I just got an IPod to help pass the time while jogging. But my first attempt largely resulted in the earbuds falling out every 10 paces, what with the constant movement. I figure there are two basic strategies I could adopt:
(1) Use the same (or similar) earbuds, but hold them in with a had/headband
(2) Get some fancy very-tight-fitting-and-snug earbuds that won’t fall out
Thoughts?
Thanks
Find a pair of over-the-head headphones that fit the iPod jack.
Or just, you know, wash your greasy slippery ears every once in a while.
The Sony MDR-A35G Headphones angle inwards to kind of grip the inside of your ear. My irregularly shaped ear canals don’t hold any of those stupid earbuds.
I had this very same problem. And because I wear glasses, the ones that hook over my ears weren’t a very good option, either.
So I got some Sony earbuds that have 3 different sizes - apparently my delicate flower ear canals need the smallest ones.
These guys don’t fall out, and man do they block out quite a lot of sound. So honestly, if you’re going to be jogging with them, make sure your music volume isn’t too high. YOu don’t want to get run over because you didn’t hear anyone coming.
Quick question: whast type of iPod do you have? Because if it’s a normal iPod, then you are seriously risking a hard drive failure by jogging with it. If you have a Shuffle or Nano, then it doesn’t matter, because they are flash based.
I use the headphones that clip onto my ears because the earbuds would always fall out at work. Considering that my work was cleaning litterboxes and smelly cages, i didn’t like touching them with my gloves and then sticking them back into my ears so much. ew.
There are shallow in-ear phones such as the Sony EX-81 that have ear clips. The problem is you won’t hear things around you and you’ll get micrphonics frrom the cord.
There are clip-on open phones such as the Koss Ksc-75, and lightweight open phones with headbands, such as the Koss Porta Pro or Sporta Pro, or the Sennheiser PX-100.
The best choice might be the really lightweight shallow in-ear types with vertical headbands. They’re closer to earbuds than in-ears I think. Sony makes some that should be in most big-box stores. The sound quality isn’t the best with these though.
It’s an Nano, so that shouldn’t be an issue. Looks like lightweight over-the-head phones are my best bet… some googling reveals that the Sennheiser PX-100s get good reviews for value… and they’re cheap enough that if I drop them and step on them, it’s not a great loss.
Thanks everyone.
I haven’t used the PX-100 so I don’t know if they’re secure enough for jogging.
They shouldn’t be more than $40, at Macmall, jr or other places. I was thinking of getting a pair. Some people say they improved them recently, and that if you get the white ones you know they’re the new ones. Others say they are the same. Others yet say I spend too much time reading headphone forums.
I wrap the cord around my neck once and run it down the back of my shirt–as long as I leave enough slack between my ears and the neck wrap they don’t get pulled out by the motion and since they no longer flippity-flop around and don’t have the weight of the rest of the cord pulling on them they stay in while I run.
I wear them sometimes when I’m at our local dog center scoopin’ poop and it only takes one time of your earbuds dropping into the poop bucket to change your habits.
Ever since I was a little kid I have ran the wire down my shirt (to prevent it flopping all over the place and snagging) and used a clip of some sort to clip the cable to my shirtcollar, thus eliminating the pulling problem. I’m not sure if this is in fact your problem, and not just greasy/funny shaped ears. Some portable audio devices come with a clip specifically designed for this task, such as handsfree sets for cellphones, one of which I currently use.
(3) Train yourself to run without sound.
I realize that you might not currently think, “oh, running long distances alone can be a peaceful, meditative break from the world”, and I realize that you probably think that you’ll never think that.
But, if you can get there, it’s a beautiful thing. IMHO.
I use normal headphones. earbuds refuse to fit in my ears period. And they seem to work just fine.
Not that likely, unless you’re changing tracks all the time – the hard-disk-based iPods will load up several songs in a row and then park the drive, so the only time you risk damaging the heads is during the brief moment when it’s fetching more songs for the queue.