Category: Equipment

Colorado “Did it for the Children”

Jake Snakenberg

March 29th marked that date that Colorado became the state with the most sweeping law creating guidelines to protect young Coloradoans in the event of a head injury during organized youth athletic events. Colorado Senate Bill 40, also known as the “Jake Snakenberg Youth Concussion Act”, requires that coaches of youths between the ages of 11 and under 19 take a free annual concussion recognition education course. This course is designed to teach these coaches how to recognize the signs of a concussion; what steps to follow if a concussion is suspected in a young athlete; and immediately remove that athlete for the game, competition or practice. The athlete will not be allowed to return to the practice or competition until he or she is evaluated and receives written clearance to play from a health care provider.

Jake Snakenberg, the individual who the CO Senate Bill 40 is named, was a young high school athlete who died in 2004 after being hit in a football game. It is suspected that the injury was compounded by a previous concussion that he suffered which was never diagnosed. Governor John Hickenlooper signed the law on March 29th with Kelli Jantz, Jake’s mother, near by. Colorado Senate Bill 40 will take effect January 1, 2012. Continue reading Colorado “Did it for the Children”

Hoops You Don’t Jump (or Cycle) Through

Normally we think of “hoops” as something you jump through, but usually not in a circus kind of good way, but rather as a tedious task. However the UK-based designed firm Cyclehoop is actually looking to utilize hoops in a non-tedious way. The award-winning designers and architects specialize in producing innovative indoor and outdoor cycle parking solutions, and they’ve developed a new way to transform existing street and sign posts into bike parking. The Cyclehoop can even be used with existing parking meters, essentially making the posts able to do double duty.

What is great about this is that many sign posts, and especially those parking meter posts aren’t really ideal for chaining a bike. The former lacks coating to protect against scratches to the bike, while the latter isn’t ideal as many bikes with chains could be forced over the top of the meter. The Cyclehoop further allows riders to know that the posts are for legitimate bike use. It is a simple way for buildings and cities to work together to quickly provide an alternative to bike racks. In the end it is one less hoop to jump through.

Cyclehoop Official Website

Woo Hoo, Wahoo Brings ANT+ to Android

From insect to robot, or rather ANT+ to Android, that’s the news that hit last week as Wahoo Fitness announced the release of the first ANT+ application program interface (API) that connects Google Android smartphones to Wahoo Fitness products as well as any ANT+ compatible equipment. This ain’t just for iPhone anymore, as Android API joins Wahoo Fitness’ line of products tailored for the iPhone, broadening the pool of users able to use their smartphones as a fitness training and tracking tool.

“Wahoo’s technology is a perfect complement for anyone interested in better understanding the true results of their workouts, whether they are a casual exerciser or an elite athlete,” said Chip Hawkins, CEO, Wahoo Fitness.  “The availability of our Android ANT+ API allows a new wave of fitness enthusiasts to benefit from Wahoo Fitness products by enabling them to them to monitor and manage their workout information on a device they use every day.” Continue reading Woo Hoo, Wahoo Brings ANT+ to Android

Catch It For the Month of June

As baseball season opens, Rawlings Sporting Goods Company announced this week a new initiative to get kids out from in front of the TV. Time to put the joysticks down and pick up a ball, as Rawlings announced the creation of “National Play Catch with Your Kids Month,” a new platform to promote kids’ physical activity during the summer months. This effort is further designed to encourage families to come closer together through the game of playing catch.

“As the exclusive supplier of baseballs to Major League Baseball and the glove of choice for more pros than any other brand, Rawlings has truly owned this activity that evokes childhood memories for both fathers and sons, and has for years,” said Kurt Hunzeker, senior director of brand marketing for Rawlings. “Our mission is to enable participation in the game, even in its simplest form of playing catch, but the bigger goal is to provide a new avenue to promote daily physical activity.”

The month-long celebration will begin this June with Rawlings pitching in. This includes a national cause marketing effort, with the announcement last month of its Rawlings Replay gently-used equipment trade-in program, and its continued activation efforts within communities across the U.S.

