Sports Technology Review focussing on new sports technology and innovation world wide
Snowsports
Sportswear for emergency workers?! – PeakZero
Saturday, November 12th, 2011
About time our emergency workers got some sportswear. Check this video out!
Finisterre Sastruga jacket review
Tuesday, May 17th, 2011
What the manufacturers have to say:
Features
- Female-specific active cut
- Hood with adjustable drawcords
- Packs away into its own pocket
- Dual draw-cord adjustable hem
- Elasticated pockets and secure zipped internal chest pocket
- Weight 400gms
- Lifetime guarantee
Fabric
- Windproof & water resistant, durable ripstop outer shell
- 100% recycled/recyclable polyester shell & lining
- Fast drying & breathable – Primaloft Eco® synthetic insulation fill (130g/m2 body, 100g/m2 sleeves and hood)
What I have to say:
I bought this jacket a couple of months ago, mostly because I was jealous of my friends with their snug down jackets and wanted one of my own. This jacket offered something a bit different in style and technology to the typical North Face, Alp Kit, Rab, etc jackets. In addition to that I am a big fan of Finisterre, they are a UK based company with good philosophies backed up with good products. I have owned one of their Bise gilets for months and love it.
The inner of the jacket is a synthetic, breathable insulation called Primaloft Eco®, containing 50% recycled materials. From a performance point of view all I can say is it is snug, warm and lightweight (400g compared to a leading down jacket at 700g). So it is definitely less bulky than similar down equivalents. This is highlighted by the fact it will fit into its own pocket, don’t worry I have checked this claim as it seems impossible that it would – it does!! In addition, Finisterre claim that synthetic fill will retain 75% of its warmth when wet, compared with 15% for down. The fit, comfort and aesthetics of the jacket are brilliant. I like the feel of the elasticated cuffs and adjustable hemline; it just makes it feel well fitted. The hood also has toggles so you can wrap up warm when it gets a bit cold. I love the feel of the fabric, it is like being in a silky, soft sleeping bag. Have to say I now have many friends jealous of my jacket.
Overall the Sastruga is a comfortable, lightweight, warm, windproof, water resistant, breathable jacket that lives up to its claims. Buying a product, from a UK based company, with some nice environmental claims also means you can feel you are doing your bit for the world. Plus it looks a bit different to every other insulated jacket on the market. I guess if I had to say something bad it is that the price point of £150 may be a little high for some people but it is worth the money – and I managed to get mine on a 50% offer so keep your eyes peeled for similar deals.
With the summer months approaching you may not be looking for a full jacket but I can certainly recommend the Bise gilet for the cooler summer evenings.
Article by Sian Slawson
Burton Snowboards and Nokia team up to map your Ride
Wednesday, March 30th, 2011
Burton Snowboards and Nokia have partnered to create Push. Push is an open innovation platform for riders that is centered around instrumenting speed, orientation, pressure, heart rate and galvanic skin response. Top Burton riders have been trialing the new technology and the data from their runs is freely available to the public on the Push website. It was showcased this past week at the Burton US Open and the hope is to involve snowboarders from across the globe in enhancing the riding experience.
For more info please visit: http://www.pushsnowboarding.com/
Article by Mike Vasquez
Slebogganing – the next revolution in winter sports?
Thursday, March 3rd, 2011
Is Bill Herrick, the next big name in winter sports? Only time will tell. Bill has invented a new sport called “Slebogganing“! Slebogganing is cross been sledding and tobogganing. Just as snowboarding was a cross between “surfing” and “skiing”, will this new sport create a whole new category of winter sport and hence a new sports industry. We hope so, because Bill is such an innovative and likible guy. SPORTSTECHREVIEW caught up with Bill and would love to tell you his story:
“I grew up in Vermont and skied most of my life. However, age and occupation kept changing and I ended up in Murfreesboro, Tennessee from 1986 till 2006. I retired from Middle Tennessee State University in 2001. It was not until 2006, however, that I met a wonderful lady (I’d been divorced for 26 years) and moved to her place in New Hampshire. It was great to get back in New England. New Hampshire is not Vermont, but close.
Last winter my son and his wife and my grandson visited over Christmas. Wanting to take my grandson tobogganing I borrowed a plastic toboggan from the neighbors and that’s when the fun began. My honey Donna has eleven acres, mostly wooded and quite steep. I had not been on a toboggan for probable 60 years and forgot that one had very little control over them. Since the property has many trees, stonewalls, etc. the tobogganing didn’t work out very well and we were always digging ourselves out of the snow. I promised the kids I cut a path through the woods and make a toboggan run so that next winter (winter 2010-11) when they visited we could have a lot more fun tobogganing.
We had fun, but were unable to go very far down the path I had cut through the woods. It was about 2000 feet long and not very straight. The first snows didn’t until Christmas 2010 and therefore I didn’t know about all the problems we would have trying to go down the path I had cut through the woods. I didn’t give up trying to toboggan the entire 2000 foot length of my toboggan run. I continued to experiment with different types of snow toboggans, saucers, etc., but just couldn’t keep from going out of the run whenever it turned the slightest, particularly, as the snow became more packed and the run got faster. The faster it got the more out of control I got and came close a couple of times of doing some real damage to my body. This worried Donna and whenever the kids called I’d have to tell them that I hadn’t made it to the end of the run but would before the spring.
Burton Snowboards New Prototype Facility – Craig’s
Wednesday, February 16th, 2011
Burton Snowboards based in Burlington, Vermont, USA recently opened their state of the art Craig Kelly Prototyping facility next door to their corporate headquarters. The facility which is open to the public two days a week showcases the manufacturing process behind their snowboards. The facility is also home to Burton’s rapid prototyping lab that enables fully rideable plastic components for parts such as bindings to be constructed overnight, ready to ridden in the morning. The lab has two major pieces of equipment, an Objet Connex 500 machine that has the ability to make multi-material parts for visual inspection and geometry testing and a 3D Systems laser sintering machine that makes parts for their test lab and on-snow trials. The facility gives Burton engineers the ability to take rider feedback and create new prototype boards, bindings, and other components in a matter of hours.
Article by Mike Vasquez
