Snowboarding isn’t hard, but it also isn’t the most intuitive sport to pick up. That’s why a company called Streetboardz has developed the Boarder Kontrol system you see above. It’s a braking system that gives novice snowboarders the one thing they always wish they had: instant manual braking. It’s not meant to stay there forever, but like the training wheels on a bicycle, the Boarder Kontrol can give a beginner that extra bit of confidence needed to get started carving snow.
See, I tried snowboarding once. In Dubai, inside a mall… but that’s beside the point. What I found terrifying, aside from having both feet pinned to a board, was the fact that to turn (and thus, to slow down) you have to lean into the slope. Not lean backward, as you’d naturally want to do when you start gaining speed uncontrollably. If you do that, you go faster and lose control, and fall and die. Or not die, but at the very least embarrass yourself. If I’d had the Boarder Kontrol on my board, I’d just have pulled on a leash and the rear-mounted brake would have dug into the snow, slowing me down.
Now, even though the system can be removed for easier stacking of boards, it does leave a large slit across the back of it. So the Boarder Kontrol won’t be available on the retail market. Instead the company hopes to have it taken up by schools and rental shops around the world.
[ Product Page ] VIA [ Gizmag ]
This is a terrible idea.