I have been kitesurfing with the H2Audio cases for about 3 years. So I figured I would put a review together for anyone thinking about kiting with music.

First I looked at all the options out there between using a waterproof player or a case for a player. I decide to go with a case for my iPod because of the simplicity. I was already using iTunes to manage my music and it just made sense to keep going that way. I know I played right into what Apple wanted but after talking with a friend using a waterproof player and the problems he had adding and managing music for that player I am glade I did.



When I bought my 1st case the only H2Audio case available was one for my 3rd generation iPod. I am not even going to say how much I paid but it was way too much.

What I learned with this one was that I really didn’t need all the iPod features and that most of the time I would just select a playlist and hit the water. The other thing I learned is that waterproof headphones are not that great. Here are the 1st, 2nd and 3rd generation H2Audio earphones I have used.

Each generation gets better. Also you do need to be careful with the earphone wires. I have had 2 for the 4 pairs I own break on the inside after getting yanked. A thing that is hard to believe is that they do stay on your head. I would say that 3 of 5 major crashes they stayed in place or just came off of 1 ear.

After a year of kiting with the original case. I saw the shuffle version online and order it along with the second generation earphones. This has turned out to be the best set-up for kiting. It is the perfect size and it is easy to use while kiting.

Over all I have found that the H2Audio cases have worked well for me and most importantly have not leaked.

H2Audio released a new version of their headphone a month or so a go that claims to have better sound. I most likely will pick up a pair and maybe a 2nd generation shuffle and case for it for the 2009 season.

On a related note. Don’t buy the swimman waterproof shuffle. I bought one at the start of this season. After 3 sessions it stopped outputting sound. All other functions worked so it basically became a very expensive thumb drive. I sent it back and they could not fix it so they sent me another one. After 3 sessions the same thing happen to the new one. If you do get one and it last more than 3 sessions let me know