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Waterproof your Nike+iPod shoe mod

July 15th, 2006 by Podophile

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Yesterday, I wrote about how I attached my Nike+iPod Sport Kit transmitter to my Saucony Hurricane running shoe. I was reminded last night that many people who want to try this mod may live in areas that experience regular thunderstorms during in the summer, and that here in the San Francisco area, the wet weather is only a few months away. With that in mind, I went to work on a plan to rain-proof my design.

The the orange ring on the Nike+iPod transmitter is actually a separate piece of plastic from the white “logo” face. If you look closely, you’ll see a small seam between them on the top. The seam is less noticeable around the sides.

My first thought was to cut a piece of vinyl PDA screen protector and cover the entire top of the unit. This would certainly be the most aesthetically pleasing solution, but… a) I don’t have any laying around the house, and b) What about that side seam and the sleep button on the bottom? If my shoes were to become soaked, surely some water could seep in.

After another 34 seconds of brainstorming, it hit me: Ziplock bag. But not just any old ziplock bag; a really small one. I knew just where to find such a bag. Inside the breast pocket of a relatively new jacket, there was a small plastic ziplock bag with two spare buttons inside. Check your suits and jackets, ask your parents, spouse, or partner, somebody in your life will probably have one of these little button bags just sitting around collecting dust. If not, ask at your local dry cleaners or crafts/sewing shop. If all else fails, your local crack dealer should have just the thing.

From here, the steps are simple: Drop the transmitter into the bag.

Seal the bag and fold the top over the back (if you have enough to spare, give the the top an extra fold under). Then stick your velcro over the folded seam. The adhesive backing on velcro is usually pretty strong, but it’s a good idea to wipe any oils from your hand off the little baggie before applying the velcro.

Lastly, insert the transmitter under your laces, making sure the two pieces of velcro are stuck firmly together.

You may have noticed in the photo that my little bag had a hole in it. If yours does too, don’t worry. Just make sure that you cover it with a piece of clear tape, or better yet, with the velcro.

Keep in mind that this is a solution for protecting your transmitter if you get caught in the occasional thunderstorm, not if you plan on running through streams or out into the ocean. I’m not sure I would even trust Nike’s shoes to protect the transmitter under those conditions.

Lastly, I should just mention (before someone asks)… no, the plastic bag doesn’t interfere with the iPod nano picking up the signal.

Have fun.

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Posted in Health & Fitness, Nike+iPod, iPod Accessories |

30 Responses to “Waterproof your Nike+iPod shoe mod”

on 15 Jul 2006 at 8:12 pm ambimb

You really think you need to worry about that sensor getting wet? It’s going to be wet all the time inside the Nike shoes from sweat. My guess would be that water won’t damage it at all…
on 15 Jul 2006 at 9:28 pm mlvassallo

Battle Royle. Good book. ;)
on 15 Jul 2006 at 9:45 pm Dimplemonkey

Just wondering. You could use plastic (saran) wrap as well for an even clingier and waterproof fit.
on 15 Jul 2006 at 10:31 pm Podophile

“…saran wrap…”

Now why didn’t *I* think of that.
on 15 Jul 2006 at 10:55 pm Carlos

I would not make it too waterproof. I don’t think it would be too good for the battery.
on 16 Jul 2006 at 5:31 pm Rob

Great work man, I wasn’t even considering buying this but now I’m thinking twice. Here’s a question though: would the transmitter work for cycling as well? It’s a similarly consistant back and forth motion, but I really don’t know the technology.
on 16 Jul 2006 at 6:11 pm Carter

Battle Royale is such a good book. And I like the site.
on 16 Jul 2006 at 7:26 pm Ernie Oporto

I’m really interested in whether this has been tested for cycling!
I’ve seen a few concerns about cycling with headphones in traffic on other boards, but some of us ride old fashioned trails.
on 16 Jul 2006 at 7:38 pm Beth

They also sell teeny tiny ziplocks at The Container Store. They might be a little more substantial than the button ones.

FYI! :) But I like the suggestion of asking the local crack dealer. I’ll check on that!
(KIDDING!!)
on 17 Jul 2006 at 11:15 am Illini Jedi

Has anyone considered using one of the shoe house key holders. I think they are about 5 USD and should provide the same affect. Also u could rotate it between your shoes easier this way.
on 18 Jul 2006 at 1:02 pm klong

“would the transmitter work for cycling as well?”

