Electronics Review: Nike Hatphones for iPod Nano

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Keeps your head warm while still giving you music

Cons: Designed only for the iPod Nano

The Bottom Line:

Wish the design was

More inclusive.  But I think

The Hatphone's great

 Perfect Cold Weather Gear

You know those brilliant ideas that you can't believe you didn't think of?  I've got another one for you.  From Nike comes the Hatphones.  With all the running I do to train for my mud runs, a friend gave this to me for Christmas, and I really like it.

This is pretty much what it sounds like.  It's a knit cap with head phones built into the lining.  Yep, it really is that simple.

The hat part is one size fits all.  I know the joke is that means it fits no one, but in my case, it does fit.  You'll want to position it so the speakers are over your ears, but since you can feel them, it's fairly easy to do that.

The speakers/headphones are sown into the extra-large lining.  These aren't the ear buds we have gotten so used to but the larger kind that used to come with your Sony Walkman.  Those who have a hard time finding ear buds that fit nicely in their ears will appreciate that.

Out the back of the hat is a cord to connect to your MP3 player.  It comes with a short cord that will connect to a player in the hat and a separate connection that will extend the reach of your cord to wherever you want to put your MP3 player.  I'm serious.  It would easily reach into the pocket of your pants.

The final feature is a pocket on the back of the hat the perfect size for an iPod Nano.  If you have one, it will slip right in and stay there while you run.  They've even got an opening so you can still control it, although you have to have things memorized since you can't see the screen at all.  While I have two iPods, I have the Touch and the Shuffle.  I find that I can attach the Shuffle to the band and forget about it.  In fact, I love not having a long cord brushing against me with every step.

Sound quality is just fine.  It sounds the same to me as the sound I would get out of my ear buds.  And the sound levels are about the same as they normally are.

While Nike obviously built this for runners, I can see it being used by people shoveling snow or just walking to a bus stop during the winter.

The care instructions say you can hand wash it in warm water and then air dry it.  With the electronics in the hat, that does worry me a little.  I hope it still works after I have to wash it.

While I have found a work around, it would be nice if it were designed to be used with more than the iPod Nano.  That's my only complaint with the Nike Hatphones, however.  Heck, I'm actually enjoying running in cold weather and wish I could use it year round.