Mike M.

Mike M. is the hands-on owner behind Iron Mako Media. He runs Openear Club to answer one question for people who train: which earbuds actually stay in and survive sweat. Rankings are built from makers' published specs and manuals and the independent reviews cited on every page, with every figure linked to the document it came from.

How Mike ranks earbuds

Mike classifies each product by its retention system (neckband, ear-hook, clip-on, in-ear hook or wingtip); reads the maker's published IP rating, weight, battery, charging, Bluetooth, mic, control and codec figures from the maker's own product page and manual; checks the sweat and water rating against the IEC 60529 standard; cross-references named independent reviews, quoting their measurements and crediting them; and scores each pick on the public rubric at How We Rank. Every figure on the site links to the document it came from, so you can check any number in one click.

That research is what turns a long category into a short list: the pick at the top of each page is there because the weighted score says so, with its strengths named and a “skip this if” line underneath, and commissions never set a score or decide a pick.

Contact

Questions, corrections and discontinued-product reports go to contact@openearclub.com or the contact form. Mike reads every message. More about the publisher is at Iron Mako Media.