Review: Rowkin Surge Wireless Earbuds

I’ll get right to the point on this one. I’m a big fan of the Rowkin Surge wireless earbuds. I’ve been wearing wired earbuds for years during my runs and workouts, with their swell feature of swooshing sound of cord on zipper and all. I mainly use earbuds during runs, and I was a bit hesitant to embrace over-the-ear clips on earbuds because I thought they’d get in the way of my sunglasses. I was wrong. I was able to adjust the pliable  clips on the Surge earbuds to fit just right, and stay out of the way of my glasses. I was immediately impressed with these earbuds.

These are true wireless earbuds – there’s no wire connecting the two buds. If I’m going wireless, I prefer this style vs the more prevalent wireless-wired style of active earbuds. Because they’re true wireless, setup is a bit different. One earbud is paired with your device, then the earbuds are paired together. Setup was quick and easy for me. I have a number of Bluetooth listening devices paired to my phone, including my car, another pair of bluetooth earbuds, and a Bluetooth speaker. I’ve had no issues with the earbuds pairing back up with my phone when I’m ready to use them.

These aren’t the smallest earbuds on the market. At first they seemed a bit bulky to me, but I got over that right away. Buttons on top of each earbud allow you to adjust volume, play and pause music, accept (or reject), and mute phone calls, and activate Siri. My only (minor) gripe would be the size of these buttons. While I rarely use them, aside from turning the earbuds on and off, I’d prefer a bit larger buttons.

These earbuds sound great. And no more wire on zipper swooshing! I listen to my music louder than I should. The Surge delivers deep and undistorted lows and crisp, clean mids and highs on some of my favorite running albums like Run The Jewels RTJ3, LCD Soundsystem’s latest, american dream, and Michel Menert’s Even If It Isn’t Right (my all-time favorite running album). And if you work out to metal music, say Metallica Ride The Lightning, crank it!

BOTTOM LINE

Secure, reliable, great sound, and reasonably priced. My wife has her own pair of wireless earbuds…she steals these from me for her workouts!

SPECS & FEATURES

SIZE & WEIGHT

Dimensions:
Earbud: 1.99”(L) x 1.67”(W) x 1.30”(D)
Weight:
Earbud: 0.42oz (12g)

USAGE

Standby Time (Power On): about 12 hours
Standby Time (Power Off): about 80 days
Music Time: up to 5 hours
Talk Time: up to 5 hours

AUDIO

Frequency Response: 20Hz-20kHz
Bluetooth Version: 4.2
Bluetooth Profiles:
HFP, HSP, AVRCP, A2DP
Audio Enhancements:
Noise Reduction and Echo Cancellation

BATTERY

Battery Type:
Rechargeable Lithium-ion Polymer Battery
Battery Input:
Earbud: 5V / 100mA
Battery Capacity:
Earbud: 95mAh

In The Box

A pair of Bluetooth Earbuds
1 Dual micro-USB Charging Cable
3 Sets of Ear Tips (S, M, L)

Photo by Mitch Kline