I assume this device is a newer product that came from the Tailwind SDM (which was great). The Tailwind SDM worked by measuring inertial the forces of your foot. When cycling, your feet would not be moving in the stepping motion that I think the Nike+ is expecting. The device would measure *something*, but the measurements would not be at all accurate. Stick with a cycling computer, or if you NEED a gadget, get a GPS-based distance monitor.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0001ZMH14/104-4563472-2303903?v=glance&n=3375251
on 19 Jul 2006 at 12:55 pm Adi

Great job. Thank you.
on 19 Jul 2006 at 1:23 pm Ethan O'Connor

The seam that you can see between the white logo area and the surrounding plastic isn’t actually a seam in the case… the logos are printed on a sticker which is just stuck onto the upper half of the sensor case:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/synthesisstudios/193564093/
on 19 Jul 2006 at 2:54 pm Royce J. Rivera

ahha great job! btw Battle Royale = great book, movie isn’t as good in comparison to the book
on 20 Jul 2006 at 9:27 am adrian

i think you just pushed me to buy, great info thanks.
on 07 Aug 2006 at 4:26 am Kaye

Great idea to just stick the iPod@Nike sensor to Saucony’s. Personally I’m fond of my Grid Shadows so I’m seriously
considering buying the kit!
where I live it rains all year so I thought of another, easy waterproofing: condoms. Made of latex and practically
indestructable. When you use doublesided tape to attach the velcro it wont rip the latex.

Have fun!

Kaye
on 10 Aug 2006 at 7:11 pm T. Sato

Really great ideas…have already emailed a friend this real ‘find’ to solve the Nike shoe problem. Thanks.
on 05 Sep 2006 at 1:48 pm Cbob

Maybe I missed this (but I feel that I have searched the whole site). You can waterproof the sensor, but what about the nano? Does the Nike armband suffice for this?
on 13 Oct 2006 at 1:23 pm dokein

Seems like a lot of trouble to go through for a less-than-elegant solution.
I mean, who wants velcro, plastic, and duct tape stuffed under their laces?
I just grabbed my Xacto and carved a sensor-shaped hole into the midsole of
my Brooks Adrenaline GTS’s. Dropped in the sensor, and covered it back up
with the inner sole. Can’t feel it, can’t see it, works great. And it is
as water-resistant as it would be in a Nike+ shoe.
on 13 Oct 2006 at 1:38 pm podophile

To each his own, dokein. Your solution seems like more trouble to me… and less elegant. Believe it or not, some of us don’t actually want to cut up our running shoes. My main goal was to prove that you didn’t need the Nike+ shoes to use the Sport Kit, and to do it with as little damage to my shoe as possible. And BTW, there’s no duct tape involved.

Glad to hear you’re having good luck with your shoe mod.
on 21 Oct 2006 at 8:27 pm Laura

Thank you, thank you! I wanted one of these, but I had to admit that the nike+ shoes were just not as comfortable as the plain old nikes that I wanted (and more expensive, of course). The sales guy assured me that I could find information on the internet about how to use it anyway. And, I did!

Thanks again!
on 08 Jan 2007 at 11:26 am Alice

Thanks.. Your totally AWESOME!!! Over the summer I tried out a bunch of Nike shoes during our San Francisco CLUB runs (aka Nike Marathon training runs sponsored by Nike) with and with out the Nike+iPod Sport kit (ipod and Nike sensor) but none of the Nike shoes ever worked for me. I really loved the Nike+iPod Sport kit but after a couple of miles in any of the Nike shoes it became clear that Nike shoes were not for me. The problem is I love my ASCII GT 2110, which fit me perfectly. I’ve participated in 4 marathons in 2006, in my ASCII shoes so I know these are the shoes that work for me (I buy running shoes every 3-4 months).
When Nike advertised their Nike Plus resolution this month I really wanted to participate. For every person who meets their goal Nike will donate money to help children which is why I really wanted to participate. Now after reading this article I’m very grateful that I can participate and run in my favorite shoes. I can also be a team player in my running club too by participating in the Nike plus resolution challenge.

Thanks Again - xGoofy
on 01 Aug 2007 at 8:15 am spirez

According to the following supplier, this unit is fully waterproof anyway. Result!

http://www.sweatshop.co.uk/Details.cfm?ProdID=1885
on 15 Jun 2008 at 6:12 pm Mish

I can tell you if it actually is waterproof or not. My mother just found my sensor in the washing machine. I’ll let you know if it works.