Review: PodFitKit

Hey! I want you all to take some blue goo, kneed it into a ball, split the ball in two, wrap each half around your Apple ear-buds, and then wad them into your ears.

No, seriously. I do. And I think that afterwards you might just thank me for it. Or at least learn something new.

For anyone used to reading my reviews, I think you will have discovered that I come out quite clearly in favor of in-ear phones, and not cheap ones. I want you to save your lunch money and eventually spend about $100 dollars to buy yourself some really good in-ear phones and discover just how awesome your iPod can sound. If you’re not sure what brand or model of in-ears to buy, check out some of my older reviews and pick a set.

Shure E4c’s
Shure E2c’s
UltimateEars superfi.3 studio earphones
Xtrememac fsi earphones

Just do it.

Some people, however, need more convincing and, unlike most zealots, I can live with the fact that some folk just aren’t going to follow me. I’m okay with it.

What I will do, from time to time, is recommend gateway products that will give you a taste of the in-ear experience, and hope you’ll want to continue from there along to the $100 price point and maybe eventually join me in my quest to save up for some really exquisite $1000 professional custom mold monitors.

But until then, there are these things, these gateway devices, which will give you a taste of this for only about a $20 commitment.

I recommended Griffin’s EarJams in the past, and still stand by them as a good starting point, but recently discovered something else equally as interesting. The PodFitKit was weird enough to catch my eyes, and my ears.

They have come up with a moldable silicon clay that comes in two little trays (and it comes not only in the original blue, but also ships in off-white, red, orange and green as well). You combine the contents of each tray, kneed them together for two minutes, split the lump in two, form them around your ear buds, and insert each in your ears, pushing things around to get a good solid seal, wait two minute for them to cure and harden, and you then have a pair of removable plugs that fit tightly around your Apple ear-buds, blocking a fair bit of ambient noise, and keep the buds from popping out as much as they normally do. Pretty neat.

There are extensive directions on the site for how to do this, and you’d best watch the video and read the directions a couple times before finally fitting them. Once they’re formed and cured, there’s no going back. Their final shape is at this point permanent. That’s why you’d better go over the directions a few times before committing to fitting them.

When I tried them on my forgotten and neglected Apple ear-buds, I found I didn’t need as much goo as was provided, so pinched the extra off. What was left, when I fitted it carefully, gave a surprisingly tight yet comfortable fit.

It’s not a perfect solution. You can mess the fitting and forming up if you’re not careful, so might want to buy two kits just in case. Hey, if it does work, you’ll have a nice present for one of your other iPod using friends. Not a bad thing. They don’t block as much noise as a decent set of in-ear phones but 10 decibels or so is a good starting point, and might just be good enough for many folk.

So, no, they’re not true in-ear phones, and don’t claim to be, but what the heck. For $18.49US shipped anywhere in the world, they’re worth a try. Just be careful when you’re fitting them.

They give you 15 days to return the product for a full refund (minus the shipping), no questions asked, though they do like feedback for product improvement. So, in the end, you might be out about eight bucks, but you’ll at least have tried something to improve your audio experience.

Give the PodFitKit a try. Pay attention to their directions when fitting them and I’m sure you’ll find the subsequent drop in ambient noise and the improved fit of your old ear-buds worth the time, money and effort. If the results are good enough for your needs, great! If you like the first step here, and want even more noise reduction, you’ll have something to tide you over until you save up for some cool in-ear phones.