Before you get too excited, although it is technically “real,” it’s just maglev technology, you know, electromagnets that you can buy off the shelf, provided you go to the right store. This hoverboard only works on the platform that houses the electromagnets, and while it can carry some weight, it’s not near powerful enough to hold a human. A clever and fun demonstration of a simple idea, really. The creator Nils Guadagnin says there are also lasers involved to help balance, but I’m not sure how or why they are needed. Video after the jump.
- Thanks to Concretin Nik for the tip.
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Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk… The latest skateboard gadget in the grand tradition of sky hooks, rubber bands and magnets is the Ollie Buster, an elaborate setup that allows you to hold the board to your feet with the aid of some rubber tubing, a handle and a gratuitous skateboard wheel thrown in for extra weight. Reminds me a little of those fake yo-yos that were made with an internal spring to expand and contract the string. You know, for the truly lazy. Geez, I guess this is the same concept as Guitar Hero or Rock Band, and I am guilty of enjoying the hell out of those. Did I ever tell you about the time I was the weak link in (almost) every band I was ever in? The best part about the Ollie Buster web site is on the Goin’ Big skateboard moves where the kid opens up his Ollie Buster in the parking lot and nonchalantly throws all his trash to the wind. Now that’s realism!
- Thanks to Robert for the tip.
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My kid got this Pro Skaters action figure for X-mas from an unaffiliated third party – a non-relative, non-skateboarder. “Rodney Stone” has magnets on his feet, and is supposed to be the most articulated Exteme!™ action figure. I don’t have a lot of Exteme!™ action figures to compare him to, but the others must be really stiff since most of Rodney’s articulation is concentrated on the way his feet rotate in circles around his ankle joints. Rodney couldn’t bend over to pick up his board if his little plastic life depended on it. Check him out, he’s on the “Vert Team” according to his jump ramp. He’s also a fan of big air.
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Posted by: kilwag on December 27th, 2007
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Categories: Skate, Toys
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Which came first, the (Steve) Bacon or the frog? €179 ($258 as of publication) will buy you a 4size magnet skateboard setup with shoes, the French Equivalent of the ex-Magnatron. It’s a bit more sophisticated than the Magnet Skateboard, the magnets are designed to be removable in case you have to walk across a field of hard drives and floppy disks at work or don’t want to get your feet sheared off in an escalator. They’ve even designed a special box that is supposed to make sure you never touch two of the magnets together. Apparently they are strong enough to be a pinching hazard. Hey man, did you break your finger landing that ten set? Nah, I did it putting on my skate shoes.
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My kid plays with these little toy figures that have magnets in their feet that stick to small skateboards. They are called Tech Deck Dudes and there are something like 60 of them now. They are fun to play with for both of us, although I can’t figure out why some of the guys have weapons too. They obviously call to mind the old Sky Hooks, which you can still actually buy from no less than three (Count ‘em. 1, 2, 3.) manufacturers. Apparently there’s no current official trademark holder. But Sky Hooks are so 70′s, and magnets make for a more up to date dork session. Besides, you could just change shoes if you didn’t want to engage them on your regular board. There was a company that actually manufactured these things under the name Magnatron a few years back, but they disappeared quickly. Apparently one of the guys involved with that company (as a skateboarding advisor) is carrying on. For $60 he’ll retrofit your deck and shoes and turn it into a Magnet Skate. No word on whether it will cause creepy, unexplained flesh colored blurs to appear over your face like they do on his web site.
The real skateboard world may never be ready for what could be conceived as a gimmick in skateboarding since it’s altering it and doing it in a different way. But never the less with or without magnets, kids will still be trying things like we did. Duct taping their feet to the board, using inner tubes from bikes and lifting their boards with them etc.
That about sums it up. More pictures and video after the jump. Thanks to Bob Mechtly for the tip.
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