Customer Reviews

Apple Nike + iPod Sport Kit for iPod nano 1G, 2G, 3G, 4G, iPod touch 1G, 2G, 3G (OLD VERSION)

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I was skeptical about buying this because I'd read so many bad reviews. Nike and Apple both live on hype, so how good could it really be? After a lot of online research on how to position the chip in your shoe and calibrate it properly, I decided to buy. I followed the steps (listed below) and have had no trouble. I did a one mile calibration and 3 weeks later the Nike+ was accurate to 200 feet on my half marathon! Incredible for something that costs $30. Maybe GPS is for hard core runners, but this would be fine for your average running fan. And the cool online running log is a great bonus you don't get with the geeky full feature GPS systems.

The secret to making it work right:
1: position the chip face up, facing forward on your shoe

2: The chip must be held so it doesn't jiggle at all. (if you have nikes, this isn't a problem, but I don't so I cut a hole in my sole and made my own chip holder. I've see people use the lace holders with success, but it has to be really tight.

3: calibrate it for at least a mile on flat ground and try to run a consistent pace that is normal for your running. If you improve your average running time, you should recalibrate with the new pace for maximum accuracy.

(Was this nerdy enough for everyone?)

I wasn't going to read all the reviews, but among the several I did read, it was not once mentioned that if you have and iPod Touch, you DO NOT need to buy this kit. You don't need the receiver that's included because the Touch has that function already built in. So save yourself $10 and just buy the sensor alone.

I'd also like to add that despite the impression you may get from the reviews here, this product is not just for hard-core athletes or people who run marathons. Frankly, I couldn't even *jog* my way out of a paper bag. I use the Plus for walking, and it works perfectly. I set it to a certain amount of time and start walking. The pleasant voice alerts me when I'm halfway done, and then every minute for the last five minutes. This is great because I know when to start heading back home or to the car.

Also, I own neither the Nike shoes nor any sort of "holder" for the sensor. All I do is tuck it under my shoelaces, face up and near the toes. It sits in there snugly and since I'm only walking, I have no fear of it falling out.

I love this little device. It's great motivation to exercise. One small change I would make is to have the sleep switch be a sliding on/off switch instead of a button; as it is now, you can't tell at a glance if you've turned it off or not. Other than that, Nike+ has all the excellence and quality I've come to expect in my 20 years as an Apple customer.

I've been using my Nike+ system for 10 months, and wanted to share both the good and the bad:

THE GOOD
1. Nike+ can be calibrated for use with a treadmill. I live in a cold climate and found that entering challenges, etc in the winter was very motivating and helped me keep up with my running at a time when I would normally slack off.
2. The website is great! I love having a mileage/speed log and being able to enter challenges with runners from all over the world.
3. Easy to use. I know there are many reviewers who have experienced trouble with the sensor. I have 760 miles on mine with no issues, and find the system very easy to set up and calibrate for daily use.
4. Inexpensive. A great starting point, especially if you already run in Nike shoes, which I do. The external foot pouch appears to affect the device's accuracy. It is not as accurate as a GPS watch, but the price point is a lot more manageable.

THE BAD
1. It is not very accurate. I run with a friend who has a Garmin 305, and my Nike+ is almost always off to a certain extent (I do calibrate it regularly).
2. It becomes less accurate over time and distance. For example, it will be spot-on for a three mile run, but for a 10 mile run, its accuracy drifts. Others have mentioned this, and I have found it to be true as well.

Bottom Line: If you want a great motivational tool that will track distance and speed with reasonable accuracy, you'll love Nike+. If you run indoors some of the time, you'll love it. If you are training for races and/or are just more concerned with exact time and distance, you will be better served with a GPS watch.

I have purchased three Nike + in the last two years (one every 8 months). I use it on long runs and short runs, and I find it to be fairly accurate for being a fancy "pedometer." If you really want an exact count, you should get a GPS watch. I wish the battery life were better, but it's inexpensive enough that you can replace it fairly easily. Overall, this is a great product and it works well.

This product is great, but (despite the title) it is NOT compatible with the IPOD touch 1G. I had to get another IPOD to use this product. Do not buy the nike+ unless you own a nano, or IPOD touch 2G.

I have purchased two of these over the last two years, and I am utterly disappointed in its performance. Most recently, I used it to run the Nike Women's Half in October 2008. I did the run virtually, and the Nike+ was so inaccurate that it took me 16 miles in order to reach the Half Marathon goal (I ran at a forest preserve, so I knew the mileage I was actually running). I had calibrated it the week before, knowing that my first one was notoriously unreliable.

I do not run in Nike shoes, so I used the Shoe Pouch (also available here at Amazon). The device worked well enough for distances under 4 miles, but the longer the distance, the worse it performed. I cannot describe how devastating it was to reach mile 12 of my half marathon, only to hear the Nike+ log me at 32 minutes/mile!

The Nike+ Web site is very cool, and I loved the encouragement and graphic training history, but the device is just so awful that I am willing to forfeit all of it. I am saving up for a Garmin.

Aloha,
I'm a 52 yr old grandma and loving every minute of it! I don't run but I love to walk. As long as there are no steep hills, I can walk for miles enjoying the Hawaiian weather. My son encouraged me to enter the inaugural Kaua'i Marathon and after a few days of weighing the pros and cons, I signed up to walk the 1/2 marathon!

My son and daughter-in-law love their nike+ipod kit and encouraged me to get one, so i did!! I love it, love it, love it. I've set goals and challenges and my Nike+Ipod holds me accountable and motivates me to wake each morning at 5am to train. When I first started training I thought there was no way that I would make it to the finish line in the allowed 7 hours. On July 3, 2009 I walked 7.55 miles in just under 2 hours and reset my goal! Now I'm confident that I'm going to finish the 1/2 marathon under 4 hours!! Woohoo!! Thank you Nike+Ipod for being my Motivator!

Like several reviewers here, I like the Nike+, but I've found that its accuracy is not great all the time. I usually run on a measured track, so I've tried to calibrate it to be more accurate without much luck. As I pass a mile, two miles, etc. I check the Nike+ measurement, and its always short even after calibration The strange thing is often it will be short most of the run, and then at the end (eg., 5 mile run) it will be pretty close. My pace is pretty consistent too, so I don't think that is the problem. The reason I use it on the track is so I can record the workouts on the web site, which is excellent. If you're running out on the street and you don't have the path measured, the Nike+ is a good way to get a general idea how far you're running. I would say it's usually off by about 10%. If you want true accuracy, better get a much more expensive GPS system.

Works great, nike web site very cool to track progress or lack of it :). Better then the Wii.

This is a great product. I tuck it in my shoelaces because I don't own Nike shoes, and it works great. The online tracking is a lot of fun as well. I love to enter challenges because it motivates me to want to run more. My husband has one as well and loves it. I actually got mine because he had so much fun with his. My only problem with it - I keep losing the sensor because I take it out of my shoe when I don't run, but that is totally my fault.