National Play Catch with Your Kids Month

Catch Some Air or a Wave

We’ve heard of surfing, where you basically ride on the water; we’ve heard of windsurfing, where you ride on the water propelled by the wind; and we know about para sailing and para gliding, where you ride over the waves propelled by wind. So it was just a matter of time until someone came up with kite surfing.

This is part para sailing and part surfing. It is now an adventure sport that is being encountered in off the Venezuelan coast, but it probably won’t be long before it catches the trade winds and makes its way through the Caribbean.  It also seems to be gaining popularity in Australia and New Zealand.

This sport is a hybrid of surfing and kite flying, and uses both the waves and the wind to propel the rider. The surfer uses a standard board, reportedly with or without footholds or straps, and apparently hangs on to a kite. So you hang ten while hanging on.

[Via Mid Day: Have kite, will surf]

The Great Skate Day

The first day of summer, also the longest day of the year is now also going to be the day for the 9th Annual Go Skateboarding Day. June 21, 2011 will bring together the skateboarding community and let them get out en masse for a day dedicated solely to skateboarding.

Go Skateboarding Day, presented by The International Association of Skateboard Companies (IASC), works to honor and unite participants in the spirit of skateboarding and since its 2003 inception, has prompted cities to build skate parks, promoted local skate shops and raised money for local charities.

“Go Skateboarding Day is a great day for everyone to rid all obligations and go skate, “said IASC Chairman of the Board, Don Brown.! This June 21 will be another great day full of smiles, fun and lots of rolling as millions of skaters around the world unite and charge their local terrain.”

Go Skateboarding Day started out as a small group of colleagues skating to the Huntington Beach Pier and has grown into a worldwide event with millions of participants.  Last year, millions of skateboarders participated globally in more than 500 events held worldwide. If you are possessed to skate, than June 21 is the day for you!

The International Association of Skateboard Companies Official Website

Go Skateboarding Day

Wilson: It’s Official (As in Official Game Ball)

Wilson, at least Wilson the Volleyball, who was Tom Hank’s “friend” in the movie Cast Away, hasn’t gotten much attention in recent years. Probably like Babe the pig, the rolls for a volleyball are few and far between. But Wilson the Basketball, which we assume is a cousin of the volleyball, is heading to court.

Not a legal or regal court however, but the much more high profile basketball court. Wilson will be the Official Basketball of NCAA Men’s and Women’s Championships, and will be part of every winning shot, pass, dunk and dribble. The composite leather cover, composite laid-in channels and Cushion Core Technology variety was first introduced in 2003, the first non-leather NCAA tournament game ball. Continue reading Wilson: It’s Official (As in Official Game Ball)

Portland Goes Green at the Gym

As we’ve noted previously, there is some irony in the way people use gyms. In many parts of the country people sit in traffic in their cars to drive to a gym to work out. And then at the gyms, these places aren’t exactly the greenest operated businesses. There are the treadmills, the music system, the air-conditioning and of course those walls of TVs. The irony is that people are burning a lot of calories, but we’ve already seen some gyms work up ways to recapture some of that effort and put it back into power.

We heard about Portland’s Green Microgym, which has the equipment capture and send some of the energy back into the electrical grid. Because the equipment needs power to operate, as well as those TVs, the lights and air conditioning it is currently impossible or any gym to actually generate more power than it needs to run, but some equipment could do more than it’s part.

According to reports some of the equipment can actually generate more power than it draws, notably a spin bike during an intensive class. This is of course because most spin bikes need practically no electricity, other than possible a speedometer or cycle computer. Thus with every pedal stroke the riders produce energy. Pedal power can make gyms greener.

[Via Voice of America: Exercisers Burn Energy While Creating it]

The Green Microgym

Nike Gets Into the Groove With New Drivers

Nike Golf has announced the upcoming availability of its Nike VR Pro wedge, the lasted innovation to its VR Pro line. The VR Pro wedges are developed out of a precise forging process resulting in a wedge that offers accurate shot-shaping performance.

