Video: Scarpar off-road powerboard absolutely must go commercial
By Darren Murph 
posted Apr 8th 2009 12:31PM
posted Apr 8th 2009 12:31PM
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Recession antidote!
Yes please engadget!!! May I add that Christian Martin and I are the winners too?
Why the hell not, it's the internetz, everybody wins!
SWEEEEET!!!
this was invented several years ago. this video is from 2006
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7dE3SMKgQs
@ Eddie:
Thank you for your anonymous Internet opinion and fact-finding abilities. However, we regret to inform you that this fact was already mentioned - several times in fact.
I as well as many others don't care when it was 'invented;' rather, we are more interested in its production. I refer you to the description of the video linked on this page:
"This is a promo video we did of our last prototype before the design for manufacture phase we are in now."
To me, this infers that the company clearly admits the video is slightly aged.
While you may personally feel that because it was clearly not dreamed up fifteen seconds prior to your post and may feel an air of superiority upon realizing that you knew of this thing's existence before many here, please note that no one cares. Proceed forth to die in a Scarpar fire nao while I get in my car made so so long ago in 2007.
You made me look "Na0" up.
@ Christian Martin
And thank YOU for illustrating how to be a long-winded, quasi-intellectual, jerk when replying to a throwaway comment made by someone on the internet. He was merely pointing out that the video is a few years old, I see nothing on this page to support that it was "already mentioned."
"...die in a Scarpar fire..." Do you really think that he deserves to die for that? Nice...
Hmm, looks like someone got stood up...
The funny thing is, with the immense amount of traffic Engadget gets, you've almost undoubtably just guaranteed that a VC firm does in fact contact the inventors.
You should start charging a referral fee.
Well, I really hope so, coz I really want this thing, no, I need it, NOW!!!!
Eh, I could make the same thing out of two belt sanders and a two-by-four!
I would love to take that thing through sand dunes.
Oh, and the controls need to be wireless. That cord can easily snag on a tree going through a trail.
Doesn't really look like it has the torque to pull you around sand dunes. Anyway, I'd rather have a BushPig - http://www.bossbi.com/skate/wheelman/wheelman.php. Wheels are more maneuverable and turn better.
Wireless technology just isnt quite where it needs to be for boards. I have an E-glide Powerboard and I much prefer its wired controller as wireless controllers easily lose contact with the mainboard and /or get interference from other radios...and believe me...you dont want someone elses gadget telling your board to hit the brakes hard when you're going 25mph...
@urmomFTW
Wireless technology isn't there? Yes it is, most people would just rather cheap out on a controller than make it work well. Cell phones work miles from towers (I only ever lose calls when a tower has too much traffic or if I'm really far from a tower), mercedes uses wireless keys in their cars, our cordless phones at work never miss a beat. I think 3 feet from a board, there will be some good way of doing wireless.
The important thing is building safety systems, such as a low battery shutoff that slowly turns off the entire system when the wireless unit is getting low, but not dead. A high bitrate is helpful too so dropped packets can quickly be replaced. An intelligent failure system that safely applies the brakes is good too. That and a warning to people not to drive anything like this near a cliff - wireless or not, failure is just too risky of a possibility.
-Taylor
Caterpillars, hanging wire, full suit of armor? BushPig (see link above) seems like a more practical alternative. Not to mention sexy lady in their video does much better marketing than a helmethead :)
Yeah, in Dubai!
@ jorge
"Oh, and the controls need to be wireless. That cord can easily snag on a tree going through a trail."
ide rather be able to pick it up from the wire than drop it on the trail and lose it forever. can't do much without controls.
and come on engadget, "absolutely sick video"? the guy is basically skateboarding in a straight line over dirt and grass. the only reason he "turns" at the second to last shot is because he hits a bank and it forces the thing around the corner.
@Taylor. Yes, Taylor.
Okay...well...how bout I speak from experience where as you do not....I understand we got cell phones and all sorts of wireless stuff now. However, the radios that go into these boards for wireless are not much different than the ones on RC cars basically. You know like the ones where if your friend has the same car then you better hope the car has a switch on it to change frequency? Yeah..that...now if a better implementation can be made then sure why not, but still I would rather have a wired controller that way I dont have to worry about the batteries in my controller dying or when something messes up trying to figure out if it the wireless controller or the wireless receiver, etc.
