Over the past few years I’ve become a bit of an expert on Bluetooth wireless headsets. They seem an almost ideal way of listening to music or making the phone calls. The Bluetooth headsets are ideal for workouts: compact, unobtrusive, and very functional. I have gone through at least five MOTOROKR S9 and MotoROKR S9-HD headsets, four different Jabra Bluetooth headsets, and several headsets from smaller manufacturers, all of which shared one common major shortcoming: they were not sweat-proof and inevitably stopped working after less than a year of use.

In terms of functionality, my favorite Bluetooth headsets are the stereo sport variety kinds. They are extremely compact and ideally suited for what I primarily use headphones for these days: listening to music while working out. This Avantree Sacool headset falls in that category. It is a decent headset with a few attractive features, but it still has its share of shortcomings. Here are some of my impressions:

Pros:

– Lightweight and compact. These are the most lightweight bluetooth stereo headphones that I’ve ever come across. While they are in my ears I can hardly notice that they are there.

– Great price. You’ll be hard pressed to find a better deal on stereo Bluetooth headphones anywhere. Sure, you can try getting some of the cheap knockoffs on eBay (and I had gone down that route before), but chances are none of those will really work. Or will work for about a week before they completely break down.

– Decent sound. I really don’t have very high expectations from the exercise headphones when it comes to the quality of sound. I just need the beat to be fairly strong and the music not to be “muddy.” These headphones satisfy on both accounts.

– Easy pairing. I’ve paired them with my iPhone without any issues.

– Quick charging. It took me a couple of hours to get them fully charged.

Cons:

– Short cord. The cord that connects the two headphones and keeps them together is very short. It is adjustable, but even at its longest extension it is just barely long enough to have these headphones wrap around my head.

– Very loose fit. I tried wrapping them around my ears as shown in instructions, but even still they keep coming out constantly while I am running. They are slightly better for the types of exercise that don’t require a lot of fast motion.

– Very small and inconspicuous buttons. Those are really hard to reach and press properly, especially while exercising.

This could be a really great headset if they addressed some of these issues that I’ve pointed out. Even so, for the price there are very few headsets that can compete with these in terms of overall value.

**** Product provided for review purposes. ****