By Suzanne
It has been quite a few months since my last post about my beloved CyFi. What is the CyFi? Well, my friend, it is this iPod users favorite accessory. The CyFi is a wireless speaker system designed to be used with an iPod or, if you buy a different model, any bluetooth accessory. So, for those of you that cannot live without your tunes when you are off exploring, this thing is a must have gadget. Now, I’m the first to admit that I LOVE gadgets. Combine them with outdoor activities and that, my friend, is a match made in heaven.
Over the last few months that the CyFi and I have been hanging out, we’ve had some awesome adventures. It went with me up a couple 4k peaks in the White Mountains as I took my pup on his first big hike. Although my pup is a great trail buddy, the lack of human communication with the munchkin can be a bit wearing at times especially at the beginning of a very long day on the trail. So, my CyFi joined me for the first chunk of trail while I listened to some of my favorite podcasts about the great outdoors. The battery life was awesome and the handy controls right on the speaker made turning it down when other people came near really easy. To make it perfect for my hiking expeditions, I simply wrapped a bunch of layers of shelf liner around the upper section of my hiking poles until it was thick enough to use the handy included tube mounts with. There in lies my first wish for this awesome little gadget. I wish that there was either a mount compatible with a smaller tube size or, better yet, an included belt clip or carabiner clip to make this amazing speaker more friendly for use in other sports. There is a photo on their website that leads me to believe that there is an easy way to clip it to a backpack, but, for the life of me, I cannot figure out how.
Anyways, the CyFi is also perfect for the environmentalist in us all. It’s rechargeable! Come inside from your latest adventure and just plunk it on to its charging base and go get yourself cleaned up. Heading out again? It’s just a matter of grab and go. Add to that its shock resistance and water resistance and I dare say this is the outdoor & music lovers new favorite toy. It is perfect for chilling around the campsite, biking on the trail or the road, fishing at your favorite spot, or taking the munchkin for a jog.
I have used the CyFi with my iPod classic 120GB, iPod touch 8GB, and my husband’s Nano. Two out of three of them worked without a hitch. The only frustration I had was with the touch model while trying to steam content on to it and use the CyFi to listen. I don’t use the touch to listen to mp3s at all, so I didn’t have any music on it. When I plugged the transmitter in to the base of the touch, it didn’t recognize any way to play sound, so it wouldn’t link up to the speaker at all or turn the transmitter on. However, once I added just one mp3, I was good to go. Obviously streaming content isn’t, in general, an outdoor activity, this is not likely to be a problem for anyone else. But it was a bit mystifying when I was trying to watch the nightly news via an app while riding my bike trainer. So, if you plan to use it with your non-mp3-loaded-touch, now you know what to do. That has been my only problem with the CyFi since I got my hands on it.
Check back next month as I give my last update on the CyFi. I’m planning on really putting it to the test by taking it outside in the cold New England weather while I go snowshoeing. Should prove interesting!
