FITNESS BUDS

From beast-mode motivational playlists to pain-distracting podcasts, science shows that soundtracking exercise boosts gains. Let’s pump up your potential…

JLAB JBUDS AIR SPORT (3RD GEN)

JLab specialises in budget buds that punch above their price tag – and on paper the third-gen Jbuds Air Sport seriously flex that value muscle. With an unshakeable earhook fit, custom

EQ, an ambient awareness mode plus rapid charging and Tile finder tools, they offer ace performance for well under £100.

A whopping 44hr battery life does most of the heavy lifting, smashing pricier rivals on endurance with 9hrs of workout time in the buds and 35 more in the case. That’s potentially more than a month’s training off a single charge – and in our tests they lived up to it. Rapid charging matched the stated specs too, although 15mins for an hour’s juice is nowt special when some buds can do that in 5mins.

And that’s not the only trade-off. The sound quality is acceptable rather than solid: don’t expect big oomph in the bass to kick your butt up a gear when the going gets tough. Top volume drowns out the worst gym music but it’s all a bit thin. Even after you’ve tweaked the EQ, these fall far short of Beats, Airpods and Jabras. And the ambient awareness feature isn’t particularly effective.

The buds and (quite large) case have a distinctly cheap plastic feel, but that does keep them light and comfortable in the ears.

Neat extras include an integrated charging cable for the case so you’re always ready to refuel, while Bluetooth Multipoint lets you connect two devices simultaneously for snappier switches from phone to laptop. And there are separate MEMS mic chips in each earbud, so you can use the buds independently and still make and take calls.

TLDR: These compromise on sound but you’ll be hard-pressed to find a set of fitness earphones that offer so much for so little. On value alone, they’re top-class.

Price £70 / go.stuff.tv/airsport

Key specs

● Bluetooth 5.0 ● AAC ● 9hrs + 35hrs case ● IP66 ● 2x 8.7g

STUFF SAYS Lock-tight fit, big battery life and passable sound on a nice budget ★★★★★