Unique bone-conducting wearable allows swimmers to listen to music and podcasts underwater

Swimming remains one of the most top-tier exercises, providing full-body cardio, resistance training, and the ability to stay cool while exercising all in one shot. However, it has one big disadvantage – you can’t listen to music while swimming. “One of the issues that swimmers face during workouts is that swimming sometimes can get monotonous. Over time it becomes quite boring to swim from one side of the pool to the other,” say the designers behind SONR, the world’s first swimming-focused audio device. Designed to be the swimming equivalent of popping AirPods in while hitting the gym, the SONR Music is a unique wearable designed to help swimmers listen to music, podcasts, and instructions while underwater. The puck-shaped device slides underneath your cap or goggles, sitting firmly against the back of your skull and uses bone-conducting technology to deliver audio to you. It’s designed to make you ‘hear’ audio by delivering vibrations to your inner ear via the bones in your skull. That means your ears remain free to either stay open or to wear earplugs while swimming.

Designer: SONR Inc.

SONR’s journey started with the eponymously named flagship device, which focused on allowing swimmers to listen to their trainers/instructors while swimming. Paired with a walkie-talkie that delivered the trainer’s speech in real-time, SONR allowed the swimmer to hear their coach even while moving through water. The SONR Music takes its predecessor’s technology and builds on it by adding Bluetooth functionality to the device. Pair it with your phone and the SONR Music lets you listen to tunes or podcasts while you swim. Create a playlist and you could be in the water for hours without getting bored… or have your workout/performance affected by intrusive, negative thoughts that could decrease your motivation and focus.

The SONR Music’s one-size-fits-all design makes it perfect for virtually anyone. It slips right under your cap or the strap of your goggles, and in just minutes, you’ll forget it’s even there. The device plays audio by delivering vibrations directly to your inner ear by circumventing the eardrum altogether. You can hear music while also listening to noises around you, or wear earplugs to hear your music/podcasts better. The device is designed to be water-resistant up to 5ATM, and here’s the kicker – it works just as well on land too, allowing you to use it while cycling, trekking, and exercising. Conversely, you could also use it while surfing or paddleboarding.

The SONR Music works with locally-stored files too, offering up the ability to swim in larger pools without having your Bluetooth connection stutter or falter. Athletes can directly store audio files (music, podcasts, motivational audio) onto the SONR Music and have them play back while swimming. The device has a battery life of 8 hours, and a built-in memory of 8Gb. Each SONR Music ships with a goggle clip, USB charging cable, and swimming earplugs.

The post Unique bone-conducting wearable allows swimmers to listen to music and podcasts underwater first appeared on Yanko Design.

Underwater Scooter lets you glide through water without actually swimming

I am fascinated by sea creatures and would love nothing more than to go underwater and watch them, play with them, and take pics and videos of them. There’s one major problem though: I don’t know how to swim. Well I can do a few strokes but when I get out of my depth (literally), I panic and almost drown myself. But if there’s a device that can help me explore the ocean more without me drowning or taking months to learn how to swim properly, I’d be willing to try it.

Designer: KLW Design

This Underwater Scooter concept is especially created for people like me who love to be in the water but aren’t really that great at swimming (or even floating by themselves). What it basically does is make you go faster in the water without necessarily having to use your arms or feet or a speedboat or something. But for those who don’t know how to swim, it can also be a tool they can use to make the water experience better. Instead of using your feet as you normally would in a scooter, this time you place it in your hands and let it propel you through the water.

It uses a double propeller propulsion structure to, well, propel you through the water without expanding so much strength and effort. It actually looks like a drone or a miniature plane which is fitting since it lets you fly in the water anyway. The round and smooth shape of the device makes it more stable and flexible and also increases the speed as well as its endurance when being used. It is also built that way to reduce the resistance in the water. It takes on the energy you would normally expand when swimming on your own.

And since swimming or diving in the water almost always involves some encounters with sea creatures, the scooter also lets you take photos and videos while “riding” on it. You can install a Go Pro on the front bracket to document your experience. If you prefer just looking at them, you can also install a flashlight in case it’s too dark. I am actually not sure if I’ll be confident enough to swim or dive underwater using this scooter but at least it can help me move in the water.

The post Underwater Scooter lets you glide through water without actually swimming first appeared on Yanko Design.

Own Your Own Massive 32′ x 16′ Above-Ground Pool

Summer is coming, and you know what that means – I guess the opposite of whatever they meant in Game of Thrones. And what better way to enjoy the warm weather than with a massive 32′ x 16′ x 4’4″ above-ground pool? After all, digging a giant hole would take time and muscles – neither of which I have.

