Adidas FWD-02 Sport Headphones review

The Adidas FWD-02 sport headphones are some of the best running headphones we've tested. But Adidas isn’t the first name that springs to mind when you’re looking for a new set of earbuds. It’s unlikely to be the second or third either. 

Yet with the impressive FWD-02s, which pack a powerful, bass-heavy sound while offering a secure, comfortable fit, are unmatched by its more established counterparts (Jabra Elite 8 Active Gen 2 aside). 

We've owned a pair for just over 18 months, racking up roughly 150 hours of listening in that time, and our long-term review remains largely unchanged. The glove-like fit is still the standout feature, and there are no signs of wear and tear bar part of the Adidas logo flaking off the top of the case.  

The buds aren’t without their faults, though. Electronic music sounds excellent but, if you’re in the market for some more intricate listening or prefer running with a podcast, they don’t match the clarity of headphones like the Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro Earbuds.

After a few months of use, the connection with the case proved it could be unreliable too, and sometimes we found we had to twist the right bud around a bit before the case registered it. 

But for workouts, the Adidas FWD-02 earbuds are a brilliant workhorse. The booming bass kept our cadence steady while running, and they remained unmoving in our ears throughout high-impact HIIT sessions courtesy of their soft silicone wings. 

Adidas FWD-02 Sport Headphones review

Price and release date

The Adidas FWD-02 earbuds were released in February 2022, with an MSRP of $170, £139.99 in the UK or AU$270.

This makes them significantly cheaper than our front-runner, the Jabra Elite 8 Active Gen 2, which retails at $229.99 /  £229.99 / AUD $379. But they're in the same ballpark as other top workout options like the Bose Sport Earbuds and JBL Reflect Pro+.

However, having been released in 2022, it’s worth keeping an eye out for a discount if you want to buy a pair. 

Set-up and design

The Adidas FWD-02 paired with our phone and laptop without any hassle. There’s also the option to customize your listening experience on the Adidas Headphones app, where you can switch on an awareness mode, tinker with the touch controls and choose between several equalizer settings to suit different music genres. 

The design of the actual buds themselves was mightily impressive. They come with a wide selection of differently-sized, interchangeable silicone wings, enabling us to find a set that fitted our ears perfectly. But, unlike the stiff silicone of the JBL Reflect Pro and Bose Sport Earbuds, which made our ears ache during longer runs, the Adidas buds’ softer rubber sat comfortably and securely. 

The IPX5 rating is far from the most the most impressive durability credential we've tested, but we never encountered any problems while wearing them during rainy runs or sweaty workouts. They look good too; the gray aesthetic will go down well with a sporty audience and they sit discreetly in the ear. 

The case, on the other hand, is a bit bizarre. The lid is connected by a magnet at the hinge and can be knocked off fairly easily – there were a few occasions where we almost lost it as a result. 

There is a mesh panel on the case above where the earbuds sit, which has been included to allow them to air or after a wet session. But the earbuds protrude through this case, meaning it offers minimal protection if you want to chuck them loose in your gym bag. 

The case also occasionally struggles to pick up both headphones, and we found we sometimes needed to twist or fiddle with one of them to get it to register. And finally, the battery life isn’t the best – six hours on a single charge, or up to 25 hours with the charging case. 

This is enough for most long runs, unless you're an ultra marathon fan. But if you're taking them with you on holiday, you'll probably need to remember to charge them up every few days. 

Controls

These headphones have touch controls, but they’re a bit fiddly to use when running. Tap either earbud once to pause and play your music or end a call, twice to skip a song or reject a call, and three times to skip backwards.

You can also perform a customisable action with a “long touch” – the options on the app are noise control or voice assistant for the right or left ear. 

Adidas says these touch controls are “sweat-proof, glove-friendly and always responsive", but we found it could be hit and miss whether our fingers were picked up, even when our writer was just sitting in their living room.

This problem was heightened when running. Trying to perform a steady long touch to summon Siri or send the volume skywards while striding along proved incredibly difficult, and even single taps for pausing and playing our tracks usually took a couple of attempts. 

This is why, with running headphones, we prefer the definite press of a button you get from the Powerbeats Pro and Jabra Elite 8 Active Gen 2. 

Fit

We don’t have a bad word to say about the fit of the Adidas FWD-02. The earbuds proved to be faultlessly comfortable and flawlessly secure, whether our writer was jogging or sprinting.

The silicone wings prevent unwanted movement during any activity, including HIIT workouts, putting the headphones on par with the likes of the Bose Sport and JBL Reflect Flow Pro. But they beat these rivals on the comfort front, with the softer rubber never causing our ears to hurt or ache during longer wears, unlike their counterparts.

Sound quality

Sports headphones typically try to strike a balance between practicality, durability and sound quality, which can often lead to the latter suffering. We think that’s the case with these earbuds; the sound is easy enough to get along with for most people, but true audiophiles will want to look elsewhere. 

They were at their best when playing thumping electronic music thanks to their powerful bass. However, if you want to listen to something more lyrical or intricate, they lack the clarity and richness of others like the Jabra Elite 8 Active Gen 2. 

There’s also no active noise cancellation (ANC), which was a big miss during treadmill runs when we wanted to drown out the background sounds of a busy gym.

Verdict

There are two questions you need to ask yourself if you’re considering these headphones. Firstly, do you want a pair of headphones to wear primarily for exercising? And secondly, do you favor electronic music? If you answered yes to both, these could be the earbuds for you. 

The fit is excellent, they’re among the most comfortable sports buds we’ve tried, and they have a powerful sound to make sure you don’t miss a beat during your workouts. They can be picked up for a decent price well below $200 too. 

However, if you want a do-it-all earbud you can use for running, training and recreation, we suggest considering another option from our selection of the best running headphones which offers a more rounded, rich and versatile sound. 

Alternatives

 Jabra Elite 8 Active Gen 2 

We can’t write a list of running headphone recommendations without including the Jabra Elite 8 Active . They fit brilliantly, sound great (particularly for a set of sports earbuds) and have new and improved ANC. They’re on the pricier side, but their robust build and IP68 rating means they’re sure to last.  

Mifo O5 Plus Gen 2 Earbuds

We named these earbuds as our best running headphones for value. They sound solid, have an IPX7 rating that should have no problem handling sweaty workouts, and they retail for less than $100.