Watch snowboarder Xavier de la Rue arriving to the top of a mountain in a helicopter, then rappelling down a rocky cliff in order to be able to speed down an almost vertical virgin snow tube. It feels exhilarating to watch it—I can’t even imagine how it must feel in real life.
You see that speck at the top of the mountain? That’s snowboarder Matt Annetts standing on top of a 3600 feet tall mountain face that’s so steep it looks completely vertical. And he’s going to snowboard down the whole damn thing. And you get to watch him. And yeah, it’s nuts. Breath evaporatingly nuts.
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Many parts of the country are covered in a ton of snow right now. How do you get around when everything looks like the North Pole? Behold the Powerboard Gas-powered Snowboard! This strange looking vehicle combines the power of a snowmobile with the freedom of a snowboard.
It is a powerful way to navigate through winter wonderlands. It has a rugged frame and is powered by a 6-1/2 horsepower engine that effortlessly glides over snowy terrain. Its tank-like rubber track uses 1 3/4″ snow lugs and flexes as you lean in the direction you wish to go for wide, smooth turns. It will transport riders up to 250 lbs. and has a top speed of 18 mph.
It will only give you up to two hours on only 3/4-gallon of gasoline though. Too bad they can’t combine this idea with the solar-panel snowboard for some extra power. Check it out in action in the video below:
It looks like an awesome way to get around during winter, and sells for $2,500(USD) over at Hammacher Schlemmer.
[via This Is Why I’m Broke]
There have been only a few Nike shoes with LEDs, but these snowboard boots take the top prize, thanks to 30 LEDs implanted into the swoosh on each boot. You definitely won’t be invisible on your next night run down the slopes.
The Nike LunarENDOR Quickstrike Snowboard boot is powered by a built-in lithium ion battery, that’s controlled by a power button in the boot’s cuff. The boot comes with Lunarlon foam to improve the plushness of your ride. There’s a customizable flex line system, allowing you to choose between three levels of stiffness.
As you’d expect, all of this tech doesn’t come cheap. The regular LunarENDOR boots sell for $430(USD), so I can only imagine how much the Quickstrike LED model will sell for.
Nike is betting that maybe one or two snowboarders like to showboat. So if you’re more corkscrew, than chicken salad, the firm’s LunarENDOR QS boots — complete with 30 LED swoosh — might catch your eye. If not, they’ll certainly catch everyone else’s as you tear down those nighttime black runs. Back in daylight, you can save power by switching off via the power button on the cuff. That said, we know any self-respecting, gear-loving riders out there will have enough juice to keep their whole techno-shredding set-up going all day. You’ll have to wait until mid-December though before you can pull on your regular sneaks and head to a store to get a set.
Filed under: Wearables
Via: Onboard
Source: Nike
Alt-week peels back the covers on some of the more curious sci-tech stories from the last seven days.
If you are a fan of absolutes, then you are in the right place. We have a first, a fastest and a biggest in this week’s round-up of all things sci-tech. We’ll try to add one more to that — a quickest. The quickest intro for this feature ever. Did we manage it? This is alt-week.
Do you like to go skiing or snowboarding? If you have answered “Yes!” for the latter activity and are still figuring your way around on a snowboard, then you would do well to pay attention to the future thanks to this technologically enhanced snowboard that will vibrate to help guide you down those treacherous slopes. A particular researcher is looking into developing devices that can be taped onto people’s limbs, where it will teach them how to shift one’s weight as the snowboard goes downhill.
Daniel Spelmezan, a researcher over at the Université Paris Sud, has managed to run a preliminary test of his devices on 10 new snowboarders. During a run, Spelmezan’s devices buzzed different parts of the wearer’s body in order to point out to the wearer that he or she should bend that particular limb or shift his/her weight there. The buzzers will “talk” to the snowboard in order to receive information on just which way the snowboarder is facing. Where else do you think that Spelmezan’s invention might come in handy?
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Google Glass Features Still Being Considered, Varacil Mechanical Pencil Plastic Puzzle Kit,
Going solar is definitely an alternative power supply that we should not only explore, but attempt to put theory into practice whenever and wherever possible, and Signal Snowboards as well as Powerfilm Solar have come together to harness the possibilities of flexible solar panels by attaching these onto a snowboard, creating a working solar array in the process. This solar-powered snowboard was fitted with dual sheets of solar panels that have been specially cut to fit the board’s shape, where it is then connected to a converter that has been mounted onto the middle of the board. The final product? A couple of rechargeable batteries which is more than capable of delivering power to a range of mobile devices, including tablets and smartphones alike.
The contraption might not seem to be too practical at first glance, but considering how snowboarders do spend plenty of time on sunny slopes at high altitudes, this combination makes plenty of sense. If you are an avid snowboarder, you too, would want to make sure that the rest of the electronics that you tote around would also have enough juice to last the distance, don’t you?
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Solar-powered Water Purification System, Ibasei Cappa Generator Is Your Personal Hydroelectric Turbine,
Signal Snowboards has invented one of the most fun ways to charge a gadget: juicing up while snowboarding. The company made a one-of-a-kind snowboard that’s topped with solar panels (and most likely a battery), letting it act as a solar charger even while being used.
The unique charger was made possible by PowerFilm Solar’s paper-thin, tough and waterproof solar panels. And whatever the hell is holding the gadget that’s being charged.
A charger that’s portable and rideable? Gnarly.
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