Couple creates running vest with music, safety in mind
PORTLAND, Ore. – Shelley and Rob Stout get to rock out on their run through the park without using headphones.
The Lake Oswego couple invented the Road Noise vest, which plays tracks from your music player without the safety risk of ear buds.
“It’s not like a big boom box comin’ down the road, nobody’s gonna hear it at the intersection,” said Rob Stout.
So where does the music come from?
Two speakers on the shoulders connect to your music player, which you store in a pouch in the front of the vest.
“It slides right into the pocket, cord’s contained inside,” Stout said. “There’s nothing pulling out of my ears, there’s no cords and I can hear cars coming you know, behind me, you can hear bicycles.”
The idea was born from a need during the 2010 Hood to Coast relay. Shellie Stout wanted to listen to music during the race, but runners are not allowed to wear ear buds.
“I sewed this little pouch, put it in there and pinned it to my jog bra under my shirt and then the cord went down and hooked to my clip with my iPod on it,” Shellie said.
Rob said he thought about the idea after the race and decided he didn’t want to let it go.
“We really felt it had the potential and then once we got a prototype that fit and worked I went and took it for a five mile run and I was like ‘wow, this is really nice.’”
During this year’s Hood to Coast, Rob and Shellie said they saw dozens of runners wearing their invention.
“It’s one of those things you look back and you wonder how you did it.”
The Lake Oswego couple invented the Road Noise vest, which plays tracks from your music player without the safety risk of ear buds.
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That is a great idea! I see people all the time, riding bicycles, driving or walking with ear buds in, they can not hear traffic around them. At one time I think there were laws on the books prohibiting covering both ears while operating vehicles, (Trucks, Autos) for safety reasons.
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Kudos to them, and reflective vest also!
They have a very good idea, I been doing this for a long time on my mt. bike. I have my phone, mp3 player and a pair of iHome speakers mounted on my handle bars. I got my speakers at Costco for around $40.00 as I remember.
Great idea!
Back in the 1970's, there was a radio device that had speakers on either side of a sleeve tube, that went around the neck. This vest reminds me of that device. It was called the Bone Fone.Â
 @washcomom I remember the Bone Fone! A friend of mine had one - It rested against your collarbone to increase the sound you hear without sounding loud to others around. It worked reasonably well if you had good radio reception.
while this is a cool Idea, I remember a certain am/fm stereo cassette player that had "push to listen" feature. It had 2 eternal mics that allowed for you to interrupt the device so you could hear traffic and such.