OpenComm2 2025 Upgrade - Open-Ear Bone Conduction Headphones, Wireless Bluetooth Headset with Noise Canceling Mic & Mute Button for Work Calls and Meetings, 16 Hour Talk Time for Mobile & PC - C120

Pros:- All day comfort- Great ANC Mic- Great sound for calls, music, streaming content, etc- All day battery life- Zoom/Teams integration- Hear your surroundings- Large tactile buttonsCons:- Proprietary charging cable (needed for IP rating)- Wrap around wire extends beyond neckI have own(ed) just about every high end wireless headset/earbuds out there (Bose, Jabra, Pixel, LG, Plantronics/Poly, Sony, etc. For business (MS Teams, Zoom, Etc.)I've tried them all with my laptop and have used Plantronics Savi for years even though it's not the most comfortable.I have used the original Aftershokz Opencomm headset and, although it offered great sound quality and superior mic quality, not having a dedicated mute button was a problem as a business headset. I have to press and hold vol up and vol down to mute and that was clumsy. Plus it muted the headset but not the Teams app itself.When my Plantronics headset started to lose battery life, i decided to try the Opencomm 2 UC. Reason: The Opencomm 2 UC is Zoom certified (and integrates perfectly with Teams).; the UC 2 also has a dedicated mute button on the mic stem; and the UC 2 has a USB dongle.The dongle connection is far better and more reliable than regular Bluetooth connection on a laptop. Plus it provides longer distance (up to 100 feet), which is basically 3X the distance from standard Bluetooth.The mic is as good or better than the mic on the original Opencomm headset, which Id rate as the best ANC mic in the business!The OC 2 has great battery life... It's rated at 16 hrs talk time and 8 hrs listening time. That's important to me because I don't just take Teams calls and Teams meetings, but I'm a software trainer and teach all-day classes online. So, I need a headset that truly lasts all day.The OC 2 also offers multi-point connection. So, I can connect to my laptop and my cellphone at the same time and it switches perfectly when called on. The original Opencomm was multi-point also, but when I went out of range... say, leaving my office laptop and going in my car with the cellphone, it would beep incessantly to let me know the laptop was disconnected. With the OC 2, it simply says, "PC disconnected."Because the "pads" that provide the sound sit in front of your ears and not on on or in your ears, you have great awareness of the sounds around you. However, for that reason, this headset isn't meant to block out sound like on an airplane, etc. although you can put ear plugs in and still use the OC 2 if need be.Music sounds fine (not audiophile quality, but fine). However, at high volume, bass can be more vibration than sound. But I am quite satisfied listening to music or streaming content with the OC 2.Buttons are well managed. Separate up/down volume buttons on easy to find and use; the dedicated mute button is a huge plus; and the multi-function button works fine for play/pause, answer/end/ next previous. Being tactile buttons rather than touch buttons, you don't accidentally trigger a command you didn't intend to trigger.I have only two issues with the OC 2:1. They use a proprietary charging cable. I understand this is necessary to achieve their IP (dust/water rating); but it can be an issue if you travel and forget your cable. For this reason, I bought a couple of extra charging cables (available on Amazon) and keep one in my suitcase and one in my computer bag.2. The band that goes around the back of my head extends out about a half inch from my head. This gets in the way of the back of my office chair, my recliner, and the back of my automobile seat. The work around is to tilt it up higher than it would normally be sitting until it rests against your head. Not perfect, but workable.

I had the previous OpenComm device by this company, and loved it. The plastic over the wires in the thin tubular support split, exposing the wires and the metal bail, so I got this one to replace it.The sound quality is somewhat better with the new version, which is a good plus. The fit is about the same, only maybe being a little looser around the back of the head. But it still stays on securely all day, and a single charge usually lasts me from getting up to going to bed without difficulty. I think the redesigned microphone swivel gets caught in my hair a little more, but I don't think that's a design issue.I do NOT see why they thought swapping sides with the microphone and the multifunction control button was necessary. It's a right royal pain for me, for two reasons.1) I keep reaching up with my RIGHT hand to stop and start media, and have to catch myself and use my LEFT hand now, and2) I wear these in bed to listen to an audiobook, podcast, or relaxation music, and since I tend to sleep on my left side, the chances that the multifunction button will be pressed by my head against the pillow is much, much greater.I've been saying for years that the multifunction button should be recessed a little in the temple piece, instead of being raised above the lip of its hole. Being raised, turning your head while sitting in a chair with a headrest can cause you to accidentally press the button against the headrest with your head. If you do this multiple times too quickly, the headset will think you're redialing the last number. I've had to frantically hang up my phone to keep it from calling someone I talked to in the past many, many times, on both sides of the head, with the original OpenComm or with this new model. I've begged for them to simply recess the button maybe 2-3 millimeters, but it would appear I was talking to the wind.Now that I've purchased yet another Shokz product, I'm going to have to examine the feasibility to 3d print a raised lip I can snap onto or glue onto the left temple piece to keep this accidental head-dialing from happening. (We get butt-dialing from putting our phones in our back pockets, but now we've added head-dialing as well.) I've also got a couple of other headsets with bone conduction I might switch to, even one with a boom mike that's held on magnetically and can be removed.But other than my pet peeve about the rim of that button, I can find nothing negative to mention about this device. I rely on it constantly. I put it on at the same time that I put on my glasses and my watch, and take it off at the same time I take those things off (except for the times when I want to listen to something in bed). Battery life is excellent, the sound quality both from the headphones and from the boom mike has been gloriously good. The only other Shokz (well, AfterShokz, actually) device I used didn't have the boom mike, and people were constantly saying they either couldn't hear me at all, or I was badly muffled. The OpenComm's boom mike completely solved that issue. That this new model has a mute button on the mike itself is a nice feature that I've never yet needed to use...but I could see it being useful if I needed it.Tl;Dr: I love it except for the raised multifunction button, which causes me issues.