Nike+iPod Sports Kit: DIY shoe mod 2.0

I’ve been looking forward to the Nike+iPod Sports Kit since the day it was announced. As soon as it was available i rushed out to get it. I bought the kit and the Nike+ armband together. Now the only thing that was left was the Nike+ sneakers. While the kit and the accessories were relatively easy to find, the sneakers have been hard to find. If stores have any, its the Nike+ Shox which are pretty ugly. I’ve been looking forward to the Air Max Moto’s but no one has them or has any item when they will be available. Most stores seem to think late August.

As I do workout and running is my main choice for exercise, i own a pair of Nike jet Streams which are about a year old and in great condition. I really don’t need a new pair of Nike’s but thought I would have to buy a pair of Nike+ ones for the kit to work properly. Then came along a post I seen on digg about attaching the sensor any shoe under the laces. While this was brilliant and seemed to work well in all accuracy test, the application was a little “ghetto” to me. This is when i got the bright idea to mod my own Nike’s to have a pocket under the sole and put the receiver in the shoe like the Nike+ shoes do. This way it doesn’t look like my shoes came from goodwill and the receiver will be protected from being lost, getting damaged or hit with water when running in the rain or through puddles.

My Nike Jet Streams

The Nike+iPod Sports Kit

First things first. Needed to open the box and check out the sensor. Its actually quite small and light. A little smaller than i was expecting, which is even better. Here is my Nano next to the receiver and transmitter.

Time to rip open my shoe and get this thing in. Unlaced my right shoe and pulled up the sole.

Found a nice spot under my arch to the transmitter would be someone comfortable and started cutting out a square with a utility knife. I used a pair of small needle nose pliers to tear out the foam as its pretty rubbery and wouldn’t be able to hand. After a few minutes of cutting and sizing and pulling I had a 90% perfect compartment. I could have done deeper but where i picked was the thinnest part of the sole on these shoes.

With the receiver in, not bad if i say so myself.

And here is the final project. As good as new with no cosmetic differences. There is a slight lump under my sole because I didn’t want to go any deeper with these shoes but you stop feeling it as soon as you start walking and when your running its non-existent. They are also very accurate out of the box. Was about .1 off a 1/4 mile and as soon as i calibrated the kit, its now dead on. Since I already had a iPod Nano and a set of Nike’s, i just spent the $29 which is well worth ever penny for this product if you run.