Do you listen to music while you paddle?

I tried out some Sony waterproof headphones on the weekend. They were really good. Sounded much better than I thought and incorporated a 4 gb MP3 player.

Does anyone else listen while they paddle? I didn't feel that there were any real safety issues.

I suspect if you were picky there might be safety issues, e.g. not hearing something and being surprised by its bow wave etc, but critically, for me, the issue is disengagement from the ocean environment. Each to his own, but I wouldn't do it for money

Not when ski paddling but sometimes when I'm doing a longer sea kayak paddle say 4 hours plus I'll take a phone I have that has a loud speaker and I'll have that on my deck. Usually I listen to a Sports channel we have on the radio as the music quality does not really inspire, however I suspect the Sony ear phones you have would be pretty good, but I wouldn't want to be that far removed from my surroundings as per Stephen.

I thought I wouldn't like the separation from the sound of the ocean. However listening to some of my favourite songs actually made my paddle awesome. I am working on increasing my stroke rate and attacking downwind swells. Having some ac/dc pumping got me pumping!

I run with podrunner cranking all the time, at a level I can hear my surroundings as well but I am also cautious to increase visual checks when running with sounds.

www.djsteveboy.com/podrunner.html

The fixed bpm tracks allow a set cadence for running, but 180bpm might be a touch quick for the ski!

Had a mate who was looking into this for his sports degree. He used our paddle group as an example and then some other students from his course. Actual paddlers tended to be faster when not listening to music as you have other factors such as technique, breathing, stroke rate to think about and focus on. Where's as inexperienced paddlers showed a significant improvement when listening to music. To be honest though its probably each to their own. I've never listened to music running either

(I tend to get songs playing on repeat loop in my brain when I paddle - once a song starts, I just cannot get rid of it.)

But for me, the sound and sensation of the wind and waves is partly what I paddle for - so I don't think I'd like to block it out.

But having said that, the idea of smashing down big waves and surf to heavy metal is a pretty cool idea...

I listen to music at times when I paddle longer fitness paddles...

I do not use in-the-ear headphones however because I find they can lead to inner ear infections and also block out too much of the natural sounds around me...

After a lot of experimentation, I found that this type of headphone, worn off of the ears and simply resting on your shoulders behind the neck, works best for me personally.



By leaving the speakers on my neck instead of wearing them over my ears, I still hear everything around me and get to enjoy the music as well.

The MP3 player I use is a unit made by Ryobi to use on construction sites called the Ryobi TEK4 2 GB Jobsite MP3 player .



This unit is a bit bulky because it has a 4 volt rechargeable battery that lasts for a ridiculous 72 hours of continuous playing between charging. It is very durable and allows the volume of the headphones described above, to be loud enough to make wearing the headphones on one's ears completely unnecessary. The unit is only water resistant, not water proof.

I find that a long, drudging, upwind-paddle against current can be a great deal more enjoyable whilst getting lost in the majesty of Led Zeppelin's The Ocean or Gun's and Roses version of Knockin' on Heaven's Door...

I always listen to music when paddling - and where I paddle it's not really a safety concern as there is very little traffic on the water. I use my iphone in a waterproof pouch, with cheap headphones. I find the ones from woolies or coles for about $5 last me a month or so and still sound much better than any waterproof one's I've tried.

Singing out loud some ACDC while paddling is a very good breathing drill...

Hiro wrote: Singing out loud some ACDC while paddling is a very good breathing drill...

I do that also; it keeps away the sharks too.

I've got the narabeen downwind tomorrow. Supposed to be reasonably windy. I'd love to do the race with some pumping music.

Nothing but Finnish speed metal on race pace paddles or downwinders and Enya on long slows.

Bill.

another great thing about music while paddling is paddling to the tempo of the music - make yourself a mix that lasts for a couple of hours that has some faster and some slower music in it. Then whack the ipod on shuffle and when the music goes hard so do you. Because it's on shuffle you never know how long you have to go hard for.

Looks like I'm the only stick-in-the-mud old fart here. I love music, love paddling, and love the ocean. I just cannot relate to listening to music while paddling, just seems to take the purity out of it. But good luck to all of you who like it, just not for me...

I have not yet but I like the idea. I don't think it should be a yes or no thing. I can imagine that depending on mood, sometimes it might be nice to have some good tunes coming in whilst doing a downwind...and then again if I feel like connecting with nature, I obviously would not listen to music. One of my businesses products is a waterproof MP3 player and FM tuner... I have used it for swim training but not for paddling yet. www.civvio.com/pWMP001/Civvio-Waterproof...er-and-FM-Tuner.aspx

Don't dismiss it till you try it. For solo training it is awesome.

I use a waterproof Sony unit with Sennheiser earphones that fit in the ear but don't have silicone seals so the ambient sounds are not affected. I have tried the in ear type but find that it affects my balance and blocks out too much ambient sound.

Nothing beats a good surf session with good music! Try Rammstein "Sonne" the next time you get some good swell.

There's no way I will listen to music during a downwind... But when doing a long slow or intervals on flat water I like to have some music if I'm alone. No need for music if i'm paddling with a friend.
I don't like earphones or headphones. i use a "vibration speaker in a waterproof box.