When Cheetah Ultra Sports set out to build a new snowboard, they weren’t worried about lifestyles, cultures or snazzy graphics. Their goal was entirely technical: To design and build a better snowboard without rules or limitations of any kind.
Four years later, and after countless hours of research and development, they think they’ve reached that goal with The Whip FR-117, aka The Lamborghini of Snowboards.
According to Cheetah, The Whip will:
Fit better.
Feel lighter.
Go faster.
Cruise smoother.
Turn quicker.
Edge harder.
Carve sharper.
Jump higher.
Land softer.
And it will do all that without chatter, and without heel or toe drag. They’re even claiming that most experienced riders will have to relax their riding style just to get greater performance out of the board, because it’s so easy to ride.
The key to The Whip’s performance is an open V hull that is specifically designed for speed and maneuverability. They board is made out of wood, plastic, steel edges and carbon composite, and by reducing the amount of board that comes in contact with the snow, this smaller surface creates less drag, which translates into more gliding speed, better maneuverability, quicker edge-to-edge transitions, and more.
For now, The Whip is being hand made in very limited production, and each board is carefully hand crafted and will include an individual serial number, so if you want one, get your name on the waiting list and put down $1899 for a pre-order, and you’ll be killing the slopes in no time.
Sir Richard Branson and Virgin Galactic continued their quest to turn space into a tourist destination on Monday with the roll out of the new WhiteKnightTwo (WK2) carrier aircraft that will ferry SpaceShipTwo and “thousands of private astronauts, science packages and payload on the first stage of the Virgin Galactic sub-orbital space experience”.
WK2 is the world’s largest all carbon composite aircraft, and at 140 ft., the wing spar is also the longest single carbon composite aviation component ever manufactured.
Powered by four Pratt and Whitney PW308A engines, WK2 will support up to four daily space flights, and reach a maximum altitude of over 50,000 ft (limited only by the atmosphere).
It might only be for the rich and famous right now, but soon, Virgin Galactic hopes that you’ll hop aboard SpaceShipTwo, and WhiteKnightTwo will whisk you away into the blackness of space for a quick lap around the Earth.
Though I couldn’t find much in the way of official information, it doesn’t take a press release to know that these shoes are special.
Called the Nike Mercurial Vapor SL, they are made of nearly 100% carbon fiber, and weigh just 6.7 ounces.
It took Nike three years to design and produce the shoe, and features include an outsole plate made from seven layers of carbon composite material interwoven with TPU and polyurethane, a molded carbon fiber upper, and an internal carbon fiber chassis for “instant acceleration”.
Plus, if Cristiano Ronaldo approves them, then who are you to say otherwise?
