I bet these people that freerun today never had a whipping with an antenna as a kid for doing this sort of stuff. Freerunning is geeky enough to get a mention on Technabob when there is a gym dedicated just to training for it. When that gym is called the Tempest Freerunning Academy and is decorated to look like Mario Land, you bet your ass I’m going to talk about it. Check out the video to see just how cool this place is.

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Just look at this place – pixel art bricks, the ever-popular question mark blocks that hide coins, geeks jumping all around, and a class called “Parkour 101.” This is the geekiest gym in history, and if you happen to live in L.A. you can visit it in person and try it out for yourself.

[via BoingBoing]

The new Nike+ SportWatch GPS is new and improved in a whole new way. By pairing up with TomToms GPS services, you can rely on your watch for more than just checking the time. The GPS will function with other Nike shoe sensors to improve the data tracking during your run. The face of the watch is touch screen; with the first touch you can activate the backlight, then mark laps during your run. The backlight LED is adjustable so you aren’t sucking up crazy amount of energy by trying to look at it multiple times in the midst of a run.

A USB port has been molded into the watchstrap, and will not only upload your run data, but charge your battery as well. Your watch will also give you an automatic reminder when you have not logged in five days prior. To top it all off, you can go to Nikeplus.com to see your running data, which will include the GPS information, let you set goals, challenge friends and more. If this doesn’t help kick start a good running schedule, I don’t know what will.

The company – also named Air Trekkers – who makes these tiggerrific contraptions don’t want people to think of their product as a “toy”, probably for fear that kids might underestimate the risks involved in wearing air-trekkers. So I’m going to call it a humorous mode of transport.

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But with great jumping power comes great price: the “Adult” Air-Trekkers sell for $270 USD, the “Pro-Cuff” version sells for $370 USD, and the “Extreme” Air-Trekkers sell for $390 USD. What’s more, their product pages are very subjectively written and fail to explain how exactly the three versions differ. Of course the company says that the extremely expensive Extreme Air-Trekkers are the best stilts. Which kind of makes you wonder why they even make the inferior versions. Jump to Air-Trekkers’ website to order. Or just buy a PS3. Sony could use the money.

[via Gadgets Club]

The new VholdR ContourHD is a wearable HD camcorder that can shoot full 16:9 widescreen video to capture your daredevil moments in glorious high definition. The camera shoots at 1280×720 (720p) resolution at 30 frames per second, or can also shoot SD video at up to 60 FPS if you don’t mind sacrificing resolution for greater framerate. Video can be captured on MicroSD cards, each of which can hold as much as 16GB – about 8 hours of HD video. Not too shabby.

Just strap the weather- and shock-resistant ContourHD to your helmet, and flip the record switch to get started. Not only does it capture video from your point-of-view, but the ContourHD grabs decent audio thanks to a special built-in microphone designed to minimize wind noise as you careen down that hill or out of that airplane. The camera features a special 135-degree wide-angle lens to capture all the action, and even has built in laser guides to ensure you capture a straight shot. And if you’re really defying death and don’t wear a helmet at all, VholdR offers a variety of mounting accessories for your bike, car, ski goggles or other locations.

While the videos below give you a pretty good idea of the type of action you can capture with the ContourHD, you’ll really want to head over the the VholdR site to see some clips in their full HD glory.

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You can find the VholdR ContourHD camera over at Amazon for $299.99 (USD).

[via Helmet Camera Central via EngadgetHD]

With up to 215 horsepower, the JetLev jetpack flings you up to 28 feet in the air at up to 40MPH by pumping water through its jets.

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I think I’m gonna stick to my innertube for now.

Produced by Solid Alliance and Appare Japan, Finger Olympics 100m lets you “run” a 100-meter dash using only your fingertips. Just place your index and middle finger on the touch screen of your iPhone or iPod touch, and start twiddling them as fast as you can.

It’s sort of like a modern take on the classic Konami Track and Field arcade game. You know, the one where you had to mash on the buttons so hard that your fingers bled if you wanted to be assured of a gold medal. There’s no guarantee that playing Finger Olympics might not leave you with blisters on your fingers either.

And the Finger Olympics are truly and international event since you can share your best run times with your neighbors across the planet thanks to a world high score board.

Finger Olympics 100m is available now over at the iTunes App Store for $1.99 (USD). Appare plans on releasing additional olympic events in the near future. One can only hope that shotput event doesn’t involve spinning around as fast as you can and throwing your iPhone across the room.

Tamiya’s Robocraft boxing robots come in a kit that’s easy enough to assemble if you know your way around a screwdriver.

