Ever wish you could rock a throwback 80s headband while running, and have it be functional too? Well, now you can, thanks to the ingenuity and fearlessness of Japanese businesses. A company called Thanko has come up with a rather interesting new headband which acts as a set of headphones without requiring you to put anything in your ears.

Their new product, the VONIA headband, uses bone conduction to send the music through your skull to your brain. This means you don’t have to wear anything over your ears, leaving them free to appreciate the sounds of chirping birds and oncoming traffic, or dogs. As a runner, I actually kind of like this idea; I’m not a big fan of running with earbuds, getting them sweaty, and not being able to hear ambient noise.

The headband comes with a front pocket designed to fit an iPod shuffle or other small MP3 player, which connects to wiring running inside the headband. It looks like you could probably stuff an iPod nano in the pocket as well, although you might end up looking like an Apple unicorn. Another big plus is that the speaker units are waterproof, so it should be possible to wash the headband, and also to use it with a waterproof MP3 player, although the website is a bit unclear on this last point.

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