We were looking for the ultimate headphones for running and we think we might have found them in the Sennheiser PMX 680 Sports Earbud Headphones ($80). These sport headphones are a joint effort from adidas and Sennheiser. They aim to provide top quality sound, a great fit, and resistance to sweat, grime, hold, and water.

The headphones offer two earbuds with optional foam earpads. They fit comfortably on your ear without having the buds stuck inside the ear canal. The rest of the headphones is placed over each ear with the neckband clear behind the head. They have a snug yet comfortable fit thanks to slight inner tension of the flexible band. It’s not too tight nor too loose. The headphones are made to universally fit any size and shaped head.

The PMX 680 has only one cord output to deal with, which comes out from the left earbud. We initially thought that this might place unnecessary weight to one side of the headphone but this was not the case due to the handy cable clip. The cable clip is adjustable up and down the cable and is easily attached to your collar or shirt. This clips helps prevent the cable from swaying and essentially keeps it from placing any tension onto the headset itself.

The cable itself is DuPont Kevlar reinforced, meaning that it’s durable, flexible, and can withstand cold temperatures. It’s also a bright yellow/green color which makes it highly visible and adds safety during low light conditions. There’s a reflective stripe on the neckband which also has the bright yellow/green color.

A great aspect of the PMX 680 is the cable length. It’s standard length is 1.64 feet but can be extended to 2.3 feet by using the volume control extension cable. We found the shorter length was perfect when we wore our MP3 player on an arm band. The longer extension cable was ideal when we wanted to store our MP3 player in our pocket or placed it holding tray of a stationary bike or elliptical machine.

The extension cable features a built in volume control, which we found both useful and annoying. The main issue is that the volume control does flop around when running. It doesn’t tug on the headphones but the swaying is definitely noticeable. We run with our MP3 player on an arm band so for the majority of our serious runs we just used the standard cable without the extension. The main benefit for the extension cable was when we used the headphones in the gym. It was definitely nice to be able to adjust the volume without picking up the MP3 player.

The sound of the headphones are exceptional. They offer high output drivers and provide a frequency response level of 18-20,000 Hz. While the headphones are not noise-cancelling, the snug fit does make a difference in reducing outside noise while  keeping high quality sound in. The bass is more than adequate for your favorite hip hop or dance beats.

Our office cat is usually on the prowl for string and wires to chew on so we were extremely pleased with the included pouch. It helps keep the headphones safe from cats and weather. It also helps keep the cable nice and tidy while the velcro closure makes sure that everything stays in place.

All in all, we would highly recommend the headphones and think that serious and casual runners will like them too. They solve most of the pain points that runners have — something that stays in place, takes the brunt of sweat/grime, and sounds great — while offering some added bonuses.

Disclaimer: We purchased this product ourselves from Amazon.com for review purposes. The review is completely made up of our opinions and was not influenced by the manufacturer or retailer who we bought us the product from.

The Edge 800 comes with built-in maps, the ability to use routes recorded by other cyclists, and is compatible with microSD cards for even more flexibility. You can track distance, speed, location, and ascent/descent statistics. The touchscreen is sensitive enough to respond to a gloved hand and the unit is waterproof to IPX7 standards.

Also included is a heart rate chest strap that sends continuous readings to your watch which you can use during your workouts.

Once your workout is done, all the data can be downloaded and analyzed via online training software.

The best part of the watch is its 4 window split screen. You can now get easy access to quick information at one glance versus fiddling around with multiple buttons.