Each robotic boxer operates on a wired remote, which lets you control each of two gearboxes which drive the robot’s punches and movements. The same gears drive the punching action and forward/backward movement, making them a bit wobbly and unpredictable – both excellent traits for a boxer. Just as Mickey Rourke.

A simple adjustment lets you switch between two punch types: upper-cut and straight jab.

Pow, right in the kisser!

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They’re sorta like a modern-day version of Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots, no?

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Tamiya USA sells individual blue boxing ‘bots (along with a little punching bag) for $37 USD, and pairs (in colorful pink and yellow so you can tell ‘em apart) for $67 USD.

Then along came Altered with their crazy self-propelled electric skateboards.

With models ranging from the off-road capable Green Machine 2.0 to the more traditional looking zebrawood Big Dream, each board has a unique personality.

Most models run on a hefty 36-volt rechargeable battery pack, which powers a belt-driven electric motor. While you’re in motion, you can adjust your speed using a wireless handheld throttle control.

The high-end (600-watt) models can hit 19 to 20 MPH without breaking a sweat, while the entry-level Wombat (250-watt) tops out at 12 MPH.

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Prices range from $599 to $799 for the beefy 600-watt models, with the 250-watt Wombat selling for just $399. Altered just recently took the wraps off their 2009 editions and expects to start shipping most models before the holidays. You can check out the full line over at Altered Electric Skateboards.

Over the years, my time on the course diminished, and eventually I ended up as a completely sub-par (er actually, way above par) golfer as an adult. So when I saw this kit that lets you set up a mini golf course just about anywhere, I got the wild idea that maybe I could get my putting game back in check.

Just mow your lawn, throw down the obstacles on the ground, and get to putting. Since each piece is completely standalone, you can constantly create new challenges for yourself. And of course, there’s nothing stopping you from setting up a virtual putting green in the middle of your office or living room.

Designed by George Pal and Hannes Weber of defacto.GmbH, the MyMiniGolf portable mini golf course comes with a variety of ramps, loops, jumps and cups. The kit includes 13 plastic obstacles in an oversize nylon carrying bag, along with a putter, a couple of balls and a score pad.

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Ready to bring the course to you? Head on over to Generate, plunk down your $329, and get working on that hole-in-one.

Orbitwheels move sort of like inline skates, but a wheel rotates around your feet, instead of under them. The large donut-shaped wheel whirls around sideways, letting you do all sorts of crazy tricks and spins with relative ease.

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Unlike Rollerblades or skates, you just step into the Orbitwheels, so you don’t need to tie any laces or fasten any buckles to get going. Of course with any sporting good that has you hurdling down the sidewalk willy-nilly, protective pads and a helmet are a probably a good idea unless you plan on breaking some bones.

Orbitwheels are available for pre-order now from NewDaVincis for $159.99 a pair.

Instead of knocking over some ordinary pins with this bowling game, you knock over a bunch of little plastic lawn gnomes. The set comes with 6 colorful plastic garden gnomes (10-inches tall each) and a couple of bright plastic bowling balls (one blue, one red) to knock ‘em down with.

While you could sneak around your block stealing your neighbors’ lawn ornaments and bowling them down with a regular bowling ball, this set lets you gnome bowl without breaking any laws. You can grab the set over on I Want One of Those for about $50.

Unlike meters that just count your steps, the Seiko SlimStick uses modern dual-axis accelerometers to track the magnitude of your movements, giving greater value to more intensive exercise. Just clip the compact SlimStick onto your clothes or stick it in a pocket, and it’ll track your activity level.

The SlimStick can count calories burned over the course of the day, amount of time you were active, the number of steps you walked as well as an overall exercise quality score. It’ll store up to twelve weeks of summary data, so you can check your progress over time.

All those smarts fit into a sleek brushed aluminum case that’s just about the size of a pack of chewing gum. They’re available in silver, pink or gold metal finishes, and retail between ¥5,775 and ¥6,984 (appx. $55 to $67 USD). Seiko is currently selling these only in Japan, where you can find them at AssistOn.

The pint-sized prizefighter is more sophisticated than your average USB gizmo, letting you throw punches using your computer keyboard. The left and right arrows control the fists, while the up and down arrows rotate the turntable. An on-screen score card keeps track of how many punches you land successfully.

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The USB Boxer is available from I Want One of Those for £29.95 (appx. $59 USD). That’s not exactly cheap, but according to the marketing collateral, it’s “The most advanced USB toy of 2008″, so maybe that’s worth extra.

