The folks at Pelican Products first approached us about
testing/reviewing their i1010 iPod Case while snowmobiling. We said we would
give it a try, although, quite honestly we don't regularly listen to an iPod
while sledding. Besides that, many snowmobile jackets these days come with a
pocket for an iPod so that you can listen while you ride if you so desire.
But we agreed and the i1010 was sent. When we got it, right
away we wondered how we would carry the iPod case while sledding. It's not that
it's heavy--quite the contrary. The polycarbonate case is fairly light. That
wasn't the issue. It was where could we carry it so the cord would reach. Our
backpack, which already has an shovel, avalanche probe, food, water and usually
a big camera in it, didn't seem like the ideal place. A coat pocket is somewhat
of an option but even at 5.88x4.06x 2.12 inches, the i1010 was almost too big.
With few options on a snowmobile we got to wondering about
taking the case with us while four-wheeling. The backpack option seemed more
viable because we don't carry near as much stuff in our pack while
four-wheeling as we do snowmobiling. And when we ride in side-by-sides, you can
set the case in the cubby hole on the dash or in the drink holder or a couple
of other spots we found, depending on the model of side-by-side.
With the problem solved, we tried the Pelican iPod case on a
few rides. The case is airtight, an important feature when four-wheeling and
it's dusty. We never had a problem with dust getting inside the case. It's also
crushproof, a feature we didn't test to the limits, but we did like it could
bounce around and not harm our iPod (it can also hold an MP3 player). We did
think we might have an issue with the external headphone jack, mostly in that
our headphones might come undone when we were bouncing around back that was a
non-issue.
The rubber liner inside the i1010 doubles as an O-ring seal,
which means the case is water resistant, although Pelican points out that it's
not waterproof and shouldn't be submerged in water.
The case also comes with a double-end tie down strap if you
want to latch it to something.
Overall, we were impressed with the i1010 and it did what
Pelican claimed it would do.
We did a check of the price on April 4, 2013 and the MSRP
was listed at $38.75 but it was on sale for $35.06.
For more information, visit http://www.pelicancases.com/.
