Tag: ball

Categories
Sports

Powapass passes soccer balls to players for practice, shoots them out real good

One of the best ways to practice a sport alone is with a ball dispenser, like those used in tennis and baseball. Now, there’s such a product for soccer as well.

The Powapass shoots soccer balls out for practice. It can hold three balls or up to five with an extra extender piece. With a remote control, the player can easily adjust the angle and speed at which the balls are shot out. The battery is rechargeable and the product is lightweight and portable. In addition, it’s also possible to determine at what kind of interval the balls should be dispensed.

This product is excellent for soccer players looking to practice. The campaign also suggests that parents could use Powapass for their children who want someone to play with outside. Perfect if the parents are too lazy or busy to go out themselves. The limited ball capacity of Powapass is the only drawback, but it looks like the creators are looking to solve this problem in the future. One will cost backers a donation of $390 AUD (~$304 USD) with delivery in May 2015. Powapass is hoping to raise $55,000 AUD (~$42,900 USD) in funding.

Categories
Fitness

STABALLIZER exercise sphere helps with lifting, balancing and gaming

Everyone’s still talking about the core. A’core’ding to fitness professionals, a strong core helps the rest of your muscles perform at an optimal level as well as improves your posture. There are lots of workouts that target the core and most involve balance.

The STABALLIZER is a eight-in-one fitness device. All clammed up, it looks like a simple medicine ball. However, it breaks apart and can be used for destabilized push ups, as free weights, a balance device, footweights, a kettle ball, plank handles and an AB roller handle. With the STABALLIZER, fitness buffs can engage in planks, squats, lifting, pushups, crunches and more. Additional handles and straps secure the ball to your hands for added comfort.

Interestingly enough, STABALLIZER is meant to be used with your smartphone or tablet. The campaign shows a woman planking with her hands on the half ball. On the flat surface rests her tablet showing a tilting game. Using her strength and precision, she can play the game and have fun while planking at the same time, challenging herself to last the length of the game.

At a first glance this seems like just any other fitness product. However, its compatibility with tablets and smartphones make it a little bit more interesting. While the name is still in typical all caps, yelling at us to buy the product, it offers more than just beefier muscles. This is an entirely new way to integrate technology into our workouts. One goes for $220 for delivery in September 2015 with higher tiers offering more accoutrement. STABALLIZER is hoping to raise an ambitious $200,000 on Kickstarter.

Categories
Sports

Shadowball offers balls-to-the-wall exercise with portable punching bag

Some prefer swimming, some running and others yoga to stay in shape. Then there are those who scoff at such tame sports and instead choose boxing. There are two elements to boxing: punching technique and footwork. For help with the former, check out Shadowball. This punching ball is like no other. Instead of being strung up in a large framework or by a chain, it’s completely portable and can be use anywhere there’s a wall. Just punch over and over again to keep the ball up as it ricochets off the wall back to you. This product uses some kind of special technology to make sure the ball bounces with an even rhythm to help make your punches more accurate. The creator, a boxing enthusiast himself says that it helps for a straighter punch since you’re angled right at the wall.

The campaign video does a good job of showing the Shadowball in motion and makes it look like the ball stays up pretty easily. However, the man in the video is probably very good, making it apparent that this product isn’t for boxing beginners. In addition, it doesn’t help boxers with any kind of right or left hook because it’ll only stay up with a straight punch. Still, its portability is unique and may prove very fun for boxers. For their own, backers will need to donate $140 CAD (~$122 USD) for delivery in March 2015. Shadowbox is looking to raise $40,000 CAD (~$35,000 USD) on Kickstarter.

Categories
Toys

FLUX magnetic toy creates gravity-slowing illusion

FLUXThose who like to keep their hands busy usually resort to knitting, playing iPhone games or fondling Baoding balls. FLUX offers the same amusement as these pastimes with an extra perk of fun physics. FLUX is a toy that is basically a cylinder and ball duo. The ball passes through the cylinder more slowly than gravity allows, creating a cool illusion. It is a distressed magnetic field that causes this effect, unlike the Fushigi Ball that fails to deliver on its supposed gravity-defying fun. FLUX comes in different colors and goes for $49 on Indiegogo. This cool toy hopes to raise $25,000 in a 45-day campaign.

Categories
Sports

Shoot Natural Glove helps make basketball players straight shooters

The Premise. Perfecting the one-handed shot in basketball is essential to honing a player’s game. It’s difficult to learn this shot, however, and most make the mistake of using two hands which can mess up the accuracy of the shot.

The Product. The Shoot Natural Glove is a basketball shooting training tool that allows players to feel what it’s like to shoot a proper one-handed basket. It is simply a glove that shapes the hand in the correct way for a one-handed shot by eliminating “thumbing”, one of the biggest problems in basketball shooting according to the campaign. The glove is black, fingerless, reversible and keeps the thumb rigid with a piece of built-in plastic.

The Pitch. Shot in a gym and accompanied by a number of demos as well as a cameo by a former NBA pro, the video for the Natural Glove tells the story of how the creator came inspired to create the glove. After breaking his thumb and ignoring doctors’ orders about staying off the court, he discovered that his cast helped his game. It was this incident that gave him the idea for his product. This shooting aid hopes to raise a relatively modest $5,000 in a 30-day run on Kickstarter.

The Perks. One Shoot Glove goes for $30 on Kickstarter with an estimated delivery date of June 2014. Reward tiers go up to $250. A stretch goal of $15,000 has been set to allow for more options for glove colors in the future.

The Potential. Other products don’t seem to offer the flexibility that the Shoot Natural Glove does. For instance, the J-Glove isn’t ambidextrous like the Natural Glove is and can only be bought either for the left side or right side. The Shotloc aid is quite rigid and doesn’t really teach the player what a good shot feels like, but only really works when worn with few lasting effects. It seems that the Shoot Natural Glove is one of the few out there that focuses on the guide hand alone, teaches muscle memory and doesn’t constrict the hand like other aids do. In addition, the price isn’t bad either, especially for a glove that fits onto both the left and right hands.

Categories
Sports

X Ball may help your putts by stretching your balls

xballThe X Ball puts some what-what into your putt-putt. With an oval shape and balanced center point, the X Ball gives golfers the chance to putt straight every time. Used to improve putting accuracy, the X Ball is a great learning tool for those looking to become the next Tiger Woods or great mini-golf champion. X Ball boasts a way to develop muscle memory for a more accurate putting game, but obviously the challenge will be putting the putting practice to work with more spherical products . X Ball’s creators are looking to raise $25,000 in their 46-day Indiegogo campaign. At $10 each, X Ball is estimated to be delivered by May 2014.