Review: OtterBox/H2O iPod Video Swim Combo

Music takes the edge off boredom while exercising, and I admit to enjoying running laps like a demented hamster on our Stairmaster™ not really because I like the alfalfa pellets so much, but because it’s a time when I can listen to audio lectures or documentaries or music and not feel that I should be doing something else. My mind drifts off while my body plods away, and I’ve combined entertainment with exercise.

One reason that I hate lap swimming for exercise is that I don’t get this distraction. I’m exercising and I am doing nothing else and it gets tedious.

Music while swimming? With the OtterBox iPod Video case and H2O Waterproof Headphone combo ($97.85 MSRP), it’s now a real possibility.

Not having a pool close at hand for this review, I decided to test the OtterBox case and H2O Headphone combo closer to home, namely in my tub and shower.

First I took a shower with the OtterBox case and H2O Waterproof Headphones. Everything went well until I washed my hair. Somewhere between ‘lather’ and ‘rinse and repeat’, I knocked the headset and immediately an earpiece slipped out. As a result, water got between my ear canal and the phone and all volume on that side promptly stopped. Something to think about later.

For my next test, I took a bath and with my ears fully immersed watched a bit of a movie on my Video iPod. The sound worked well again, and this time the earpieces stayed in.

Now, about that earpiece slipping out in the shower, I suspect that most people don’t smack themselves about the head while swimming. It’s more of a long-term repetitive thing with very little self-smacking involved. With the H2O Waterproof Headphones everything seems fine unless you knock the headset hard enough to pop an earpiece out. Once it’s out, you lose sound and have to dry your ears and refit the headset before you can continue listening. Something to watch out for while using these.

The headset cord itself is a tight spiral that stretches as you need it. I use the OtterBox armband generally, though there are other ways to secure this, and with the armband on and the headset firmly in place there’s very no surplus cord to tangle around things and dislodge the headset. This design feature works well.

Overall assessment, for the money this is a great combo. The OtterBox case is a great bit of design and well worth its price and the H2O headphones work just as described, providing clear audio underwater. For anyone willing to take the time to get acquainted with the experience, swimming with music is such a sweet proposition that having to fiddle around a bit is truly worth it.