Cool Action! Venomsnow's Switchboard Hits Slopes!

Gizmag reports that the double hinged Switchboard makers will target a new segment in the winter sports market alongside skiing and snowboard. This seems to be the ultimate evolution of snowboard, or the kick-scooter of the ski slopes, it will be quite hard not to be fascinated by this innovative product from the Netherlands.

Just to have an idea about what these fellows have managed to do, you should know that Venomsnow's Switchboard includes two short wood core boards joined end-to-end on a double hinge, with some lightweight footstraps added on top, twin skates underneath the rear board, and an aluminum steering bar on a pogo stick-like suspension unit mounted on the front board.

Apparently, the double hinge action "allows Switchboarders to bend the board up and down, left or right in the middle to carve tight curves and follow bumpy terrain. The steering bar allows riders to initiate turns and haul the front end up in jumps. We're not quite sure what the suspension unit's for, as it tends to be your knees that take the hit when you land a jump, rather than your upper body, and the only thing that's suspended is the handrail."

The new cool snowboard system doesn't require any special boots, therefore there is no need for extra costs. It simply has a pair of loose straps front and back that you can slip your feet into in your very best sneakers. Being extremely versatile, the back footstrap mounts to a pivoting turntable, letting you twist your foot to different angles for comfort and handling.

[IMG=2]Based on the same principles as the skateboard, the new thing allows you to take your back foot off to kick yourself along as you're going. Yet, they also though about the space management, so they made the hinged setup portable enough to allow the entire unit to be folded down to a very small compact size for transport in your car.

Gizmag says that Jonker explained Venomsports: "aims to cater for "adventurous, original people" - and you'd have to fit that description to go zipping down a fashionable ski slope on what looks like the snow equivalent of a kick scooter. The company's baffling 70s porn-style video commercial, complete with enormous fake moustaches, does little to show off any handling benefits the Switchboard might have over a snowboard. Yet we admit we're still fascinated by this device and what it might be like to ride."

I don't know about you, but I can hardly wait for the winter and some snow!