How can I coil up my iPod headphones cord so that it doesn't tangle?

December 6, 2005 11:32 AM

How can I coil up my iPod headphones cord so that it doesn't tangle?

I carry my iPod in my coat pocket. When I'm not listening, I take the earbuds out, hold them in my hand, loop the cord around my palm a bunch of times, and stick it all in my pocket. When I go to take it out, it's always a mess.

I'm looking for a better way that is fast to wrap, fast to unwrap, and if possible, doesn't require digging the iPod out of my pocket.

posted by event to computers & internet (18 answers total)

I think Tetran looks like a nifty solution.
posted by soplerfo at 11:41 AM on December 6, 2005

I bought a set of these iPod headphone clips, and can't understand how I lived without 'em. Highly recommended; the only thing I haven't yet figured out is what best to do with the clip when I'm using my iPod. (I have a soft case -- one of the knitted iPod sock cases -- and I just slide it into the back when I'm listening; suboptimal, but does the job.)
posted by delfuego at 11:41 AM on December 6, 2005

Though I realize it's not exactly super fast to wrap/unwrap....
posted by soplerfo at 11:41 AM on December 6, 2005

Wrap the cord around the iPod.
posted by hellbient at 11:42 AM on December 6, 2005

smartwrap, cord-it, tuneclip.
posted by mendel at 11:50 AM on December 6, 2005

For an equipment-free solution, try wrapping the cord over-under, as done with larger cables in film, music and theater. I wrap my headphone cords this way, which prevents the mysterious self-tangling nature of cords simply wrapped loop-de-loop around a hand.
posted by thomascrown at 12:05 PM on December 6, 2005 [1 favorite]

Another vote for the Smartwrap (not that I've used any of the others).
posted by kimota at 12:12 PM on December 6, 2005

Zip-Linq is simply the best.
posted by jeffburdges at 12:18 PM on December 6, 2005

Seconding the smartwrap that mendel mentioned.
posted by hootch at 12:24 PM on December 6, 2005

Thomascrown has just made a permanent addition to the quality of my life. Thank you.
posted by alms at 12:42 PM on December 6, 2005

You know... I just wrap my cord repeatedly around my iPod (near the center) until it's almost to the earbuds, and shove that whole mess in my pocket... it seems to work just fine, and needs no special equipment.

If it matters, I wrap it around horizontally (i.e. around the smaller of the two possible dimensions)...
posted by twiggy at 12:44 PM on December 6, 2005

Thanks for your answers, everybody!

thomascrown, over-under is exactly the sort of thing I was looking for. Thanks!
posted by event at 12:55 PM on December 6, 2005

Thomascrown, you rock! Ropes, extension cords, heaphones, LAN cables.... I feel like a new man! Kudos to you, sir!
posted by anomie at 1:18 PM on December 6, 2005

Thanks thomascrown. I was thinking about this very problem today after class.
posted by vkxmai at 2:39 PM on December 6, 2005

When I coil my iPod headphones, I make sure the little doohickey that slides up and down the part of the cord that is separated into two wires is all the way up at the earbuds. I then wrap the headphones around my palm and put them with my iPod shuffle in an Altoids tin. They are never tangled when I take them out again.
posted by Third at 3:42 PM on December 6, 2005

Overunder doubleplusgood, but that still leaves the possibility of the earbuds themselves getting tangled after the cord splits into two. So I always wrap starting from the earbud-end, then lash the last few inches around the whole shebang, then lace the plug end through the eye of one of the two lobes that I've created by lashing. This way the earbuds are in the center of the coil and don't get tangled by loosening.


Oh, kind of like Third's method, except maybe some theoretical better protection by having the buds semi-padded in the middle of the coil.
posted by xueexueg at 6:12 PM on December 6, 2005

The combination of Third and thomascrown's suggestions works perfectly. It's exactly what I was looking for. Thanks everybody!
posted by event at 6:22 PM on December 6, 2005

I grab the earphones by the stem then wrap the cord around two fingers. Once I get to the headphone jack I pinch the jack and wound up cable and stuff the earphones in the center of the coil. This makes the coil a good diameter for the Timbuktu case Apple used to recommend.

For unwrapping, I pull the earphones out first and just pull on the cord until I reach the jack. To untwist the cord above the Y-splitter, I just stick my finger between the cords and pull up to the earphones.

This has worked tangle-free for about 3 years.
posted by therealadam at 1:47 PM on December 9, 2005