Spoiler alert..My search for the perfect training earbuds continues. I have two pairs of the fully wired Ironman-branded Yurbuds. I was mainly attracted to this brand by the claim that the fit properly in your ear without shifting around and are not sensitive to sweating. I seem to have two different size earholes so finding a pair of earbuds where both sides stay in place is hard to find. I also sweat a lot, which also doesn’t help the prior issue.
Yurbud Inspire Pro
The first pair I bought was the fabric-type cord Inspire Duro version without the microphone and volume controls on the cord. They were around $40-$50 at the time and they claim to be tangle-free(HA!). Not cheap, but if they work I don’t care. The earbuds themselves stayed in place during all my training sessions and did not weasel their way out when I starting sweating like a hog. I really missed the controls on the cord, but what really drove me crazy was the cord. It tangled so easily and so well that it took at least 5 minutes to get them untangled. If I wanted to untangle knots I would have gone fishing!
I contacted Yurbuds about this and they suggested I upgrade to their Inspire Pro model which they claimed did not tangle as much. These also came with controls and mic on the cord. This model was $10 more, so now I am invested for $110. This models’ cord is more rubbery like the iPhone stock earbuds, which don’t tangle up and are easy to untangle. This is not the case with the Yurbuds Inspire Pro though. They must have left out some material in the making of this rubber. They are just as bad as the first model. Argh!
A Tangled Yurbud Mess!
They also have caused me some major hearing loss! Everytime I plug Yurbuds Inspire Pro cord into my phone they jack the volume up to HIGH!! I have started to learn make sure I lower this after plugging in these in and hitting play after getting my eardrums blasted out several times. This really sucks and when you do it you cannot pull them out of your ears quick enough. I have even tried lowering the volume all the way down before I put them in but it still jacks them up.
Yurbud Volume Blast-Here is an example of the volume level after plugging in my Yurbuds.
At the time I bought both of these models Yurbuds did NOT have a wireless model. I see that they do now. I haven’t tried them yet, but this could be the ultimate combination for me because I really like the way the Yurbuds fit in my ears, the cords just really suck. My wife has also confirmed this too.
In the meantime I had purchased a pair of Bluetooth Jaybird Freedom Sprints, which I will review another time. While these are great for maneuverability and not having to deal with tangling cords, I cannot get them to stay in my ears. They have multiple size ear fittings, but I have not been able to find the perfect sizing for them to stay put. Also once I start sweating it gets really bad. Given this I think I need to give the Yurbuds wireless a try soon.
If anyone has a recommendation for another type of earbud let me know in the comments. Thanks!
