The following post is sponsored by Fitfluential LLC on behalf of Koss. 

I lost the iPhone headphones years ago.

I broke my Bose headphones after having those gorgeous things for years.

I lost my last pair of nice running headphones.

I’ve been using $5 Duane Reade headphones since, and while they technically do the job, I realized yesterday how much they hurt my ears as I jam them in.

To know me is to know I’m actually pretty awkward and clumsy. I’ve tried out a number of headphones over the years, and always fumbled with the ear clips. My kindergarten teacher told my mom I lacked motor skills, and, well, I fear my motor skills still haven’t progressed much further.

So I was shocked when I tried on the Koss FitClips and the clips slid easily over my left ear, and less surprised when it took me longer to figure out how to get the right fit on my right ear. It took a minute, but then they were really light and comfortable, and I took them for a spin over to the East River.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve used other clips in the past that really irritated my ears to the point that I was clawing at them and ripping them off half a mile into my run.

The rubber on the clips is really soft, and I barely felt them on my ears as I rocked my way to the river.

(A sidenote on the power of playlists: I told Jen tonight how I started off the run so excited and happy as I heard a good song, then got really cranky when I heard a lame song, and then got really happy again when Katy Perry’s Roar came on.)

The sound was also an upgrade from my cheapy headphones. You know, so I could totally hear the richness of Ms. Perry’s voice.

They sort of reminded me of a really good bra. Nothing’s going anywhere, but you don’t feel it doing its job either. (Speaking of bras, mine broke at work yesterday. Like, the strap was coming out of my sleeve. Which wasn’t awkward at all.)

These headphones didn’t budge, but I also wasn’t cognizant of them the entire time.

They were designed by Dara Torres, former Olympic swimmer, and designed specifically for women’s ears. Each set also comes with three different-sized ear cushions, but I apparently have very average-sized ears, and mine fit straight out of the box. They come in 5 different colors, including Tiffany blue, but I didn’t want to blend in with my walls.

I’ve seen other designed-for-fitness earphones for $50 or more, but these are a really reasonable $29.99, and they’re available at Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Kmart, Walgreens and Sears. Overall, I truly really liked them, but I just wish they had volume control on the cord.

What are your favorite headphones? For running? For life? (Do you have fitness headphones and then other headphones? Enlighten me.)