These quirky, sports-oriented headphones are the latest product from AELEC, a young company that’s not afraid to try out new concepts. The AELEC FlexBuds Sports Bluetooth Earbuds are available in three color combinations—pure black, black with red, and black with blue—for a price of a fancy dinner.

Build and Design

Like so many other sports Bluetooth headphones, the AELEC FlexBuds feature the recognizable earhook shape, which helps them stay securely in place while you run, jump, exercise, or walk your dog. The advertisement pictures on Amazon show the headphones covered with drops of water, suggesting they are, at least, IPX6 water-resistant. That’s actually not true, since the headphones are merely “sweatproof,” which means they can withstand moisture but not direct splashes of water. Well, to be fair, the FlexBuds would probably survive a run in a light rain, but such usage is not covered by the warranty.

What’s covered by AELEC’s lifetime hassle-free warranty is the build quality itself. The headphones are almost entirely made from a malleable rubbery material, which absorbs shocks and protects the sensitive driver that’s housed inside from damage. The material also helps the headphones stick to the skin a lot better than regular plastic. As a result, the headphones almost feel as if they were glued to your skin, giving you confidence to fully immerse yourself in your favorite activity without worrying about the headphones falling to the ground.

The headphones last for around 4 hours of music listening and charge back to their full capacity in under 2 hours. A few extra hours of battery life would be nice, but it’s hard to complain when the price is so low.

Sound Quality

As with any affordable headphones, it’s important to judge the AELEC FlexBuds relative to the price category they belong to. If we were to place them head-to-head against $100 in-ear headphones from a renowned manufacturer, they wouldn’t do too well. We would have to point out their lack of detail, which is especially noticeable in the low end, and the slight inclination to make already sibilant songs even more fatiguing.

But when judged against similarly priced headphones, the AELEC FlexBuds show their strengths as an inexpensive pair of Bluetooth headphones with fun sound signature, relatively wide soundstage, and deep bass.

What’s in the Box?

The AELEC FlexBuds ship with 3 pairs of replaceable eartips, a USB charging cable, and a hard-shell carrying case. Everything is stored in a nice cardboard box, which protects the headphones from damage during shipping.