Author: Enid Burns

Puretoes Leaves Digits Free for Activities

Participating in an exercise class barefoot is not always appealing. The floors are grimy. Your feet might not give you the traction you need, particularly if the room is cold. You may just feel more comfortable with your feet covered. That said, socks and other footwear are not compatible with disciplines such as yoga, palates, dance and some forms of martial arts. In these disciplines traction and balance are essential.

In steps Puretoes. These are foot coverings – Puretoes doesn’t identify itself as socks – with a grippy material on the sole and stops at the toes. The combination of the free toes and the grippy coating on the ball of the foot and the heel make it possible to do many poses and combinations called for in several disciplines. There are separate holes for the big toe and the rest of the toes, which helps keep the foot covering firmly on your foot. You still have the ability to spread your toes to balance for poses such as the tree pose. You can do a karate kick without worrying your stocking-feet will slide out from under you.

There are similar products on the market, including toeless socks from Stick-e, which also have grippy coating painted to the bottom. While those socks are knit and similar to regular socks, Puretoes are made from a material that appears to be a light neoprene with a brushed material on the inside to provide comfort.

Puretoes Official Website
[Via GearJunkie: Puretoes ‘Not-a-Sock’ Foot Coverings]

ShirtShuttle Helps Commuters Tote a Clean Shirt

Biking to work sounds like such a brilliant idea. That is until you actually do it and show up to work with a damp, wrinkled shirt. The ShirtShuttle from Commuter Technologies, which is currently available exclusively at The Conran Shop in the U.K., is a weather-tight case fits a clean shirt and stores it in your backpack or messenger bag so it will arrive dry and crease-free. Continue reading ShirtShuttle Helps Commuters Tote a Clean Shirt

Columbia Thinks Corn is so Cool

Corn is a summer favorite. Recommended servings include grilled, steamed and cooked in the microwave as long as there’s a dollop of butter to melt over the kernels. But would you think about wearing corn? The Omni-Freeze Ice Baselayer from Columbia Sportswear coming out next year is made from a corn or maize-based fiber.

The shirt does well to keep the wearer cool in hot weather. Tiny crystals in the fiber undergo a change from solid to gel when they become wet. Sweat causes this reaction. The result is that the gel cools the skin, or “sucks heat from the surrounding environment,” Columbia claims.

This is called a baselayer, however even with the cooling functions it’s going to be the only layer.

Columbia Sportswear Official Website
[Via GearJunkie: ‘Maize-Based’ Compound Adds Cooling Effect to Columbia T-Shirt]

 

Interbike 2011: Road Rash Guard Buffers the Fall

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtQjyZSiM1g&feature=player_embedded

Whether you’re a pro cyclist or just out for a ride, you can crash. At decent speeds and a stretch of concrete to skid on, a crash can quickly lead to road rash. That’s some nasty business. If you watch pro-cycling, you’ll see that any crash can quickly result in ripped shorts and jerseys with some bloody red skin peeking through the tears.

A new device, the Road Rash Guard, aims to prevent road rash and the resulting ripped clothing, by taking all the scrapes for you. It’s a bubble of durable material that clips onto your clothing in areas you’d typically experience abrasion in the event of a crash. The Road Rash Guard acts like a caster you’d place under furniture to protect the floor. Place a few of these on strategic locations such as your shoulder, hip, thigh and knee, and your slide across the pavement will be buffered by this device.

Here’s some vitals on the Road Rash Guard:

  • Lightweight – 7 grams
  • Adjustable – Snap on/off repositioning on all of your cycling shorts/jerseys
  • Durable – made from the same Lexan material use in bulletproof windows
  • Reusable – multiple impact use
  • Washable  – with your cycling shorts and jersey

Snap on the device by separating the front and back, then sandwiching the two pieces on your clothes  (one inside your jersey, one outside) and securing with a snap. Then go cycling. You need a handful of Road Rash Guards to keep you covered, probably about three on each side of your body. Each one retails for $28.95, however the company offers discounts for bulk orders of 24, 36 and 48 units so if you go in with a group of friends you can get a better price.

It’s no guarantee that you will be scrape-free in a crash, but in many cases it’s the difference between some nasty abrasions and torn jersey and shorts and walking away from a crash with just a bruise. In most cases you’ll get a bruise where the Road Rash Guard sits on your skin, but that’s a more favorable option.

Road Rash Guard official site

Shaping The Bosworth Racquet

If you’ve hit a few balls on the tennis court, then you probably know that the swing is essential. But that said, the right racquet can really perfect the placement of each shot. While it’s not a new company, or racquet, Bosworth Tennis has reshaped the sport’s main equipment. And it’s that’s the sport’s best kept secret.

Bosworth’s signature racquet features a 10-sided head. It’s still the classic oval, but it’s curve is squared off. This reshaping on the classic doubles the sweet spot. That means more optimal surface to hit the ball.

Another element that really helps your game is that Bosworth racquets are custom fit to the athlete. The grip, the grip’s curve, playing style and experience are just a few elements that shape the final $399.95 product of the Bosworth Tour 96.

Czech player Radek Stepanek recently used a Bosworth Tour 96 to win the Legg-Mason Classic in Washington, D.C. The company reports several pros have used Bosworth racquets over the years, and that the company is well known by pros. Bosworth often does the custom fitting for pros, even when they choose racquets from other manufacturers.

Bosworth Tennis Official Website
[Via World Tennis Magazine: What strange racquet was used to win Washington last week?]

