Shokz Open Swim Pro Review: Bone Conduction That Runs and Swims

Introduction

The Shokz Open Swim Pro is the new flagship of Shokz’s bone conduction range, and the headline change is simple: it finally combines two playback modes in one headset. You get Bluetooth streaming for everyday use and onboard MP3 storage for swimming, where Bluetooth simply does not work underwater.

That combination matters for multisport athletes who want music in the pool and on the run, but it is also useful for runners who prefer to leave the phone at home on race day. We have tested combination-style headsets from other brands before, but this is the first time Shokz has built one, and it slots in at the top of the lineup at £169 or $180, the same price as the Open Run Pro and noticeably more than the Open Run or Open Swim.

Design and Comfort

The Open Swim Pro uses Shokz’s standard bone conduction layout: a nickel-titanium alloy band wraps around the back of the head, with two transducer pads resting against the cheekbones to deliver sound through the skull. Your ears stay completely open, which is great for awareness outside and means nothing has to sit inside your ear when swimming.

At just over 27 grams, they are very lightweight. The soft silicone coating is pleasant against the skin, and the neckband and ear hooks have plenty of flex, which helps durability if they get tossed loose in a gym bag. A soft carry case is included for extra protection.

Fit is nicely disappearing on the run, stable in the water, and comfortable at a desk. They sit well with a running cap, and reasonably well with glasses or a cap and shades combination, though that combo was the trickiest. Once on, they simply do not move.

The headset is IP68 rated, fully waterproof and submersible up to 2 meters for up to 2 hours. One thing to note: Shokz has changed the proprietary magnetic charging cable on this model, so it is not the same as the one that ships with other Shokz headphones. Lose it and you will need to buy a specific replacement.

Controls: Simple but With a Few Quirks

Shokz keeps its familiar button setup here, with a large multifunction button on one side and a volume up/down button on the other, which also handles power. The buttons are easy to find on the move and you get voice notifications or beeps confirming each press.

Not everything is seamless. The mode-switching controls are a bit small and fiddly, and in MP3 mode, a long press on the volume buttons flips between swimming and standard modes. It was easy to hold a button a moment too long and switch modes by accident. Customizing or disabling that would be welcome. Also in MP3 mode, your phone’s volume buttons do nothing, which briefly caused some confusion on the run.

Music Management Needs a Computer

Loading music is drag-and-drop simple, but you need a computer to do it, and playlist management is limited. Tracks dump over in alphabetical order unless you number them in a folder first, and there is no way to reorder tracks once loaded unless you are connected to a laptop. On a Mac, an adapter was also required.

With 32 GB of storage supporting MP3, FLAC, and M4A files, there is room for thousands of tracks, which is great for long training blocks or phone-free races. The lack of playlist control does slightly undercut how useful all that storage is in practice.

Sound Quality: Good for Bone Conduction, Best Underwater

These use Shokz’s eighth-generation bone conduction technology, one generation behind the Open Run Pro’s ninth. In practice, we did not find a big difference in sound performance. Two EQ modes are available in each mode: standard and vocal for Bluetooth, and standard and swimming for MP3 playback.

On the run, the sound is well balanced and very much in line with the Open Run and Open Swim. Standard mode gives a more versatile sound with a touch of bass; the vocal mode trims bass and focuses on warmth, which suits podcasts and audiobooks.

In the water, they sound genuinely impressive. Submersion isolates outside noise and the audio comes through full and clear. Interestingly, we preferred standard mode for swimming over the dedicated swimming mode, which felt slightly thinner. The main exception is breaststroke, where lifting your head out of the water causes an odd shift in sound each time.

Out of the water, bone conduction trade-offs apply. There is no active noise cancellation and no EQ customization. The sound is a bit thin and lacking bass compared with regular buds, gets tickly at top volume, and some very bassy tracks distorted at maximum volume. In busy environments like a big city race, audio can get drowned out and podcasts can be hard to follow. In quiet surroundings, though, it is a perfectly pleasant listening experience with the bonus of full situational awareness.

Battery Life and Charging

Shokz lists 9 hours in Bluetooth mode and 6 hours in MP3 mode. Real-world testing tracked a bit faster than those numbers, particularly at high volume, which is how open ear headphones usually get used outdoors. A 2-hour swim in MP3 mode used about 40%, and an hour of Bluetooth running used roughly 10 to 15%.

The rapid charge feature is excellent: 10 minutes on the plug buys around 3 hours of playback. That alone makes long sessions more workable. Still, without a charging case, and with MP3 mode draining noticeably faster, most runners will want to keep expectations realistic for anything beyond a 50K ultramarathon unless a mid-run top-up is possible.

Who Should Buy the Open Swim Pro

If you run and swim, this is the best bone conduction headset we have tested. The addition of Bluetooth fixes the biggest omission of the original Open Swim, and the combination of MP3 and Bluetooth makes it a genuinely useful two-in-one for duathletes, triathletes, and runners who want phone-free race days.

If you only run, better value exists elsewhere. The Open Run is just as good for running and slightly cheaper, and we actually preferred the smaller band on its mini version. If you only swim, the Open Swim does the job for less money. And if you want the dual playback combination on a budget, brands like Nank offer it, though we think Shokz sounds and fits better.

Conclusion

The Shokz Open Swim Pro delivers on its promise: comfortable, secure, IP68-rated bone conduction with both Bluetooth and MP3 playback, solid controls, impressive underwater sound, and welcome fast charging. The price is high, the playlist management is limited, and the proprietary charging cable is an annoyance, but for athletes moving between land and water, it is an easy recommendation.