Category: concept

Every Third Thursday Creates Snow/Surfboard

Don’t tell the guys at Signal Snowboards/Every Third Thursday it can’t be done. They’re created snowboards with iPads and boomboxes built in, and now they’re done what a lot of people would likely say can’t be done – a snowboard that can double as a surfboard!

Now on the surface a board is a board, right? Well, yes and no. Both do ride on water – just one is wet and the other is frozen. And while surfing has existed as long as man has tried to float, snowboarding is actually a fairly new concept. But the latter does often look to the former.

So how’d it work? Better than expected as the video below shows! Video after the jump

Used Packaging to Catch a Wave

While that polystyrene foam – sometimes called by the brand name Styrofoam – does a great job protecting consumer electronics while in the box, the white stuff typically ends up in the garbage. But now the foam is seeing new uses as a surfboard.

This is the idea behind Sustainable Surf, a new nonprofit from South California that is looking to transform the foam into wave ready boards. The new program called Waste to Waves launched it first campaign, “Turn Your Trash Into Slash,” where companies (and even individuals) can give the polystyrene to Marko, which will transform it into a lightweight surf board. Video after the jump

It’s Called a Brain Bucket For a Reason

The good old sports helmet has been around a while, and the first recorded use of a dedicated fitness helmet was probably designed for football – although British officers did use their pith or sun helmets to play polo in the 19th century. Today helmets are often called “brain buckets” as they do product the gray matter and much more.

And in the past couple of years a lot has been made of the importance of designing a better helmet, with MIPS AB being among those on the forefront of changing the way helmets should (rather than do) protect the head. As GearJunkie noted last week:

MIPS stands for “multi-directional impact protection system,” and the company touts its technology as mimicking one of the body’s natural defenses against trauma. The brain is surrounded by a “low-friction cushion of cerebrospinal fluid,” MIPS literature notes, adding that its technology imitates the brain’s way of protecting itself by giving the helmet its own “low-friction layer” between the outer shell and the liner. This layer, which is a plastic insert, absorbs energy created in a fall and better protects the brain, MIPS claims. Continue reading It’s Called a Brain Bucket For a Reason

No Touching Dynamo Lights the Way

There is a saying the close only counts in horse shoes and hand grenades, but it soon close could be enough when it comes to providing light for bicycles. Right now there are two ways to get light to shine the way – either have it powered by a battery or utilize a dynamo-powered light that works by utilizing the motion of the bike itself. The latter is green, but can still slowly wear down the tire and it requires extra effort for the rider.

Now German inventor Dirk Strothmann has created a small, no-contact, self-contained dynamo bike light that makes close close enough. So how does it work? Simple enough actually, instead of friction it works magnetically where the spinning wheel and the magnets in the dynamo take advantage of eddy currents, with the result being electric energy from the metallic rims. Video after the jump

Get Bent – With Pyro Bike Seat Post

The world isn’t flat, but when it comes to bicycle design the old beliefs are sometimes hard to kill. It took years for carbon fiber to be accepted as a frame material. Likewise, for decades most bicycle’s front forks were curved – but now as forks are straight, seat posts are going around the bend with new curved designs.

At least that is the design that is coming from Taiwanese-based Pyro Bike, which has offered a new seatpost that is both lightweight and curved. At just 185 grams in alloy 7 series 3D forged, it is probably one of the lightest on the market, but it is the new twist the company is putting on the seat posts that might turn heads.

We’re actually sure what the benefits might be, but as with a lot of designs – some work out and some don’t. It will be interested to see if Pyro Bikes International is onto something, or if they’ve just round the corner.

[Via Bike Europe: Innovative Seatpost by Pyro Bike]

Snow Lizard Unveils Rugged, Solar-Powered iPhone 4 Case, Wants You to Back It Via Kickstarter

Accessories-maker Snow Lizard Products has introduced what could be the perfect rugged case for the iPhone 4 and 4S: the AQUA TEK S. The tank-like case not only gives your iPhone waterproof protection, but a built-in batter and solar charger gives your iPhone an extra boost of power (with these devices getting more and more power hungry, that’s welcome, especially if you’re outdoors without access to a power outlet).

The case is waterproof up to 20 feet and can withstand drops. A top lid opens up to easily let you remove or insert an iPhone, and all the iPhone external buttons are accessible via corresponding external buttons on the case.

However, there’s a catch: it’s not for sale, yet. It looks like Snow Lizard is looking for some financial backing for this product and is utilizing Kickstarter. Snow Lizard plans to sell it at retail for $130, but if you pledge $25, $175, $1,000, or $5,000, Snow Lizard is including some extras for those who get in early, like ski passes to Utah resorts.

Check out the video and more info on the AQUA TEK S Kickstarter page.

Snow Lizard Official Website
AQUA TEK S Kickstarter Website

Snowless Winter Won’t Stop This Sled With Wheels

This winter has been for many parts of the United States the year without much snow. Even when it has snowed the white stuff hasn’t been on the ground for long. This has been good for local communities as it means less money has been spent clearing the roads, and ski resorts are surviving (if not exactly thriving) as they can make manmade snow.

