading your suggestions!