The King of Bone Conduction

AfterShokz Aeropex: A 1,500-Day Retirement Review

Today we take a look at my favorite pair of headphones, the "King of Bone Conduction"—Shokz. After four years of continuous use, my AfterShokz Aeropex have been officially retired. After 1,500+ days of service, the battery has finally given up the fight.

I received my AfterShokz Aeropex (now rebranded as Shokz) for Christmas in 2021. At the time, I was looking for a comfortable, all-day alternative to traditional earbuds or heavy over-the-ear headphones. I’d never even heard of bone conduction technology until my younger brother—a mobile airplane mechanic who lived out of airports—stumbled across them in a terminal store. After trying his, I knew they were exactly what I needed for my everyday carry.

When I say these were in my "everyday rotation," I mean they were literally on my head from the moment I woke up until I went to bed. The comfort level is second to none (with the possible exception of the new Shokz OpenDots, but that’s a story for another day).

Power and Performance

Shokz claims an eight-hour continuous playback battery life, and in my experience, that’s fairly accurate. I never felt the need to question the claim. They advertise a standby time of up to 10 days and use a magnetic charging cable that tops them off in about two hours. While I never officially timed the standby limit, I can tell you that on days with light usage, I’d still have plenty of "juice" left by evening.

The Trade-Off: Sound vs. Awareness

Sound quality is something you have to get used to. If you’re looking for a totally immersive, bass-heavy experience, these aren't it. The low end leaves a lot to be desired, but high-fidelity audio isn't what these were designed to accomplish.

They are more than adequate for music and podcasts, and the phone call quality is excellent. The real win here is situational awareness. Because your ear canals aren't plugged or covered, you can maintain a connection to the world around you. For runners and cyclists, this is a massive safety feature. You can hear approaching traffic, sirens, rattlesnakes, unicorns etc.

The Aeropex are plenty loud enough to drown out most background noise, but there is a trade-off: they aren't fully silent to those around you. Because the "speakers" vibrate against your head to pass sound into your ear canals, people in close proximity will hear a bit of your audio.

The strangest thing to get used to is the physical sensation. At high volumes, the speakers give off a small, almost electrical-shock-feeling vibration. It’s very noticeable at first, but much like the miles on the trail, you get used to it quickly.

1,500 Days Later

After four years of day-in, day-out use, I can honestly say these stood up to everything I threw at them. The sound quality and comfort never wavered, it was only the battery that finally gave out. With roughly two hours of playback, they can no longer survive a long training run, let alone a race.

Switching to OpenDots

While the Aeropex served me well, I’ve made the decision to switch to the Shokz OpenDots. They are equally comfortable, if not more so, but they solve my biggest pain point: longevity.

Because the OpenDots can function as independent buds, I can run them in a single-ear configuration. With 10 hours of playback per earbud, I can burn through one, swap to the other, and have another 10 hours ready to go. When you factor in the charging case, I’m looking at a 40-hour window before I ever need to see a recharge. That's a lot of training, racing, or just daily use.

I have linked the latest in the Shokz lineup so you can try a pair for yourself. The Shokz OpenRun Pro 2 are the newest equivalent to tried and true Aeropex.

If you like this article make sure to check out my other articles in The Chasin Journal main page. whether you're wondering what gear do I actually need o trying to find exercises to help maximize your longevity and durability there is something there for everyone.