It’s generally not advisable to use these when underwater, but the sheer geek thrill of being able to listen to music while you’re swimming is orgasmic. It can be done, for a price, and that’s adding a huge bulk to your dive equipment. I’m referring to the complete H20 Audio iDive 300 — a huge waterproof casing that fits almost all iPods ever made in history, with headphone extensions that attach to your dive mask.
The system makes use of a series of shell compartments allowing you to fit in different models of iPods including the following:
- iPod touch
- iPhone 3G and 3GS (if cellphone signals can penetrate 5 feet of water, this would be a good stunt!)
- All iPod nano models from first generation to 4th generation, but we think the 5th gen will work too!
- iPod classic
- iPod 5th generation
The biggest disability of the iDive 300 is the fact that it attaches to your mask. The headphones don’t go into your ears — because that’s dangerous. Instead, both left and right speakers fasten themselves onto the mask strap about half an inch away from your ear. It sounds like crap on the surface, but once you go underwater, prepare for surround sound baby! The danger here is that you’ll have a hard time hearing anything else which can be potentially bad if your dive buddy is calling your attention with a tank banger or a horn. I’ve personally tried this and although there’s nothing like diving to Kenny Loggins’ ‘Conviction of the Heart’ (LOL!), be wary of your surroundings. When underwater, sound travels faster and you will have no sense of direction as to where sound is coming from (hence the reason why your headphones are auto-magically converted to surround sound).
The iDive 300 is also a good temporary solution to decompression stops (waterproof until 300 feet) as the latest dive computers don’t have the technology for built in games. If you happen to have an iPod touch underwater, you’d do well sitting out a decompression watching JAWS (it’s a good dare actually) while waiting for your nitrogen contamination to expel from your body.
The entire H20 Audio iDive 300 set costs $349.99.