Also, a belated Christmas present arrived in the mail and I got to go try it out. I'd like to introduce you to the Finis Swimp3 - the mp3 player for swimmers.
I didn't think such an awesome thing existed and I always told myself that sometime in the future they would invent some sort of waterproof headphones. Ladies and Gentlemen, the future is here. Before decideing on this model I researched a few different options. For example, there is a company that can waterproof your ipod for about the same price as the swimp3v2, but the online reviews I read weren't very positive. The Swimp3v2 works better in water because the sound doesn't go through your external auditory meadus (fancy word for ear-hole), but instead it sends the sound vibrations into your cheek bones and they pass it along to your eardrum. Every review I read online about this product seemed positive. During my maiden voyage I was really impressed with several things:
First, it was extremely easy to use. You just plug it into a USB port and drag the mp3 tracks into the folder. That's it. There is optional free software from the company website to help manage your media, but I didn't really find it necessary. There are three little buttons to use while swimming and they allow you to skip forward/backward, adjust the volume, pause, shuffle, and turn on or off.
Second, it worked. The sound quality wasn't superb but it was pretty good, and considering that I was swimming laps I'd say it was downright amazing. I would compare the quality of sound to having a small stereo system across the room. When I was listening to my rap music the bass wasn't incredibly powerful, and when I was listening to an LDS general conference talk I missed one or two words every couple of minutes but it was good enough for me to follow along. I even lost track of my lap count and just swam until I was tired! That is so much better than just staring at the bottom of the pool counting and thinking for an hour. (And yes, my playlist has a little variety to it).
Third, the design of the Swimp3 made it so I didn't even realize it was there. It looks a little weird but while I was swimming it didn't add any resistance or pull on the goggles at all. I should also point out that while I was doing the breast stroke (where your whole head is underwater and then above water) I noticed that the sound quality was much better underwater. How 'bout that?
With the Swimp3, you too could look this good:
Update: After reading some more reviews, I feel it would be helpful to remind you that you need earplugs while you use this or it won't work very well. Most serious swimmers swim with either a swim-cap or earplugs anyway, but if you're new to the sport, now you know.
