Under Armour Sport Wireless Flex

Under Armour is known throughout the world for making the best sports clothing and accessories. For the last couple of years they have partnered with JBL to make UA branded sports headphones. Their latest model, the UA Sport Wireless Flex is the culmination of these earlier efforts into a sleek feature-rich product. Just in time to run off the holiday weight…

The Feel

I’ve come across a multitude of “yolk” styled wireless Bluetooth over the years. The LG Tone is one of the most iconic and really made the form factor a thing. Since then other companies have refined that original concept and made it better.

Under Armour has turned to once again to JBL to develop the new Sport Wireless Flex. They are IPX5+ rated which means they can get good and sweaty without being ruined. A rain storm won’t stop them either.

One of the coolest looking sports headphones we’ve seen.

The Neck Band

But the yolk continues to be a popular seller, mainly in part to the extra security it provides by preventing headphone loss. The UA Flex takes this idea to the next level by adding an adjustable armature inside the neck band to allow it to be adjusted and fitted to the wearer.

This is done along the middle portion of the two “arms” of the yolk, and can close completely for nearly everyone…unless you are a linebacker then well, you may be on your own.

The bendy part of the Under Armour Flex

Two other great features grace the UA Flex. The first are the 4 oversized buttons to: control music, volume, calls, mute and unmute the mic when you’re in a call, and even activate Siri or Google Now with a long press.

Easy to use buttons while running.

The other cool feature of the Flex is the addition of an LED light along the back of the neck piece. It has three different flashing modes, so pick your favorite and hit the road.

Press the microphone button (located on the LEFT arm) to turn on the first RunSafe mode. The first mode blinks continually. When you press the microphone again, the second mode is initiated which features 2 blinks on followed by 2 seconds without. Pressing the microphone again is the third mode which is 3 blinks on followed by 3 seconds without.

Look out Tron, here comes JBL!

The Ear Buds

The most important part of headphones, is well, the headphones themselves. Under Armour did a smart thing by partnering with JBL to make these, JBL makes stuff that sounds good. We’ll talk more about that sound later, let’s take a detailed look at the earbuds design.

JBL has decided to go with their sport flex tip design, which is a comma shaped silicone tip which locks into the choncha area of the ear. They have used the old Yurbuds locking system in the past, but opted to go the flex tip way with the UA Flex.

In part this is because the flex tips are removable, and you can go the normal ear bud route if you desire and there are 3 different sizes included in the box. There are also size 3 and size 5 Flex hooks in the box.

JBL smartly included magnets to the back of each earbud, so they can lock together when not in use. This keeps them from flopping all over the place when you don’t need them. I like this feature a lot, as I wind up pulling my buds in and out during workouts if I have to talk to someone or listen to an instructor.

The Sound

It’s great that the UA Flex has all these sports features, but do they sound any good?

Thankfully, yes. They do.

JBL tuned these to have a little more oomph than previous iterations of their sports lineup. This means bigger bass and better volume. But all of that means nothing if you don’t fit them into your ears properly, make sure you take the time to get the right fit with the different ear tips.

I was pretty impressed by their sonic performance, especially for a pair of sports headphones. Very good separation and tonality, with a warm tuning that favors the lower frequencies, which is what you want: a driving rhythm section to fuel your workout by keeping you energized.

At least, that’s what I want.

The Battery

The Under Armour Sport Wireless Flex sports a massive 50mAh battery to provide 11+ hours of playback time. Wow.

In addition to that they added a quick charge feature which is really helpful for (me) those who forget to plug them in at home: 5 minutes of charge gives you an hour of playback time. Just enough for a workout.

The Pricing

I think Under Armour and JBL decided to do something different with their pricing this time. The Under Armour Sport Wireless Flex go for $129.95.

Comparing them to other sports headphones, that’s downright cheap. The Powerbeats 3 go for $199.95 and the Bose SoundSport Pulse run for $179.95. Neither give you half the features the UA Flex do.

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Where to get them

$129.95 buy direct on JBL.com: Free Shipping & Returns


Conclusion

I have a feeling these are going to be replacing the other sports headphones in my closet (there are 6 other pairs in there.) Think that about says it all.

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