Before I had the little guy, I had a good job, at a good company. It wasn’t my dream job, but the people were fun, and I actually enjoyed the work. Prior to me leaving, our companies owner had me help out on some marketing surveying for a product he was developing called Bowboard.
Background: I worked for a physical therapy practice so my former boss was a physical therapist. He’s was working with another company at the same time, and told us all about this great product they were developing. He really stressed how so much of the design has so many physical benefits and when it comes to kiddos (though it’s really beneficial for most ages) what more could you ask for when trying to get them to keep busy and be active. So I thought, for a “toy” this is kind of awesome.
Recently, Bowboard launched on kickstarter and I had to share with y’all because one thing I can’t wait to do is encourage Ethan to be active and have fun and that’s exactly what Bowboard promotes.
So here’s some info about Bowboard:
The Bowboard is a completely new and innovative ride-on device that uses gravity, the rider’s body weight and patented technology to achieve movement. Merging a bow, frame and newly invented spiral gearing mechanism, the Bowboard doesn’t use any pedals, chains, motors, batteries or sprockets. One could think of it as a bit of a hybrid between a longboard and a kick scooter.
Unlike a typical kick scooter or skateboard, the Bowboard has flexible, bow-shaped fiberglass deck that the rider bounces on, producing the gravity needed for motion. A rider steps down on the bow, and the flattening motion produces the force needed to drive the unique Spiral Drive Gear attached to the rear wheel. After that initial flattening of the bow, the rider can allow the deck to return back to its original bowed position in readiness for another downward power stroke, or the rider can hold the bow flat and ride the Bowboard like a kick scooter or skateboard.
One thing that makes the Bowboard different from other products on the market is there are two different ways to ride the Bowboard. You can stay on for the entire ride, called bowboarding, or you can ride it skateboard-style with an alternating step and kick. The average ride uses both the bow and kicking to initiate speed, and then switches to bowboarding for cruising; top speed can reach around 12- 15 mph with modest effort. The Bowboard accelerates faster than skateboards and scooters and you can cruise at speeds similar to a bicycle. It’s easy to learn how to ride and can fold up to become portable.
The driving force behind the Bowboard is the rider’s body weight and gravity, so it’s a great method for green transportation. There’s no motor to emit fossil fuels or difficult-to-dispose-of batteries. It also has comparable motion to that of a trampoline, giving the rider the similar health benefits. Often referred to as the rebounding effect, this form of exercise can work the core muscles, improve balance, stimulate the endocrine system and improve blood flow.
You can check out the Bowboard Kickstarter page or their facebook page for more information.
{Disclaimer: I was not compensated for this post, but was rather sharing an awesome product. All opinions are my own.}