Over the years, we've heard about several skateboards that were claimed to handle like snowboards made for the street. The Finnish-designed Slede snowskate flips that concept around, by reportedly performing like a skateboard made for the snow.
Currently the subject of an Indiegogo campaign, the Slede features a 7-ply Canadian maple deck (topped with a layer of grippy foam rubber), along with four mini-snowboard-like skis which take the place of the wheels on a skateboard.
The skis are mounted on skateboard-style trucks, each one of which is equipped with a rubber spring mechanism. That spring pulls the ski into a default straight-and-level orientation when even pressure is being applied by the rider, but still allows the ski to pivot relative to the truck when going over uneven snow or carving into corners.
Carving and tracking performance is enhanced by skate-like stainless steel blades which protrude down from the middle of each ski along either side. Riders can switch between shorter blades for use on hard-packed snow and deeper ones for deeper snow.
According to the designers, the skis are made of "the same materials as snowboards" and should thus be maintained in a similar fashion – in other words, their undersides should periodically be sandpapered and waxed. Additionally, all of the components are user-replaceable with (hopefully) commercially available spares.
Assuming the Slede reaches production, a pledge of US$320 will get you one with two full sets of blades – the planned retail price is $386. It can be seen in use, in the video below.
Source: Indiegogo
