How to Keep Your Headphones From Getting Tangled
You put your wired headphones into your gym bag neatly wrapped and secure with the cable hanging loosely, unkinked and ready-to-go.Pull them out later and those same neat wires are now a corded-tumbleweed that takes time to untangle.
It’s hardly the best way to start your workout.
Some people will say that the best way to keep headphones from getting tangled is to wear wireless. You can’t argue with the logic: no wires, no tangles, no problem, right?
Maybe.
Only, switching from wired to wireless isn’t everyone’s idea of a solution. Wireless headphones aren’t without their own drawbacks: a reduced battery capacity and an increased risk of interference from other Bluetooth devices are to name but two.
Whether or not you use wired or wireless headphones in the gym will depend entirely on what you’re using your headphones for and what your budget is. But what if you’re using wired earphones now and don’t want to change? We’ve found some simple and quick ways to keep anyone who’s not ready to cut the cord happy and (hopefully) tangle-free. Before we get to that part, however, there is something that’s worth thinking about for the future: switching from earphones to on-ear or over-ear headphones in the gym.
Big headphones don’t tend to tangle as easily as earphones and that probably has something to do with the fact that we’re more careful with big headphones. For example, they might be more expensive. They’re less portable, too, meaning they take a little bit more looking after. After all, you can’t shove a pair of Master and Dynamic MX 60 headphones into the pocket of your gym shorts.
You might think that you can’t work out in big headphones but by adding a pair of sweat-proof headphone covers, you can make almost any type of headphone gym-ready including the Bose QuietComfort 35 series and BeatStudio3 Wireless headphones.
Wireless or wired, it’s important to look after the cords and cables that come with your headphone as misusing or incorrectly storing them isn’t just annoying, but it can be life-limiting to the tech inside. We’ve done some digging on the internet and found a few solutions and tricks that should help to keep you unsnagged and gym-ready at all times.
Incidentally, if you’re interested to learn WHY your headphones wires tangle then you can read what one group of physicists concluded when they researched the subject.
How to Stop Headphone Wires from Tangling Up
Devil’s Horn Method for Earphone Wires.
This sounds way more ominous than it actually is. The devil’s horn refers to the rock-and-roll sign you make when you stick up your index and little fingers and then curl the other two fingers into your palm.
Holding the wires under the two fingers pressed against the palm, you then hold the earbuds with your thumb and start looping the wires around your little and index fingers in a figure-of-eight. Keep a small amount at the end of the wire to wrap around the grouped wire and then tuck the very end through the middle to tie it together.
It sounds more complicated than it is.
It’s actually pretty simple.
The Physicists’ Method to Keeping Your Headphones Tangle-Free.
Science fans rejoice! Physicists have arrived at a method that should keep your wires tangle-free most of the time. Essentially, you’re creating a loop to reduce the length of the wire by clipping the earphones together in two places: One clip attaches each earbud wire together. A second clip joins the two wires to a spot on the loop just below the jack. Again, this is super-simple but harder to explain in words than with a picture. Have an ah-ha! Moment by following the link below and seeing an example diagram. You can find a picture of how to keep your headphones from getting tangled on the Know Your Mobile website.
Untangling Apple Earphones
The Turtleneck is a washable, knitted and reflective sleeve into which you slip your wires. When you’re listening to your earphones, the sleeve can be pulled back but when you’re done you can press the sleeve back over the wires to keep them from getting crossed. The fact that this doesn’t involve a complicated tying process means there’s probably more chance that you’ll use it. You can buy them from the Turtleneck website but they’re also available on Amazon.
The Roadie's Wrap
There’s a really neat trick, too, which is used in the music and film industries to store cables and it’s called ‘the roadies wrap’. There’s an excellent video demonstration of the Roadie's wrap. There’s no reason why you couldn’t use this if you have long headphone cables that you’re struggling to store or keep straight. This can, in fact, be used on all sorts of cables and leads that you may have in your home.
Clothes Peg Method for Keeping Wires Tidy
There’s a really cheap but effective DIY way of keeping your wires tangle-free, too. You take two wooden clothes pegs and glue one on top of the other in opposite directions. You secure the top of the earphones through the top peg via the small circular hole. The wires are then wrapped between the bunny-ear ends.
You can find a demonstration of this method here. https://www.diys.com/ways-to-store-your-headphones/
Wires aren’t always the easiest thing that we have to have to live with. Certainly, they can be a nuisance both during and before a workout. Like most things in life, however, with a little care and a little thought, they don’t have to be such a pain in the ass.
Remember, too, that if you’re working out in wired over-ear or on-ear headphones, you should add sweat-proof covers. EarHugz protects your cans from moisture damage; they keep the cushions smelling fresh, are machine-washable and are all fully-reversible to black.
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