The maker is also putting a good face forward, as the VR Pro wedge promises to be the most exact wedge face Nike has ever created. Each wedge face features more grooves, resulting in cleaner, more consistent ball flight and spin while still conforming to the new USGA and R&A rules. The promise of more grooves closer together and deeper on the clubface is more control and consistency in all conditions off of the clubface.

To get the “facelift” done, Nike’s team uses a precision laser crosshatch pattern that is applied to the land area between the grooves. This pattern adds three times the surface texture versus conventionally finished faces, creating more spin in all conditions. In addition the wedge gets precision-forging, a technique that eliminates most hand work and ensures consistency and maximum performance throughout the set. As a result each iron face is milled to a perfectly flat surface, and is then carefully die-stamped, pressing grooves to exact specifications for extremely low variance and shot-making consistency.

With this new face forward Nike Golf will be truly in the groove April 1 when the wedge is available in satin chrome or brushed oxide RAW (MSRP: $149.99).

Nike Golf Official Website

Endless Winter Coming To End, Time for Endless Ice

This winter will end; at least we think it will. Spring actually sprung last week at least officially, and much of the country should see warmer weather this week. Thats good news, unless you happen to play hockey. While there are always indoor rinks and arenas, there is another option, namely Endless Ice.

This company has many products to keep players on the ice year round, including advanced training systems and even home based models. This also a real bonus for teams such as the El Paso Rhinos, who used the system to train for the Western State Hockey League Championship series, where the weather isn’t always agreeable for hockey – and rarely outdoors. The system works much like a treadmill, but with a synthetic surface that replaces traditional ice. In addition to just skating in place, a computer analyzes the player’s form and technique and provides feedback to help optimize performance on real ice.

Endless Ice is currently used throughout the United States, in the Czech Republic and Germany, and even throughout Canada, where winter is even more endless than in parts of America. But the technology is there so players can get in the skate training even if they can’t hit the ice.

Endless Ice Official Website

Hiplok Not Just for Hipsters

Anyone who has spent any time in a large city has probably seen riders “wearing” their bicycle chain and lock. This “fashion statement” was popularized by bike messengers since the early 1980s. Unlike most U-locks or other cable locks that can be defeated with relative ease, a sturdy lock and tough chain are actually serious deterrents.

Now with more urban commuters, it is no surprise that some companies have taken the simple concept and turned it into true fashion statement. This includes Hiplok, which does sound like something hipsters would either embrace or shun for the name alone. Continue reading Hiplok Not Just for Hipsters

Bolt it Down

So you finally have purchased that new piece of sporting equipment that will not fit in your car when you want to take it out to the slopes or trail head with your friends. You will either need to mount it on the outside of your vehicle utilizing a rack or tow it behind on a trailer, but as you know someone always needs to make a pit stop along the way. Of course you are worried about the security of your new toys so someone gets left on ‘guard duty’ while the rest of the group takes a break, but this is no fun when it is a post activity function like food and drinks. If you are lucky enough to park in front of a window at your pit stop, you can then keep an eye on your car. Sometimes luck does not always work in your favor, so what do you do?

Most roof racks offer some sort of locking mechanism, but as most of you know these can easily be overcome with basic hand tools. So a second way to deter those who might seize upon a crime of opportunity is to use a cable lock and weave it through your equipment. Now you have to remember to bring a third key  with you – one for your car, one for the rack locks and now one for the cable lock. Well Strattec, a leader in OEM and aftermarket automotive locks, has you covered with their new line of BOLT Locks. Continue reading Bolt it Down

Kinetic(Mis)Shift: Part Workout Machine, Part Lounge Chair

Spring is almost here and that means time to take in the fresh air, and sit back and read a book on a nice day. But if you feel guilty for doing so there is always the Ab Lounge, part lounge chair and part workout machine.

Now, those things don’t exactly sound like the go together, and that’s probably because they don’t. At nearly $80 this is a lounge chair that is expensive and looks totally uncomfortable. As a workout device it seems to be far from sturdy, and offers routines that don’t seem practical.

Our advice, get in a run, go for a bike ride and then afterward settle into a real lounge chair instead.

Kinetic(Mis)Shift are products that we think deserve to be called out for their utter lack of fitness benefits.