BlueAnt Pump HD Sportbuds review

The BlueAnt Pump HD Sportbuds are rugged and waterproof headphones designed for fitness enthusiasts. The Pump HD Sportbuds are water resistant to depths of one metre but aren’t suitable for swimming. It is, of course, perfectly safe to wash them under running water when they get dirty, and they also block salt, sweat and dirt. The Pump HD Sportbuds have a neckband design and are made with a combination of Kevlar and Teflon, so they’ll easily survive being thrown around in a gym bag.

A common complaint about neckband headphones is the way excessively long bands can snag on collars. The Pump has a long band, but it’s angled upwards which helps avoid the collar problem. BlueAnt also provides an optional cable zip to take in the excess slack to create a more snug fit around the back of your head. This works well but it doesn’t look particularly elegant.

The headphones pair with up to five Bluetooth devices and the headphones can maintain a Bluetooth connection at an impressive distance. We’re used to distances of around 10m in other similar headphones, but in testing we managed to reach over 20m with a clear line of sight, which is impressive.

BlueAnt provides a generous amount of accessories, including two pairs of each of the three differently sized silicone tips. There’s also a pair of Comply awareness foam tips which allow external sound in and are a safer choice for runners. Also included are two sets of optional stabiliser hooks designed to further secure the headphones during strenuous workouts. We found these worked well and we were never concerned about the earbuds becoming dislodged, even when we tried dangling upside down.

At first we found our ears getting a little sore after prolonged use as the plastic housing around the earbuds and stabilisers caused some bruising. This gradually improved over time but we still think softer materials may have helped improve comfort.

On the right earloop you’ll find useful controls for volume and skipping tracks and a micro USB charging port hidden away under a waterproof flap. We managed to get just short of eight hours of battery life off a single charge which should be good for a few workouts before needing a charge.

As for the sound, we found the Pump HD Sportbuds to be particularly loud. Even at lower volume the headphones still managed to drown out the noise of the office when we used the silicone tips. Sound quality was also surprisingly good from the 12.5mm dynamic drivers. Bass was tight and punchy when we used the silicone tips, and treble was crisp. These headphones particularly shone during fast-paced electronic and trance tracks, and won’t struggle to get your heart racing during a workout.

The BlueAnt Pump HD Sportbuds are a bit expensive but sound good and have an extremely secure fit. We found the Plantronics BackBeat FIT slightly more comfortable to wear, but overall we preferred the sound quality of the Pump HD Sportbuds. They’re an excellent choice for anyone looking to support an active lifestyle and are our new favourite sport headphones.

Buy Now: BlueAnt Pump HD Sportbuds