Nike shoes not required

One of the first questions people ask about the iPod Nike+ running system is whether or not the special Nike shoes are required.

They're not!

In fact, you can attach the transmitter to any pair of shoes! You just need a special pouch or another holder of some sort.

I found a "lace lid" on eBay for a few dollars, and it works great! Here's my shoe with the transmitter laced up. Note that the shoe is a Nike shoe, just not the special ones:

According to recent news reports, Nike is adding the Nike+ transmitter "hole" to its entire line of shoes. But if you don't use Nike brand shoes or want to be able to access your transmitter a lot easier (to turn it off or stash it before a flight), then this is the way to go. While I can't find this specific one anywhere right now, there are other "pouches" available such as this one by Grant Technology and this one by Jogalite.

My first "pouch" was super low-tech: it was a small clear plastic zip-lock bag that I taped around my laces. Worked great, and hey -- it was waterproof!

Check out other sensor pouches on our gear page.