Available on Amazon for the low, low price of $3,300 (affiliate link), the pool holds an impressive 14,364 gallons when filled to 90% capacity and includes a 2,800 gallons/hour sand filter pump system to keep the water clean. I hate that I even have to mention this, but you still shouldn’t pee in it, just so we’re clear.

So, are you buying one of these and inviting me over for a pool party or what? I’ll even bring my own water wings AND help you fill up the pool with your neighbor’s hose. Think of all the fun we’ll have! There will be a lifeguard on duty though, right? Because I might panic and forget I can just stand up.

[via DudeIWantThat]

This modular low-cost flotation device uses recycled plastic bottles!

The World Health Organization is spearheading efforts to help children in low-income areas learn how to swim, and the SAVIOUR concept attempts at creating highly-effective, low-cost training tools for children as they gradually pick up swimming. The Saviour is a modular system of interlocking tubes that help you create flotation devices. The tubes don’t float themselves, but rather, allow you to attach multiple plastic bottles around the rim to help the overall product stay afloat. You can either assemble the Saviour to form a U-shaped training apparatus, or join multiple pieces to close the U, turning it into an O-shaped device that children can use as a tube.

The Saviour is low-cost, and its individual modules can easily be 3D-printed based on demand. Moreover, it utilizes plastic bottles, helping recycle waste into something vastly more useful. If a plastic bottle gets damaged, it can easily be replaced with another one, allowing you to quickly upgrade/repair your training gear. Besides, the colorful bands on the Saviour help increase its visibility, allowing you to spot it floating on the water from a distance!

The Saviour Modular Swimming Set is a winner of the Golden Pin Design Award for the year 2020.

Designers: Chih-Shan Huang & Wan-Ju Wu

This Apple Watch accessory lets you use your smartwatch with earphones while swimming

Keep the water out and the music in.

The Interval Swim Earphones from H2O Audio build on the Apple Watch’s ability to work underwater. Designed as an attachment/accessory to the watch, these bad boys strap around your head using your goggles (giving them a universal fit), and allow you to dock your Apple Watch right into them. They come with a pair of Bluetooth earphones too, that aside from preventing water from going into your ear, allow you to listen to music, podcasts, ebooks, motivational speeches, or feedback from your coach.

The Interval Swim Earphones come with an endorsement from avid-user and Olympic legend Michael Phelps too. They’re 100% waterproof, engineered to sound great underwater (with an increased bass response), and come with physical controls for adjusting the volume as well as for play/pausing your audio tracks. A variety of earhole tips allow you to get the most secure fit, so the earphones stay in place with a watertight fit while you’re swimming… and a companion MySwim app for the Apple Watch lets you log your laps and swimming progress too!

Designer: H2O Audio

Click Here to Buy Now

Click Here to Buy Now

Form’s Swim Goggles display heart rate data in the pool

You might have thought Form already perfected the Swim Goggles, but the company is about to add another welcomed feature: heart rate tracking. Today, Form announced that it's teamed up with the fitness wearable company Polar to introduce the heart ra...

This Jurassic World T-Rex Pool Float Is So Wrong Its Right

There’s something odd about this T-Rex but I can’t put my finger on it. It might be the fact that its body is shaped like a donut. Yeah, that’s it. You’re not looking so ferocious in that shape are you mister T-Rex?

Well, I mean, he’ll still tear you apart in the pool. This is the officially licensed Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom T-Rex Pool Float. For 40 bucks, you get a 70-inch dinosaur. I’m no math wiz, but that’s less than a dollar per dinosaur-inch. Inflate this bad boy, throw it in the pool and hop on. You are now king of the water dinosaurs. That’s right. The T-Rex has now evolved to be an aquatic creature, even though those arms clearly can’t help it swim. Nature is weird like that.

Look at the smile on this guy. He’s happy to be in the water on a hot day. They should have just made a T-Rex head and had it weighted so that it looks like this guy is rising up from the water, because I really just want to scare people in the pool. But it’s still pretty cool to be able to ride a water T-Rex like I’m Jurassic Aquaman.

[via Dude I Want That via Geekologie]

OptiShokz built bone conduction audio sunglasses

Keeping your ears open to the environment is key when riding a bike or otherwise needing to stay aware of your surroundings, but music is life right? The AfterShokz Trekz Titanium and Air series have been filling that need quite well for a while, but...

Luxury resort bans gadgets at swimming pool to create guest ‘haven’

Look, as great as it is to have all these fancy laptops and smartphones around us, sometimes we can become too attached to them. And when you're on vacation, you just have to find a way to break free from technology. That's why a luxury resort in Bal...