So it seems like a win-win, unless you’re a kid hoping to get some time on the slopes with your sled. Most communities don’t have the snow making capabilities of the resorts so this means no snow on the local sled hill. Now fortunately Polish designer Szymon Hanczar has something for those brave souls who want the thrill of sledding but don’t have snow. He’s introduced the We Never Give Up!, a modern sled that features a minimalist design that works on flat, sloping surfaces. And for those not brave enough to actually ride this thing, it could double as a coffee table!

Hanczar Design
[Via Design Milk: We Never Give Up! Modern Sled]
Additional photos of this potential death trap

Folding Skis Let Snowboarders Ascend the Slopes

Over the years the concept of “folding” has been applied to numerous outdoor activity products – notably folding bicycles. So why not folding skis? This is the idea behind MTN Approach, which has developed the first (that we know of anyway) folding skis.

And here is the twist, these skis aren’t really meant for skiers but for snowboarders and as such aren’t really for the downhill aspect of the sport. It would be easy to see the company create a product that was meant to be used for hikers and others to climb up on foot and descend on the folding skis. But MTN Approach is taking another approach entirely. These skis, equipped with special skins, are designed to meant to help skiers climb a mountain and glide over short downhill sections. We first previewed the skis last summer, and now its seems these are finally making their winter debut. More images and video after the jump

Google X Glasses on the Way?

Google has many eyeballs on its search engine, as well as eyeballs on its mobile Android OS and of course eyes on the Google Chrome browser. Now it seems Google may be looking to get eyes looking through sporty looking eyewear too. Rumors have been circulating that Google Glasses could be on the way, offering an HUD screen on one lens to see a miniature screen, and earbuds to listen to music and make calls.

While not exactly designed for sports, these could offer benefits the in future for athletes, providing speed, calories and other information directly to the glasses so eyes are never off the road (or in many cases the prize). Let’s just hope people don’t think they can watch a bike race while out on a ride with these!

[Via AndroidCommunity: Rumor: Google’s Android-based HUD glasses getting public trials soon]

Shape Shack Venture for Snowboards

The Euphoria (top) and the Zelix (bottom) - the first two boards from the Shape Shack

If the shape of a snowboard wasn’t important to performance boards would probably look like flat – well boards! But shape is important, Colorado-based Venture Snowboards isn’t just going back to the drawing board, it is introducing its new experimental division, the Shape Shack, with the goal of coming up with odd yet funcation board designs that other companies haven’t thought of yet. Continue reading Shape Shack Venture for Snowboards

Nike Gives Prosthetic Leg Some Sole

This week we heard about a feel good story, where Nike is helping competitive amputee athletes by adapting its shoe technology for use with prosthetic legs. The Nike Sole has been designed to work with the Össur’s Flex-Run prosthetic running blade, which is used by competitive amputee athlete including Sarah Reinertsen (above).

The sole features a stacked design and comes with a stretch rubber leash over a rubber waffle outsole. Reportedly this material is made up of “regrind” soles that come from recycled shoes, while the polyurethane foam midsole is topped by a thermal plastic that was created from recycled air bags. So not only does this technology offer a benefit for amputee athletes but it is good for the planet in the process. And time will tell how this might help disabled athletes perform. Continue reading Nike Gives Prosthetic Leg Some Sole

Bluetooth SIG Forms Sports and Fitness Working Group

The Bluetooth Special Interest Group formed the Sports and Fitness Working Group with the goal of participating companies to “work together to enhance interoperability between Bluetooth enabled sports and fitness sensor products and training computers (Bluetooth Smart devices) and hub devices such as smartphones, PCs, TVs (Bluetooth Smart Ready devices), gym equipment, watches and more to allow a new generation of functionality.”

The working group will work to advance the use and abilities of Bluetooth in sports and fitness devices. In particular, the group will work with the new generation, Bluetooth v4.0, a low energy technology that gives devices connectivity without using too much battery life.

Mosoro, one of the working group’s first members, is working on a Bluetooth Smart sensor that connects to a golf club to record and send data on a player’s golf swing, which is sent to a smartphone for real-time feedback. Devices that serve as an example for the group are the Motorola MOTOACTV fitness watch and Nike+ FielBand, a wristband that uses Bluetooth to sync with a user’s smartphone to track and analyze physical activity.

Bluetooth SIG is accepting new members to the Sports and Fitness Working Group. Registration for the Sports and Fitness Working Group and Sports and Fitness Bluetooth Ecosystem Team (BET) is open to Bluetooth SIG Associate and Promoter members.

Bluetooth SIG Official Website

Smart Shirt Helps Workouts

A shirt can arguably “look smart” but now a team of engineering and graphic design students from Northeastern University has used their collective brain power to develop a truly smart shirt. The SQUID is in essence a wired shirt that can track and monitor muscle output and efficiency during workouts.

Working with an Android app, and connected to an interactive website, the shirt can track biofeedback and monitor a workout in real-time. While heart rate monitors and other devices can track results, such as calories burned and heart rate, this shirt can also track muscles during a workout, which in turn can help wearers fine tune their workouts and possibly even correct the form as necessary. About the only thing it seems that technology can’t do at this point is workout for you!

[Via Ubergizmo: SQUID smart shirt monitors your workout for improved performance]