Trek Makes Bike about Art

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELrnwZWXkwk&feature=youtu.be

Trek and bike-related art organization ARTCRANK collaborated to create a bike about art. The result is the Trek District ARTCRANK Edition. The Trek District is Trek’s top commuter bike. The limited edition features graphics created by ARTCRANK Lead Designer Rob Angermuller.

The Trek District ARTCRANK Edition is a single-speed belt drive bike that’s predominantly white with black and red graphics on the frame and rims. We at KineticShift find white bikes to be striking, and this bike with its bold white black and red graphics is no exception. Continue reading Trek Makes Bike about Art

Ready Steady Go

There is a universal problem with bicycles – when you aren’t riding them they’re simply in the way. The New York Times recently ran an article on bike storage rooms in New York City apartments. Even if you’re not in an apartment, good bike storage is still an issue.

If you just lean your bikes (or use the kick-stand – gasp!) in the garage, you’ll want to check out a few of these space-saving racks and hooks to get your bikes out of the way.

Last year at Interbike we met with David Steadman, who showed off his invention SteadyRack – which made storing bikes after a ride a little easier. Now a year later, Steady Corp has signed an agreement with GearUp, Inc, which brings the rack to the United States.

“We are excited to be partnered up with the lads from GearUp and the great distribution network they have and the quality relationship and service level they have established in the U.S.,” says Steadman. “The SteadyRack has really taken off here in Australia and we are looking forward to great success in the U.S. as well.”

The new Steady Rack will once again be on display at Interbike 2011 at the GearUp booth, and hopefully will be in apartments and garages in America soon after.

Steady Rack official Website
[Via The New York Times: In N.Y. Apartment Buildings, Bicycles Muscle In]
[Via EcoVelo: NYT On Bike Storage in Apartment Buildings]

Walk a Mile to Juice Your Cell Phone

What does it take to get you to walk more? Would it get you on your feet to know each step you take will power your cell phone? That may soon be a possibility. InStepNanoPower is developing a shoe with a device in the sole that captures the energy created with each step. This energy is typically lost as heat in our tracks as we keep walking and creating more energy. Continue reading Walk a Mile to Juice Your Cell Phone

Motorola’s Rugged New DEFY+

Some mobile phones are built with more ruggedized features than others, but phone manufacturers often focus on drop and impact yet ignore some main culprits threatening a phone’s integrity: moisture, dirt and screen integrity. These are the main targets for the newly unveiled Motorola DEFY+, an Android-based phone that stands up to environment.

The DEFY+ runs Android 2.3 (Gingerbread), Google’s latest version of the mobile operating system. The new operating system is optimized to work smarter, faster, and offers better battery life so you can go longer without plugging in.

The features we like are the water resistant, dust proof and scratch-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass properties of the phone. We’ve  tested Corning’s Gorilla Glass, and compared to the display glass used on most phones, this new glass stands up to threats such as keys, rocks and other sharp objects. It takes quite a bit of pressure before the glass shows any signs of distress. So you can put this in your pocket and not worry if the phone’s display dances with other gear you have stored alongside it. Continue reading Motorola’s Rugged New DEFY+

Yoga Gets a Leg Up with Stick-e

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2lzZ204HVw&feature=player_embedded#at=108

Practicing yoga during the summer, or in hot studios as practiced with Hatha (or “hot”) yoga, sometimes doesn’t seem compatible. The heat makes you sweat, and sweat makes you slip on the mat or floor. Continue reading Yoga Gets a Leg Up with Stick-e

Nike Makes Your Run Into Artwork

You may imagine your run as a form of art. You go out, push your body’s limits, brave the elements, and sweat it out a few miles. But when you get home, the run fades. What if you could display a print that marked your tracks?

Nike, working with YesYesNo in collaboration with DualForces, produced the project Nike+ City Runs. Participants wearing Nike+ went on runs around New York City. Runs were then plotted on a lithograph-esque map of the city. A line representing the runner’s path is brighter and wider depending on the speed and intensity of the run.

For a SoHo store location installation, the project tracked a year’s worth of runs from the Nike+ website. YesYesNo created software that palyed back runs throughout New York, London and Tokyo. The runs showed tens of thousands of people’s runs, which animated the city in a black and white relief.

OpenStreetMaps created the maps used for the project.

This was part of the launch of the Nike Free Run+ 2 City Pack Series.

[Via psfk]

MapMyRun Takes On Marathons

MapMyFitness is an online training tool that uses social networking to track and discuss your workouts. The company offers tools for “MapMy” run, ride, walk, tri and hike. The MapMyRun segment is offering marathon tracking, according to some reports. The app is adapted with the MapMyRun software, RFID and GPS tracking to follow runners on race day.

Once runners are being tracked, friends can follow their competing friends, and watch the progress of other runners on the course. MapMyFitness tested the app at the New York City Marathon last fall, and the San Francisco Marathon, which took place last month.

A free version allows runners competing in the marathon to be tracked and later review results. A paid app ($1.99) lets spectators track their friends and other runners. Runners can post updates, though we think they might want to keep their mind and bodies on the course.

The basic version shows event info, the course map, participant listings and “buzz” which is likely Tweets and other conversational aspects on marathon day.

MapMyFitness and its free Marathon app on iTunes and Android

The Joya of Walking

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTpiBQ8ZSkY&feature=related

If you’re on your feet a bit, they probably hurt. You may at least need out of your shoes after a long day. Swiss shoemaker Joya claims to have the opposite effect on the wearer. MBT shoe creator Karl Müller sold his company and went on to create Joya Shoes. Continue reading The Joya of Walking