Stand Up Paddle > Gear Talk
New product launch on Kickstarter: Blue Planet Balance Surfer
blueplanetsurf:
We are very proud to announce an exciting new project/product that we are launching on Kickstarter: The Blue Planet Balance Surfer. What initially started as a quest for comfort, has now evolved into a patent-pending design that provides 3 different levels of balance challenge in 1 tool-less Board.
This is the preview link, the campaign will go live tomorrow, Tuesday:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/rstehlik/multi-purpose-balance-board-blue-planet-balance-surfer?ref=nilj7e&token=a03bedc2
Competing and training for long-distance races like the Molokai to Oahu race kept me in shape but I was still experiencing back and neck discomfort after long days sitting at my computer. My chiropractor recommended raising my monitor to eye level, and I realized if mounted it on an arm I could use it as a standing desk as well. Standing up regularly helped but I was still prone to bad posture and would constantly lean against my desk and load one hip with all my weight. But after using an old balance rocker board I used for SUP training, I noticed how my posture improved from the small balance rocker which was requiring me to stand upright and centered yet still allowed me to focus on my work. From that sprang the idea of developing an easy to use balance rocker board for office use that could easily be adjusted to also provide a challenging balance workout for the boardsports I love. I began designing and prototyping new versions and here we are today.
With 2 previously successful Kickstarter campaigns and such a great experience interacting with the crowdfunding community, we obviously thought of Kickstarter right away when deciding how to launch this product. We love bringing new products to this community and hope you can support us in this next launch, as a backer pledging your support to this product launch, you will be rewarded with a board at less than 50% of the retail price and the early backers get the best value. We will ship the Balance Surfer to backers anywhere in the world but if you live on Oahu you can choose the pick up at the shop option and save on shipping fees.
Aloha, Robert Stehlik, founder/ owner
Tom:
Ok I'm in. How do we sign up?
blueplanetsurf:
--- Quote from: Tom on July 16, 2019, 07:05:31 AM ---Ok I'm in. How do we sign up?
--- End quote ---
Cool, thank you! The campaign just went live, early backers get the best value. Please make your pledge to support our project, we expect to ship the rewards in October, here is the link to the project:
http://kck.st/2lfc84l
This is the pitch video:
https://youtu.be/RbczXey8mCs
Wetstuff:
Ok... some pressure, Robert. I have a GOOF board that almost kilt me. A) I found it too fast. B) Put it on a piece of carpeting over a wood floor and the carpet moved. (bonehead move) C) Put it on a solid carpet base and found a smaller dia. tube, but still seemed too fast. (for me)
So, I take the GOOF board and set it atop an Indo Board mushroom ...and, the board jiggles around on it. I don't feel it is doing much except giving my legs a fast-twitch workout. It is also working on a 360deg radial; boards in the ocean move around a lot but not like this.
What do you expect your rig may do for us SUP'ers specifically?
Jim
blueplanetsurf:
--- Quote from: Wetstuff on July 16, 2019, 11:00:25 AM ---Ok... some pressure, Robert. I have a GOOF board that almost kilt me. A) I found it too fast. B) Put it on a piece of carpeting over a wood floor and the carpet moved. (bonehead move) C) Put it on a solid carpet base and found a smaller dia. tube, but still seemed too fast. (for me)
So, I take the GOOF board and set it atop an Indo Board mushroom ...and, the board jiggles around on it. I don't feel it is doing much except giving my legs a fast-twitch workout. It is also working on a 360deg radial; boards in the ocean move around a lot but not like this.
What do you expect your rig may do for us SUP'ers specifically?
Jim
--- End quote ---
Hi Jim,
Thanks for asking. I have been working on balance boards for many years and found that a rocker board is a much better simulation of SUP balance than boards using cushions or roller type boards where the balance is more about side to side movement (and can be dangerous as you found out).
In the easy "office mode" the balance surfer is relatively easy to balance on (similar to standing on a stable 34" wide board). It only rocks side to side but you have to keep your weight centered to stay balanced and the core engaged, so it's a good way to keep good posture when working at a standing desk for example. I find that it actually improves blood flow and focus without being distracting when working at a standing desk. Standing up regularly at work really helped the back pain I had.
Since it can't rotate, this mode is also great for using as a SUP trainer by using the top 2 pieces of a 3 piece paddle and a resistance band. In the challenging mode, the balance board is more tippy side to side and also front to back and can also rotate. Using this mode is great for training balance for SUP surfing and foiling. We will eventually offer three balance modules with four levels of difficulty: Easy (wood board only), + Medium, Challenging and Extra Challenging attachments. So the level of difficulty can be increased as balance improves. The balance challenge can also be varied by using it on a hard surface (more challenging) vs soft surface like carpet or a soft foam pad which makes it easier to balance. By pledging to back our project before we start production, you can get the balance surfer for $59 (limited qty) vs the expected retail price of $149, please consider supporting our project, Mahalo!
Here is the link again, thank you:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/rstehlik/multi-purpose-balance-board-blue-planet-balance-surfer?ref=creator_nav
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