NIKE HATPHONES REVIEW and what’s coming up…

So here is the long awaited review of the Nike Hatphones that I recently purchased here.

I am not going to lie to you, I was very skeptical of these hatphones to begin with, but obviously that didn’t stop me from buying the purple one at the bargain price of $15.97. I didn’t really know what I would get with the hatphones as I always complain about the Nike.com site being very vague and un-descriptive and hard to understand. Normally priced at $60, I figured it had to have something special to make it that price but I honestly had no idea what to expect. Even after much researching I didn’t know if it was actually a beanie with speakers that would play my ipod, or if it was just a hat with an ipod holder.

Low and behold the hatphones came yesterday in the mail. I think they are going to change my winter running life. It is by far the most amazing contraption I have ever seen or used. The hatphones has a little pocket inside the hat that holds your ipod. If you don’t have the nano sized ipod it also comes with a cord to attach other sizes of ipods. This inner pocket also has a mesh window on the outside of the hat so you can ‘mix your own tunes’ as you run, which basically means you can change the song, or change the volume on your ipod without having to take off the hat. Inside the hat, next to the ipod pocket, it has a cord in which hooks up to the ipod and this cord is what connects it to the speakers. YES! I said it, speakers in the inner ear section of the hat.

So after ripping open the box and giving it a test run in my house which seemed to work fine. This morning I awoke to this :

FOG (not smoke!!) Perfect weather to try out my new hatphones. Even though the hatphones had already exceeded my expectations, I didn’t know how good it would stay on while I was actually working out, if I would be able to hear the speakers, it they would stay on the right place on ears. Many questioned to be answered, so my research continued.

I started off my run, and the had definitely did it’s true purpose of being hatphones. It kept my head super warm and my ears were also very warm as well. The hatphones never slid off and I didn’t have to continually keep tugging it down over my ears or forehead either. The speakers were very loud and I could easily hear my music during my entire run. The ipod holder inside my had didn’t bother me at all, I forgot my ipod was even “attached” to my head. The turn wheel is easy to use and there is even a little extra room in the hatphones for the Nike+ system.

The speaker system stayed in place and were very comfortable and didn’t bother me or feel heavy at all. I was worried the hatphones would feel cumbersome, or uncomfortable, or even become to tight on my ears but this was not the case at all. I also was worried that I wouldn’t be able to hear the music out on the main street with many cars and other things going on around me, but the music stayed consistently loud but I was still able to stay alert and hear what was going on if for some reason someone honked at me.

Please don’t judge me in these pictures! It was early and I just woke up. Overall the hatphones worked GREAT, exceeded all my expectations, and I would give it the following grades.

Comfort: A because it was comfortable and did what a hat is suppose to do, keep

you warm.

Stay-on-ability: A- because it stayed on for almost all of my three mile run, and stayed

in a consistent place on my head

Coolness Factor: A+ because what is better than having your own speaker system on

your head

Usability: B because for me, the fleece lined inside is almost a little bit to warm

for me, I wish it was just made of all spandex

Sound: B+ because some songs seemed a little louder than others, but that

might also be to my downloading habits

Overall: A- because it is a great product, at a great price, and is super cool and

fun to have on short and longer runs. It seems durable and also very

well made.

You still can get yours and they come in either white for $19.97, or the purple one like I got for $15.97. The shipping is inexpensive, and it took a week to get to my house. Be sure to pick one up here. You won’t be disappointed. Hurry, I’m sure the stock is limited! Also there are some other hatphones that can be found on the Nike site, that are still around $50-70 dollars, but seriously for the amazingness that is the hatphones, I would almost be willing to spend that much on them anyways. They are really a genius item, and especially with the holidays coming up, think of any runner in your life that might want their own hatphones.

Check back in tomorrow for an update on Amp’d Abs and how sneaky I was during the class, and also a great running book review! Starting the day after Thanksgiving the RUNNERS CHRISTMAS LIST OF 26.2 things to get for your running buddies, friends and family members will be posted. There are exactly 26.2 days before Christmas the day after Thanksgiving and I’ll be busy posting EVERY DAY with great and thoughtful finds for runners, walkers, joggers, and exercise groupies would love, along with little doses of my life, which I know you all love.

xoxo

**UPDATE** Amy from 26.2ers told me that this hat would be great for races that enforce the no headphones rule… (SCORE! but I would NEVER run a race without headphones, are you crazy people!) Also Ryan from Caught on the Run! asked me a question about how the music projection for people around you while wearing the hatphones. I responded to this immediately and am sorry that I forgot to include this in the initial report! They are actually not very loud for the people around you at all. I brought the hat with me today to work and we just did a test that if I was using the hat in a completely quite room and the person was standing about 4 feet from me, he could hear the headphones, but not the song or make out what song it is. I had it at the maximum volume and though very loud for me, my coworker couldn’t make out the song still. He said it seems like, “your headphones are just really loud.” If you were planning on using it anywhere else besides outside, like a gym, I feel like you would be totally fine to use it and people wouldn’t think you are crazy at all, and couldn’t hear your music to be offended. (if you are listening to offensive music) Hope that helps! **

var gaJsHost = ((“https:” == document.location.protocol) ? “https://ssl.” : “http://www.”);
document.write(unescape(“%3Cscript src=’” + gaJsHost + “google-analytics.com/ga.js’ type=’text/javascript’%3E%3C/script%3E”));

var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker(“UA-5678805-1″);
pageTracker._trackPageview();

Are those freckles?

The other day I set out to run my allotted five and a half miles, got about halfway done when my Nike+ passed away, bummer, I know. RIP, but alas, I moved on since I knew the route and how far I had left.

It was dusk and the run was amazing. I felt good, pushed the last two miles pretty hard and when I got home I grabbed my normal glass of crushed ice and water and thought about taking a shower.

I got involved in watching “The Dog Whisperer,” (I know, I’m embarrassed to even admit that) but it was a good episode! So then about twenty minutes later I trudged upstairs and looked at myself in the mirror. There were little black dots all over my face. At least 17. I thought, “When did I run through mud? What are these dots?”

A closer look showed that my face had become a GNAT GRAVEYARD.

They dotted my face and had gotten stuck in my sweat. Talk about taking a shower.

Other than that I purchased a new Nike+ and it works great! I also tried the a new powerbar gu flavor, Chocolate. That was disgusting, so I wouldn’t recommend it.

var gaJsHost = ((“https:” == document.location.protocol) ? “https://ssl.” : “http://www.”);
document.write(unescape(“%3Cscript src=’” + gaJsHost + “google-analytics.com/ga.js’ type=’text/javascript’%3E%3C/script%3E”));

var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker(“UA-5678805-1″);
pageTracker._trackPageview();