When I saw this on eBay I knew I had to have it. I have never seen this before. Sure, I have seen other ski trainers made from skateboard parts, but I can remember seeing ads for those things back in the day. The Ski Skate is something that just doesn’t show up anywhere on the Interwebs™. Maybe it does, but I haven’t been able to strain through all the pages of more current non-related athletic gear with the same name. The patent was filed in 1974. I have to imagine it took a few years to bring this to market. The trucks have multiple mounting hole patterns in a style that definitely points to the 70’s, and the injection molded plastic reached it’s peak in the mid to late 70’s – (or 010’s if you look around today) and the wheels and trucks certainly have a 70’s vibe to them. They do appear on the Skircle, after all. So it’s a pretty safe assumption that this is from the mid to late 70’s. The bearings are sealed though. I don’t know when that became commonplace. If anyone has any information on this, please come forth. I’m still waiting to…

Just a note to let everyone know that I will no longer feature imaginary magical skateboards that exist only in the minds and hard drives of aspiring industrial designers. There are just too many. Don’t even send them to me unless they actually exist, or are so amazing that they need to be seen (or ridiculed). – Thanks to Boy for the tip.

These are damned cool. Probably massively expensive since they are listed as “price on request.” I a full grown man and I want ride on one right now. They evoke everything I remember about the first time I rode a skateboard. What are they made of? A “laminate shell,” which doesn’t really tell us much, but it sure paints up nice. Designed by Anna & Jerry Koza, available in Prague. [Source: Design42day] – Thanks to Boy for the tip.

A guy made a longboard out of aluminum. He didn’t cast it or machine it, he built it Erector Set style. It looks… Industrial. I hope those are lock nuts. Check it out. [Source: Hack A Day] – Thanks to Andrew Wahlfor the tip.

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any weirder. Here’s a video from the guy who started the Trampskate company. It’s basically a funky set of trucks you can mount to a board and use to practice skateboard moves on the grind rail next to your specialliy inclined trampoline. On the one hand, it’s great to see someone chasing their dreams and making something where nothing existed before. On the other hand… WTF???? I thought it was a goof at first, but the the amount of effort spent precludes it from being an elaborate joke. I mean, he sells actual manufactured goods over at thetrampskatecompany.com. – Thanks to Eric from Rockford

The Half Moon Bay Review reports that their police will enforce helmet regs but that pad use is discouraged. Unless you’re skitching, then no pads or helmet. Huh?

I swear there are less than five pictures of the

I love eBay Watch, but I typically don’t try to by things on eBay unless there is one specific thing I need for a practical purpose. Sometimes during research I find myself on eBay, and there’s split second where I have to make a decision on whether or not to look at something else that catches my eye. If I do, it’s all over. I end up making a bunch of retarded bids. Half of them I know I have no chance of winning and the other half of my bids are influenced by irrational emotional attachment. Sometimes, after I come down, I find that I have won one or more useless items that I paid too much for. I call this phenomenon the “eBay Hangover.” I’ve had a nagging desire to own one of these 70’s era Techni-Ski skateboard ski simulators since I saw my first one in a magazine that was probably 20 years old. Now, unfortunately, I do own one. I’m not going to say how much it cost unless Neil picks it up in his column. More details to follow. I know you are all glued to your monitors…