The RFL (Robotic Football League) Robot was created for playing football in tournaments with other robot enhusiasts. These robots feature a set of four independent high-torque motors which let them really play aggressively, and include special gripping arms which are designed to throw the ball with plenty of momentum.

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They can block, tackle, throw and receive a little Velcro football, and even can talk trash to each other when they detect a nearby aggressor. Each one runs on an included wireless RF controller, and sports a powerful 9.6V rechargeable battery pack.

The RFL Robot is available now from Spark Fun Electronics for $139.95.

Whether you’re just a hot shot and want to show off your moves, or you’re sick of taking a face plant on the curb when skating in the dark, the LED skateboards are sure to draw attention. Depending on the model, you’ll get anywhere from 29 to 54 bright LEDs embedded into the wood deck.

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The boards are fabricated out of Canadian 7-ply hard-rock maple, and include grip tape and a thin lithium ion rechargeable batter mounted under a protective plate on the bottom of the board.

Photon sells Light Boards either as a standalone deck, or as a complete skateboard with trucks and wheels. Prices range from $110 for a deck to $200 for a fully-outfitted skateboard.

[via Geekologie]

While I wouldn’t necessarily let the pint-sized robot shoot an apple off of my head, I’m still pretty impressed by the motion capabilities of the little guy.

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For those of you unfamiliar with Tomy’s i-SOBOT, the 6.5-inch tall robot offers an amazing range of movements, with over 200 pre-programmed moves, plus the ability to string them together into complex choreography. Plus, the i-SOBOT doesn’t just walk the walk, he talks the talk, with over 200 words and phrases built in as well.

You can find Tomy’s i-SOBOT over on Amazon for around $200.

Now, you won’t be using the GPS capabilities to map out automotive routes, but it will come in handy for plotting waypoints for exercise and other outdoor activities. The Forerunner 405 contains all the electronics necessary to track speed, distance, pace, calories burned, location and even heart rate (assuming you add the optional heart rate monitor).

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The watch can automatically sync with your computer wirelessly, downloading workout data as well as receiving route data for future outings. You can even beam locations, workouts and course information with your running companions if they happen to also wear the same type of watch.

The Forerunner 405 is slated for a Q1 2008 release and will retail for about $319 USD.

[via NaviGadget]

The latest in a series of merchandise Taito has issued for the 30th anniversary (now I feel really old) of the classic arcade game, these durable aluminum bottles are perfect for bikers, hikers or generally outdoorsy types. Now, the intersection of people who fit that description AND who like Space Invaders is probably close to infinitesimal, so I guess that’s why they’re only making a limited number of these.

Expected to ship in April 2008, you can pre-order one of the three designs from video game import shop NCSX for $12.50 each.

Thanks to a built in digital camera, Liquid Image’s new Underwater Camera Mask will let you capture photos or video of whatever you see while you swim. Just look through the view port, and press the capture button to snap your pix. A crosshair inside the mask indicates the center of the frame you’ll be capturing, and easy-to-see LEDs tell you the camera’s current mode. While you won’t be able to go deep-sea diving with the mask on, it will hold up for depths up to 15 feet of water, so it’s perfect for casual snorkeling.

The company plans on rolling out the camera at the upcoming 2008 CES show in January, and plans on releasing both 3.1 and 5.0 megapixel versions, with prices starting at $99 USD.

[via Krunker]

That’s exactly what happened when Olympic Snowboarder Graham Watanabe hooked up with the guys who came up with the rugged new VholdR outdoor camera from Twenty20.

Using a design that would make MacGyver proud, the improvised “Granthony Cam” (named for Graham and Twenty20′s Anthony Godoy) screws on top of Watanabe’s helmet as he snowboards downhill, capturing a wild, 360-degree video effect that not only gives you a great sense of motion, but is also some of the wildest camera work this side of a Raising Arizona. The 2 minute video clip is definitely worth a watch, so be sure to check it out.

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The VholdR camera at the heart of the rig comes encased in a rugged anodized aluminum shell, and is splash proof, dust proof and dirt proof. Designed to mount just about anywhere, the camera is perfect for sports-nuts or anyone else who wants to capture action video in challenging locations. The whole lens and image sensor can even rotate up to 192-degrees together, and a pair of lasers automatically guide the camera to frame the image properly. The company even offers specially-designed mounts for helmets, bikes, goggles and roll bars… but I still prefer the ingenuity of the Granthony Cam.

At $350, it’s not the cheapest digital video camera out there, but you also wouldn’t want to strap your mom’s HandyCam to your head and go jump out of an airplane with it on.