Tag: carbon fiber

Table Tennis Gets Space Age Paddle

If those pressed wood table tennis paddles were good enough for Forrest Gump, they should be good enough for everyone else. Of course Tom Hanks didn’t actually spend years learning to play like Gump – those scenes were as digitally enhanced as the ones with Kennedy or Nixon. So maybe the paddle can give you an edge.

That’s the thinking of the Donic-Schildkröt CarboTec 100 paddles, which as the name does suggest are made of the space age carbon fiber. These ultra-light weight paddles, which feature a conclave grip, supposedly can enable players to have faster shots, and better ball control. And they are reportedly legal for competition play.

At $145 for each paddle we’d certainly hope so!

Donic Schildkrot Official Website
[Via Besportier: Carbon Fiber Table Tennis Paddle : Donic Schildkrot CarboTec 100]

Trek to Recycle Old Carbon Cycles

All good things come to an end, and that means today’s hot new road bikes will someday be old news, outdated technology and just ready to be replaced (even Lance Armstrong’s road bike at the left). It might be hard to even think about it, especially when we see the sticker price on those new carbon bikes – but carbon isn’t exactly as timeless as a diamond, at least not in the processed form.

The downside is that many space age composites are designed not to degrade so easily. Carbon fiber doesn’t rust like steel, but unlike steel, aluminum or titanium carbon can’t be melted down as scrap metal. In other words carbon fiber isn’t exactly a “green” technology, but now it seems Trek is just one bicycle maker looking to get on the recycling band wagon. Continue reading Trek to Recycle Old Carbon Cycles

Carbon Fiber Headset Offers Style and Balance

We at KineticShift love carbon fiber. It is the space age material that just makes everything better, lighter and stronger. OK, maybe not everything can benefit from carbon fiber, but we like it with bikes, tennis racquets and other sports and fitness gear. We also see that what works for fitness is translating into other sectors as well.

We also like Bluetooth, the wireless technology that is great for near area communications. So this week we saw something that turned our heads, namely a Bluetooth carbon fiber headset!

At the Hong Kong Electronics and Global Sources Fair this week Bluetrek Technologies introduced the CARBON, the world’s first Bluetooth headset made of carbon fiber. It promises to be equipped with the best in class audio enhancement technology so both the user and receiver can have crystal clear audio. . In addition, the patented mechanism embedded in the carbon fiber tube allows extended talk time, yet reduces weight to less than 6grams while retaining a slender aesthetic to the ear piece, warranting long time wear with superb comfort.

While CARBON might not be the most ideal fitness headset, we hope that this will just be a proof of concept. Bluetrek are you listening? If you had CARBON as a headset we think you’d hear us loud and clear.

Bluetrek Official Website

Space Age Water Ski

Every speedboat owner has a pair of water skis. When friends come to visit the speedboat tour of the lake includes a spin on the skis. But those who take their water skiing more seriously may want to look into Goode water skis made from aerospace carbon fiber composite. The skis are lighter at less than 3 lbs.

Goode’s 99 SL Wide-Ride offers a wide forebody design to give added support at the buoy. The skiis feature an asymmetric design to eliminate having an “off-side” turn. Pair this or any model with Goode’s PowerShell boots, which look more like snow ski boots than the standard rubber boot of water skis, and you’re on your way to competition. The PowerShell boots aren’t a safety binding, but they offer more ability to hold your foot stead on the skis while still providing control.

Goode water skis