fun – Backerjack

For kids, sledding is the ultimate winter activity. For adults, skiing and snowboarding rule, but no one ever forgets how fun sledding was.

Now, people can enjoy the speed and agility of snowboarding with the relaxation of sledding. Scion is a sled designed aerodynamically, making speed and steering possible. Coming in either white or black, the rider sides on the back and places their feet on the runner in the front. A cord attaches the rider to the sled so that it doesn’t skitter off down the hill in case of a crash. Scion is made with the luge style in mind. Hands are used on either side for balance, but steering is done by leaning the body either left or right.

Scion seems like lots of fun, but definitely a toy for adults rather than for kids. Safety is always a concern, but if riders stick to the bunny slopes they should be okay. One will cost backers a high donation of $449 for delivery in July of this year. Scion is looking to raise $40,000 in funding on Kickstarter by March 11.

The Premise. Lots of folks want the fun of sledding, but not the lack of control over your sled’s downhill course or having to schlep said sled back up said hill, just to submit to gravity’s indifferent mercy once again. For those who don’t mind looking a little silly to alleviate this tradeoff, the ultimate sled may be themselves.

The Product. The Frostbite is a collection of flexible sheets of plastic that strap to your hands, heels and hindquarters, allowing you to sled down a hill in a seated position, steer ( probably more just influence) your descent, and finally spring to your feet and run back up the hill without having to pick or carry a sled back up, or ever worry about falling off of it again, as you and the sled are united in perfect snow-strewn harmony.

The Pitch. The Frostbite’s creators demonstrate their product with what is mostly just a narrated product slide show interspersed with random graphics. Claims are made that jumps tricks and spins can be done with the Frostbite, and are backed up with snippets of semi-trailers jumping dirt mounds and jets breaking the sound barrier; the latter one shall not achieve with Frostbite. Although it does depict a smooth and fun sled run, after which the inventor seemed to have no problem popping right back up and running directly back up the slope, the one clip of the product in action is short and repeated about four times. The rest of the campaign page shows off design photos are literally snapshots of hand-drawn sketches and discusses things like die creation and pressing convex plastic in an extrusion process.

The Perks. $25 gets a Frostbite, or $45 for a limited run that glows in the dark, for your night-time, glowing-butt sledding needs. The inventor will throw his signature on most of the perks for an extra five bucks, just in case the Frostbite becomes the next pet rock, and he’s the next…guy that invented the pet rock.

The Potential. The Frostbite is cleverly designed, reasonably priced, and made with safety and practicality, those best of intentions, in mind. But, snow tubes are almost free, regular sleds as low as $8, and steerable sleds start at $50. Also, none of these are named after painful potential side effects of winter exposure. Still, it’s one of the few sledding contrivances that one can pack away in a carry-on bag on route to your next destination for sliding snow fun.