Anker Soundcore Life Noise Cancelling Wireless Earbuds (Open Box)

I'll start by saying I like the earbuds. I'm not an audiophile, nor have I bought endless numbers/models of earbuds. But these are the best I've owned. The sound is good, the noise cancellation seems to work well (although I have yet to mow the lawn and try them there) and they hold connection better than my previous earbuds. In general, they feel good in the ear and don't feel like you have a large device attached to you; although more on the fit later. And the case, charging, and battery life has served me well so far (I haven't tested them in any type of marathon listening session though). I use them in "transparency" mode during my runs and this tends to add a wind/rustling noise; but I guess that is to be expected. This is in some ways worsened when I have a hat pulled over them, I assume because the hat rubs against them somewhat--again, understandable. But I prefer these rustling noises to the isolation the other noise cancellation modes would provide while I'm running on my neighborhood streets. So all-in-all, they are a nice set. Unfortunately, the primary reason I purchased these earbuds was to replace my cheap knock-off ear buds (that wouldn't hold a connection) for my morning runs. And unfortunately, I have yet to get them to stay in my ears. I've had these for over a month and use them almost daily for about 1 hour in the morning for my runs. I've tried many combinations of the different size ear piece and wing and have yet to truly succeed. I put a lot of effort into inserting them into my ear as best I know how (pull on my ear, seat them as deep as I can, turn them to try and lock them, etc.) and as far as I can tell from the instructions and pictures, I'm doing everything correct (I sometimes think they need an expert to size them for you and teach you the nuances of inserting them). I've had mixed levels of success where most combinations came loose in the first 1/4-1/2 mile of my run. But I have found some combinations where I might get them to last a mile or so and have even had 1 (or the other) last for my whole 4-mile run. But this isn't common and has never been both earbuds. And as soon as they come loose for the first time, it's all downhill from there. Subsequent attempts to insert them last far less time and I'm left adjusting them time and again for the remainder of my run or just removing them and going without. This downhill spiral is likely because I'm trying to reinsert them without stopping my run and I've probably started getting sweaty; so I get it. I have had better results while it's been cold and I wear a hat as long as I pull the hat down over my ears. This seems to be enough to keep them secure. But I live in the south and the temperatures support hat wear only during a small number of days of the year. So I've just tried purchasing some headbands (I guess they call them "buffs" as they are lightweight material). I didn't have the success I hoped for and I think it's because the material is lightweight and not terribly tight, so they did keep the earbud ON my ear, but didn't keep them IN my ear. I didn't have to worry about them falling to the ground, but it was a bit uncomfortable to have them loose and wobbly on my ear (as well as drastically decrease the sound quality and volume). Not to mention that it was 45 degrees this morning and I was warm, so I'm not looking forward to trying to wear these "buffs" when it's 75 degrees or more. So, I'll keep trying for solutions. I will add, I haven't really had success with many earbuds to date. None of the in-ear earbuds have stayed in my ears. Even the ones with the ear loops haven't been great as again, they stay ON my ear, but not IN my ear. The only success I've had was with my previous knock-off on-ear ear buds (similar design to apple's original set); but that was only after I added an after-market wing attachment that looks kind of like a number 6. These were easy to put in my ear and stayed seated perfectly. But the problem with those is that I had to add/remove the wings every time I used them because they couldn't fit in the charger with them attached. So I guess I'm skeptical that I can keep an IN-ear earbud in my ears during my runs and I need to find a set that has the longer wing that locks into the top of my ear opening. Honestly, I'm still not clear as to where these Anker wings are supposed to lock into my ear. My best "lock" has been by rotating them so far that the silver outer end of the earbud is pointing up (90 degrees off of all the pictures I see). This orientation borders on uncomfortable, I think because the wing is compressed against the bottom part of my ear opening while the portion in my ear canal is then pushing hard against the top of my ear canal. But it is in this orientation that I've come close to getting these to stay in for my run (but again, never both and rarely for the full 4 miles). So I think I need a wing that locks better on my ear opening, whether compressed across it, or nestling into the upper "fold" like the "6" wing does. I may also need to focus on on-ear earbuds for running as these seem to be much easier, and less finicky, to insert (especially while running) and don't isolate me from surrounding noises that I want to hear while running on streets. So in the end, I'll probably keep these earbuds for use around the house and give them a try for yard work and other activities. But I'll continue my search for ones that will stay secure during a run. I'm just not wanting to keep spending $50, $100, or $200 on more earbuds when I'm not sure they will work.