Jabra Sport Pulse Wireless Earbuds

What Are They?

Over the holidays I had the opportunity to test out the Jabra Sport Pulse™ Wireless Earbuds. Think earbuds which are connected together with a wire that hangs behind your neck and uses BlueTooth technology to connect to your device. Now think the most amazing sound quality you’ve ever heard from a headphone, and the voice of a coach telling you your training zone – this is the Jabra Sport Pulse Wireless Earbuds.

Personally I had never heard of Jabra before, so a quick back story tidbit, the parent company of Jabra are the original creators of BlueTooth, so it’s safe to say they know a little something about wireless technology, and the quality of this product shows it.

What I’m Wild About

Two things intrigued me about these earbuds, the first was their use Dolby Sound (think movie theater epicness). From the second I put them on and the base in my music dropped I was sold. I have 100% never heard earbud or any sort of headphone sound that was like this. I love music and this sound quality is amazing.

The second feature I’m wild about is that they have a built-in heart rate monitor in the earbuds – as in they take your heart rate through your ears! I had never heard of this technology before Jabra, but the idea of not having to wear a chest strap and chafe worked for me! This feature turned out to be an awesome tool while running as I was not only told my heart rate intensity level, I received real-time voice coaching regarding my distance, and speed.

All of these metrics download in the Jabra Sport Life app which is the perfect opportunity for any fitgeek to get nerdy with their numbers. The Jabra Sport Life app also includes 3 heart rate fitness tests: VO2 max test, Orthostatic Heart Rate Test and Resting Heart Rate test which let you know if you’re over or under-training, if your overall fitness is improving or staying flat and how your fitness level rates against your age, weight and gender. It also syncs with a variety of existing running apps, like my favourite Strava.

But Won’t They Fall Out?

Prior to using the Jabra Sport Pulse Wireless Earbuds, I have never had any luck running with earbuds in – at all. When I run with music (which is typically at the gym), I always use sport headphones that hook around the ear to hold them in place. I was definitely skeptical about how these would work. The Jabra Sport Pulse Wireless Earbuds come with four interchangeable pieces for both parts of the earbuds (the actual in ear piece, yellow in the phot, and the surrounding capsule, black in the photo) which really lets you get a custom fit. You should also notice the little spike on the earbud, this hooks in your ear crease so it stays in place.

During my 40 minute hill interval workout the earbuds didn’t budge, I really didn’t think this would be the case, but the custom fit and spike kept the earbuds still. Four times during the run my heart rate was lost from the monitor, the first time being 13 minutes in, The earbuds continue to play music and totally stayed in place, so this I am attributing to my insane sweat, I simply pushed them around, and heard the coach state “heart rate detected” as they reconnected.

Final Thoughts

The Jabra Sport Pulse Wireless Earbuds, are awesome. The sound is incredible and they stayed in my ear the entire run. The coaching was motivating and informative and the features in the app are great for those looking to challenge themselves or learn more about their own personal fitness. The $199 price point is above the cheap disposable ones I grab from the tech area of my grocery store, but these are more than just earbuds, they are all-in-one training solution, with killer sound, and if that’s what you’re into, well worth the price.