DESIGN MIAMI 2011
TOKYO DESIGN WEEK 2011
DUTCH DESIGN WEEK 2011
VIENNA DESIGN WEEK 2011
You know Heelys, those sneakers with the wheel in the heel that you see kids zooming around on? Starting this month, the company is broadening their product horizons with a new category: A removeable "footboard."
Called the Nano Inline Footboard, the detachable device is not quite a skateboard, not quite a scooter, not quite inline skates. The Nano is designed to correspond with a mating system built into Heelys shoes: by what we can gather from the drawings, it clicks into a cavity left by removing the Heelys wheel in one shoe.
We came across news of this product quite by accident, through reading about the material they're built with: Eastman's Tritan copolyester and then stumbling upon the Azom website, which reports:
"The unique, hybrid skate system of the NANO Inline Footboard and Heelys wheeled footwear is a radical departure from traditional wood and friction tape skateboards," said Ryan Wills, director of innovation, Heelys. "The product design required a material equally as revolutionary. It needed to be extremely strong and rugged, yet lightweight enough for users to easily jump, grind and perform a variety of tricks."Heelys selected Eastman Tritan copolyester for the inline footboard because it offers durability, design flexibility and ease of processing. Tritan also is not manufactured with BPA or phthalates allowing the board to meet regulations for chemicals in children's products. Additionally, the ability to tint Tritan provided Heelys with increased color options for the product.
The Nanos will hit store shelves sometime this month. Below are two videos of it: The first is a very "produced" commercial, whereas the second gives you a better look (for the first 30 seconds, the last 30 is skippable) at the product.
Comments
They should anticipate kids trying tricks on these, grinds, taking them to the skateparks (me being an avid skatepark rider, hopefully not). So they should of made them out of somthing more practical than plastic. Aluminum or maple wood would of done the trick.
Eastman Tritan(TM) copolyester is an ideal choice for the NANO(TM) application. Tritan strength and durability handles the hard impacts associated with jumping and grinding exceptionally well. The smooth surface of the built-in copolyester grind-plate minimizes friction while the lightweight nature of the material increases maneuverability and facilitates aerial tricks. The ability to injection mold the board allows an internal storage space for components as well as an interchangeable graphics system for customization. Tritan was chosen in great part for its strength, durability and design flexibility precisely because NANO is intended to be a highly maneuverable platform that enables skaters to perform a variety of tricks.