Don't Drown Your Music - Get A Waterproof MP3 Player!
If you like to be active and surf or swim (or work up a real sweat for that matter), consider getting yourself a waterproof MP3 player. There are a few options out there, but they seem to be rather limited in number. However, there are cases also available that can turn iPods into waterproof MP3 players.
Water, Water Everywhere...
A chief complaint among reviews of most of these MP3 players is poor sound quality, but one has to make a trade-off if they want to listen to their tunes while kayaking, swimming, or diving. Keep in mind that you probably don't want to use a waterproof MP3 player outside of the water or make it your primary MP3 player.
That being said, Oregon Scientific may have just what you're looking for. For example, they produce the Oregon Scientific MP120/BL512C 512MB Waterproof MP3 Player with FM Tuner. It has a rather anemic 512MB of memory, so make sure to put your favorite tunes on this puppy. On the plus side, it does come with FM radio (as indicated by its name) and an equalizer with five presets.
According to its specs, it's waterproof to a depth of one meter for 30 minutes total. The reviews weren't that great as far as sound goes, but if you really need to mix watersports and music it's one of the few choices out there. There is also a cheaper 256MB version and 1GB version as well. You may want to shop around, as one site listed the 1GB version as cheaper than the 512MB version.
Another option is the Finis SwiMP3, a waterproof MP3 player that actually uses bone-conduction technology to produce sound. User reviews gave it a good rating, but you wear the unit on the back of your head. This means access to the controls is nearly impossible unless you stop whatever it is you're doing to adjust them.
On the other hand, the user reviews were generally positive and indicated that sound quality was pretty good for a waterproof MP3 player. Other than the memory size, which is not anything to shout about, exact specs were in short supply. It currently comes in a 256MB version, which is double the original 128MB version. It lists for a retail price of $189.99.
Your other option is to waterproof your iPod like the line of cases from H20 Audio, which includes cases for your video iPod, second or first generation Nano, or Shuffle. They even have special cases for scuba diving so you can take your tunes to even greater depths. Check these options and more out online!
