We’ve seen a number of systems that allow a bicycle to charge up devices on the go. These typically feature a dynamo but not Ideso has introduced the PowerPac, which works much like larger stationary bike power systems. This device, which recently found the Red Dot “Best of the Best 2012” Design Award, could be the world’s first product to offer removable power storage.
Previously the systems required a cyclist to ride a stationary bike and act much like a generator. This provided power but it wasn’t very portable. The other solution is to mount the dynamo to the bike and juice up a device while going somewhere. The PowerPac seems to be a little of each, and after riding for about 80 minutes or so the battery is what can travel, offering enough power to be used to fully charge or power a smartphone, computer, tablet, camera or other devices. Continue reading Portable PowerPac
A good hockey stick – especially one made of composite materials – isn’t cheap, and unfortunately it isn’t the sort of the thing that is treated with the utmost care and respect. It is in fact a tool that can be beat around pretty hard, and this in turn can get expensive when it breaks. One-piece composite sticks, made of layers of carbon fiber, can cost $300 or more, so not exactly cheap to replace.
The military has often created new technology that trickles down to everyday products, and now researchers at the U.S. Naval Academy may have paved the wave towards making a more robust helmet. However, this isn’t a military helmet, although there is no reason why their research couldn’t help soldiers on the battlefield, but rather a football helmet.
Wrist guards have long been recommended for use with roller blades, but these can be useful in any sport where you can fall at high speeds. The catch is making sure that the wrist guards don’t interfere with the natural motion or restrict mobility. Hence, wrist guards aren’t really useful in cycling there these could impact ability to steer and maintain balance.
Most big companies don’t start as the result of a school project. Or if they do it is something like FedEx, which Fred Smith came up with while studying at Yale University, not a project for a fifth grade class. But that is exactly how Phoenix residents Devin and Lisa Kelley founded Recycled Skateboards International (RSI) after creating a birdhouse from recycled – upcycled – skateboards.
Utah-based Klymit is full of air, not necessarily hot air but air none the less. The company introduced an inflatable sleeping pad for campers a couple of years ago, and now the company is looking to bring out an inflatable windbreaker. This jacket has a valve in the hand pocket, which can be used to pump up the jacket’s air chambers, which makes it go tight against the body to add insulation. 
The Dutch love their bicycles, and they don’t stop riding for much. Because many residents don’t own cars they depend on the bikes to get them where they need to go all year round. That means riding in the rain, which we’ve seen firsthand and it didn’t look like fun. But it also means they need to ride in the winter, and that can be dangerous.
The problem with many fitness and athletic products is that there is little that can be done with the material once it breaks. Some products can be recycled – such as metal bicycle frames – but all too often the broken parts and equipment is simply abandoned or tossed in the trash. For surfers this is a problem because even when thrown in the trash broken boards can end up as floating garbage.
While the Motorola Solutions HC1 Headset Computer is now aimed at industrial and military users, we could see that it might not be long before this could find its way to athletes. This places an 800×600 micro-display for the user, with handset operation that is controlled by voice recognition and gesture.
When dropping $70,000 on a bicycle you’d think it would come with a frame made of gold or perhaps diamonds on the handlebars. The Thonet concept bicycle has no such as features and it is made of wood not gold. But the bicycle, which was designed by London architect Andy Martin, utilized steam-bent technology that has been used for a century and a half by the Thonet Chair Company.