Featuring water-proof and sweat-proof materials, the rugged and ultra-stable Plantronics BackBeat FIT 2100 wireless sports earbuds is targeted at sports lovers who want to embrace the outdoors and still listen to their favourite songs at the same time. 

The BackBeat FIT 2100 is one of the three new sports earphone models that the company has recently released, with the other two models being the true-wireless BackBeat FIT 3100 and the nylon-cabled BackBeat FIT 350 earphones. 

With Plantronics’ new Sports Earphones range.

The BackBeat FIT 2100 earphones consist of secure-fit ear-loops that stay put and withstand rigorous exercise, while the lightweight design keeps you comfortable at the same time.

Received a review unit

I recently received a pair of the BackBeat FIT 2100 earbuds from Plantronics, for my review.

These earphones come in four different colours – these are Black, Grey, Lava Black and Blue.

And the unit which I received had been the Lava Black one, which I had thought was the most intriguing colour combination because the earphones are literally half black and half red. This makes it more interesting than most of the single-coloured earphones out there on the market.

Rugged appearance 

Design wise, I thought that the BackBeat FIT 2100 has a rather rugged appearance, with the earphones being set on a short rubber cord that runs around the back of the head from one ear to the other. 

And unlike most other wireless earbuds that I have seen, the ear tips come in one standard size and sits neatly in the hollow of the ears, rather than being positioned inside the ear canal.

Wearing the earphones is quite a simple affair; all you need to do is to hook them to your ears and then you are good to go.

But I have quite small ears, so at first, I admit that I had been rather worried that the earphones would not really fit me.

But in the end, my fears proved to be unfounded, as the BackBeat FIT 2100 fit perfectly and felt rather comfortable in my ears, right out of the box. This had been a rather pleasant surprise to me, I have to admit.

Pairing took time

However, I have to confess that pairing the earphones was quite difficult, and it took more than ten minutes to successfully sync the BackBeat FIT 2100 with my iPhone the first time around, even with the BackBeat app downloaded already. 

The earphones operate on Bluetooth signals, but for some reason, the Bluetooth connection was simply not being picked up at the beginning.

As well, after syncing, I had also tried taking the BackBeat FIT 2100 out the following day for a run and found out that the Bluetooth signal was not being detected, no matter what. 

Turning the earphones and my phone’s Bluetooth on and off, had proved to no avail.

So after trying for at least five minutes to get a connection, I ended up putting the BackBeat FIT 2100 into my pocket instead and running without music, which had been a bit of a downer for me.

Running with the BackBeat FIT 2100

But since then, though, I am happy to report that I have managed to successfully use the earphones for a few of my training runs, including a Half Marathon race in Phuket, Thailand. 

And despite the initial shortcomings with getting a Bluetooth connection though, I am glad that the earphones had proved to be rather comfortable for running. 

They stay firmly and securely inside my ears and do not bounce around or come out at all and without the wires getting in the way of my running too. 

Regardless of my pace – that is, whether I was doing fast intervals or slow, easy runs, the earphones held fast and did not cause me problems as I ran.

So as such, this makes for simple, fuss-free running and so I could easily forget that I was wearing the earphones during my runs, while my favourite songs were blasting out in my ears at the same time. 

However towards the end of my Half Marathon, I have to admit that I could feel a slight tightness around my ears, possibly coming from the firm gripping of the earphones.

The Always Aware™ Feature

Also, I liked that the earphones have the Always Aware™ feature. This means that the BackBeat FIT 2100 lets in ambient noise that ensures that you are still able to hear your surroundings even with the music playing in your ears.

For me, because I usually run at a park for my training runs, oncoming traffic is not an issue, but I still thought that the Always Aware™ feature was useful to me.

This was because I had been able to hear other obstacles such as cyclists and e-scooters approaching me, as well as dogs and children running in my path, and therefore avoiding them accordingly.

And during the Half Marathon race that I had run in Phuket, some of the roads were partially and not fully closed – but I was able to easily hear any oncoming motorcycles and cars, thanks to this feature, too, and I felt as though I had never been in danger at any point, due to this.

Customisation of Functions

On the BackBeat FIT 2100 earphones, I also noted that there is a metallic button positioned on the outer side of each ear-bud, with the left side allowing you to easily change music tracks and the right hand side controlling the volume. 

But then, here is where it gets more interesting – because by using the BackBeat app, you can actually customise the functions to suit your own needs, for example, changing battery level, setting a stopwatch or timer or even waking up Siri.

Sound Quality 

As for the sound quality, I thought this was decent, even though the BackBeat FIT 2100 is supposed to be equipped with 13.5mm drivers which is an improvement over the previous iteration (13mm drivers).

The trebles were good enough for me, but I found that higher pitched sounds seemed to be a bit muted. 

And there was also some bass presence, but I had thought this was unfortunately a tad watered down, too.

But nevertheless, I think that for those who may be looking for a practical set of earphones that will not weigh them down during sports activity, the BackBeat FIT 2100 is good enough to meet your listening needs, unless of course you are an audiophile who always wants to have the best in terms of music.

The sound also did not drop once throughout my runs with the earphones, and I discovered that I had been able to get a very loud, steady and consistent sound, no matter where I had been running.

The Battery Life

I find that the battery life for the BackBeat FIT is excellent. 

Advertised at being seven hours, this is more than enough battery to meet the needs of slower marathoners like me, in terms of lasting through the entirety of each of my long runs and races. 

As such, the earphones would generally last me several workouts, before I eventually need to charge them up again. 

And when the battery juice is running low, the earphones also give you a warning – typically about half an hour before the BackBeat FIT 2100 dies – based on my experiences.

But in order to check the battery level of the earphones before you head on your next run, you can choose to check this on the BackBeat App too. 

And it will help you to decide whether you need to charge your earphones – and thus meaning that you won’t be caught out with the earphones dying on you in the middle of a run.

Sweat-Proof and Water-Proof

Thankfully, I must also say that I have not been caught in wet weather with the BackBeat FIT 2100 on… yet.

But in the event that such a scenario does happen someday – considering the sheer unpredictability of Singapore’s erratic weather – I know that it will not be an issue for the earphones, because the BackBeat FIT 2100 has an IP57 rating, meaning that it is protected against any immersion in water up to one metre. 

So this means that it should be able to handle not only my sweat, but also a tropical Singapore downpour easily – without suffering from any issues afterwards.

Price and Where to Buy the Earphones

The BackBeat FIT 2100 has a retail price of S$169.00 and they are available at most electronics retailers across Singapore.