Photo: www.actonglobal.com
One of LA-based Acton’s latest products, the Rocket Skates will most likely make you think of the Japanese Manga Air Gear, only these babies are for real. Similar to the Air Treks the Japanese characters were using, these motorized blades will let you zip along your campus at a top speed of 12mph, and they don’t even require a remote control.
In case you never watched the manga series, we’ll take a second to remind you. Air Gear is a shonen manga written and illustrated by Ito “Oh Great” Ogure, that revolves around the life of Itsuki Minami “Ikki or Crow,” also known as “Baby Face,” “Lil (and Little) Crow,” and his friends. The story follows their use of Air Treks, an in-universe invention derived from inline skates.
After developing a perfectly functioning prototype, the LA-based company recently launched a Kickstarter campaign. Acton’s new Rocket Skates are quite similar to the Air Treks, only they are not just a product of imagination, but an actual pair of skates.
Each skate has two hub motors controlled by an on-board microprocessor, and are powered by a lithium-ion battery pack. The skates communicate with each other so they maintain the same speed and behavior, and folks can wear almost any regular shoe while riding them.
Once you put them on, you have to decide which foot you want to use as your lead skate, considering it will tell the other skate what to do. To accelerate, simply tilt forward, and to slow down, just tilt back on your heels. As you’ll witness in the video below, Peter Treadway, Acton’s co-founder, admits that riding them needs a bit of reversing, but once you get the drill, you’ll never want to go back to normal skates.
The Rocket Skates come in three models. R-6 lasts for 45 minutes or 6 miles (9.5 km), comes in “Rocket Red” and will cost you $499. R-8 model lasts 25 minutes more or 8 miles (12.8 km), wears a “Titanium Chrome” color and is priced at $599. R-10 is the most expensive one, with a cost of $699, will last for 90 minutes or 10 miles (16) and comes in “Deep Space Black.”
We don’t know what you think about these puppies, but if you ask us we’ll go for either of them the minute it hits the market, which is in September, considering they already surpassed their Kickstarter goal.
After developing a perfectly functioning prototype, the LA-based company recently launched a Kickstarter campaign. Acton’s new Rocket Skates are quite similar to the Air Treks, only they are not just a product of imagination, but an actual pair of skates.
Each skate has two hub motors controlled by an on-board microprocessor, and are powered by a lithium-ion battery pack. The skates communicate with each other so they maintain the same speed and behavior, and folks can wear almost any regular shoe while riding them.
Once you put them on, you have to decide which foot you want to use as your lead skate, considering it will tell the other skate what to do. To accelerate, simply tilt forward, and to slow down, just tilt back on your heels. As you’ll witness in the video below, Peter Treadway, Acton’s co-founder, admits that riding them needs a bit of reversing, but once you get the drill, you’ll never want to go back to normal skates.
The Rocket Skates come in three models. R-6 lasts for 45 minutes or 6 miles (9.5 km), comes in “Rocket Red” and will cost you $499. R-8 model lasts 25 minutes more or 8 miles (12.8 km), wears a “Titanium Chrome” color and is priced at $599. R-10 is the most expensive one, with a cost of $699, will last for 90 minutes or 10 miles (16) and comes in “Deep Space Black.”
We don’t know what you think about these puppies, but if you ask us we’ll go for either of them the minute it hits the market, which is in September, considering they already surpassed their Kickstarter goal.
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