As careful as we may try to be with our iPods, it doesn't always happen. Outdoor activities especially can be dangerous for your iPod... that is unless you have hard-case protection like the oPod.

If you've ever had an iPod mishap, then you know they can set you back hundreds of dollars on repairs or even force you to buy a new one. In fact I just had to mail my wife's iPod to iPodMods for repair because of a steam pipe leak in her office building. So if everyday events can be hazardous for your iPod, what about vacation activities? Can you imagine bringing your iPod boating, hunting, or mountain biking? The iPod has become part of our lives and needs to go where we go without hesitation. I can remember how I used to bring my old Walkman Sport to the beach all the time, but I never had the guts to do the same with my iPod. My iPod was only used during my daily commute, to and from work…. until I got an oPod.

The oPod is a protective case for your iPod. Sure, there are similar products on the market that will protect your iPod, but what makes the oPod different is the accessibility to the iPod's controls. Once you seal up your iPod inside the oPod, you can still access the iPod's touch pad functions through a clear soft plastic cover from outside. Even though you can't physically touch your iPod, it will remain completely accessible through the oPod's clear plastic case. A very helpful feature if you don't want to get fish guts all over your iPod.

Attaching the oPod case to your iPod is very easy and can be accomplished in a matter of seconds. To ensure that your iPod gets a custom snug fit, the oPod comes complete with various foam spacers and a variety of different headphone adapters. The foam spacers help create a tight fit for your iPod so it doesn't rattle loosely around while inside the case. These foam spacers are necessary because every iPod model has a different thickness (i.e.. the 10 GB is much thinner than the 60 GB). Although the oPod is not waterproof, the rubber headphone adapters help seal off the oPod from liquid threats. A variety of sizes are included in the headphone adapter set. This allows you to use almost any wire thickness for connecting external speakers or headsets to the headphone jack. It's apparent that lots of careful thought went into the design and production of the oPod. Kudos to the development team at Otterbox.

I recently took my iPod on vacation to upstate New York's Adirondack Park. I'm happy to report that the oPod successfully protected my iPod from a spilled beer, ash covered fingers from the fire pit and a drop in the dirt from waist high. Because of the oPod's protection, my iPod received no damage at all.

When first researching the oPod, I was confused on whether or not it was waterproof. Even though it may look waterproof, the oPod isn't. If you are brave enough to take your iPod underwater, you should consider getting the Lilipod. But keep in mind you can't access the iPod's controls while underwater. With the Lilipod, you have to hit play and seal it up until retuning to the surface.

Besides my initial confusion in thinking it was waterproof, the only issues I had with the oPod were pretty minor.

The oPod's see through plastic screen sometimes makes reading the iPod's menus a little difficult. Don't misunderstand me, your iPod's screen is still readable while inside the oPod, I just feel like it could be sharper. Perhaps thinning or slightly smoothing the clear plastic square area over your iPods screen could help a little.

The other concern I had was with the oPod's headphone spacers. Because all headphones have different wire thickness, these tiny rubber spacers allow you total flexibility in deciding which pair or headphones you can use with the oPod. However, when I first opened the little plastic bag with the 3 rubber spacers, I immediately dropped one on the floor. It wasn't easy to find. These little dark gray rubber spacers easily blend in to carpet. It might be a better idea to make these spacers a more vibrant color like bright orange.

Bottom Line: The oPod provided excellent protection for my iPod several times during my vacation in Adirondack Park. If you have outdoor plans for you and your iPod, like hiking, biking or going to the beach, then definitely consider getting an oPod. In fact, if you really care about your iPod, you won't leave home without it! The oPod provides great protection for your iPod for under $50.

OtterBox makes protective cases for the iPod Mini, iPod, iPod Nano, iPod Video as well as the original iPod.

This item is available for purchase from Amazon.com A company called Otterbox manufactures the oPod. They make all types of water and crush proof cases for everything from cigars to PDAs. A quick glance through their catalog and you might think you've seen one of their products before in a movie (probably carrying diamonds, chemical weapons or plutonium). For more information, check out: http:://www.otterbox.com Rating: Requirements: iPod 3rd or 4th generation Manufacturer: http://www.otterbox.com