When Simple Toys Go High Tech

Being children of the 80's and earlier, when kids actually played outside, we all at some point in our lives have owned, or known someone who has a pogo stick. The exhilaration of finally being able to actually get up on the awkward contraption and pull off a few bounces nearly a foot off the ground. It was like flying, with the aid of a very noisy spring assembly. Then trying one later in life and the devastating disappointment of discovering that simply mounting on the pegs compressed the spring completely.

Pro Skateboarder Andy Macdonald was one of us at a young age and never lost the pogo bug. In 2001 partnered with SBI Enterprises (who own the original pogo patents since 1918) development was started for the "Flybar 1200" super pogo stick. Using 12 independent rubber-like elastometric springs, the Flybar 1200 can deliver 1,200 pounds of thrust to anyone who jumps on it. This will propel an adult up to 250 pounds over 5 feet in the air and feels similar to jumping on a trampoline. Available on Amazon, the Flybar 1200 will set you back $300, but what a small price to pay for a bit of childhood nostalgia of the extreme variety.

Apparently there is now extreme & stunt pogo sticking which borrows much from skateboarding and other similar street sports. The site Xpogo is an extreme pogo resource which includes a pogo team, forum, trick database and a good collection of videos & pictures of people pogoing on the Flybar and other classic pogo sticks. Check out some of the videos if you have a minute (mostly WMV). Now I just want to see how someone will use modern technology to improve the hoola hoop.

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