And as for those worried about a tree snagging the wired controller...at least for my e-glide, the hand controllers have a quick release cable so if something grabs it then it just releases. Its not hard wired into the hand controller in other words. It has helped me on quite a few occassions.
I want to see what happens when you hit a bump larger then a few cm...
I'd imagine that's why the first syllable of this thing's name is "SCAR"
I was wondering the same...could you get flung off it because you hit a stick on the ground? And what kind of impact can it withstand? Will it break if you rode it off the edge of a sidewalk curb? Regardless, the video is awesome and it'd be worth finding flat terrain to ride that thing around.
Did you not see him go over the tree?
Watch the freakin' video. It will answer your question.
Think before you post. Or if you refuse, at least read the whole thing and watch the videos.
I don't go in for that whole "extreme sports" thing, but that is flippin cool.
Looks like a really fun way to get hurt.
this looks far more safe than most extreme sports. i'm hesitant to even call it extreme. doesn't seem to be going too fast and seemingly can't really do any crazy tricks
What, a bicycle is too hard to use?
Last thing I want to see in the woods.
You butt naked, grinning inanely from a bush is the last thing I'd want to see in the woods. People on motorized skateboards of death are more than welcome, though preferably also fully clothed!
Andrew I would have loved to see your face when you got an email that someone has replied to your comment, and you read Pete's reply comment of epic proportions
agreed.. . i lol'd
Is it just me, or does it look a little... slow?
i concur. it needs to be fast enough for me to hurt myself. badly.
Agreed, it looks like it lacks oomph. They have all this heavy metal music going on but it just seems to be trundling along and doesn't look intense at all. Maybe riding it is different though?
i'm with you guys 100%. its cool enough. but i'm really not seeing the wow factor that everyone else is on this post. my friends and i are ito this sort of thing. we ride quads at the dunes, wake board, and desert single track dirtbike,.... but i would not even consider forwarding this video to them.
I agree, it looks slow. They need to make it a LOT faster. And the control should be wireless. They also talk about it being agile, but in the videos I was waiting for 'em to show its agility, like swerving back and forth in between orange cones or something. Nothin'.
They also need straps for the feet so you can jump it a bit (but not like a regular board, of course), unless it's too heavy to do even that, which it might be. And maybe doing that would defeat the point of it, with it runnin' over trees and everything. Who knows?
Still a good idea. Just needs more speed.
Slow? I don't think so. Check this out:
http://www.scarpar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=10
be fun to try
but it would stay in my closet 99.999% of the time
just like the rest of my EXTREME gear
you mean "X-treme GEAR"
exactly what I thought. great for the first day, but when is anyone actually going to use this? as far as I can see you can't do tricks on it, apart from maybe little jumps, so the most fun will be rolling down hills. and why would I want to roll down a hill really slowly on this when I could fly down on a bike? (yes I AM allowed to start sentences with prepositions)
1 ft longer and three inches taller and the speed of these things would be insane with the added stability.
Combine this with the Segway PUMA, and you get a mech warrier platform for the 21st century!
what? Dr. Jekyll you just dissed the Scarpar like a half a page up
Personally, I think it needs to be a bit faster and bit more agile. Also needs a wireless controller, like a glove with a type of "Spiderman" gesture to make it accelerate.
@Russ: See the video for tree trunk and offroad portion through forest.
I have a feeling that given the chance to ride one of these, I'd fall off and the board would maul my face. The same thing happens to me with skateboards, rollerblades, bicycles, jetskis, etc.
Notice the rider had a full facemask helmet - this wasn't to look badass....
People feeling the need for speed likely haven't done 50MPH on a narrow bumpy road in the woods, and if you have, I bet it wasn't on a skateboard...
Let 'em build and market a slow (15mph) one, people will inevitably soup them up for more speed.
Woah! I understand that totally deforms once face, but a banana?
I say we get Tony Hawk on one of these, to see him do a kick-flip with it.
looks pretty cool buts its most likely a couple a years before ill get to try it.
Looks fun / test msg
Odd, video says copyright 2006, clearly it's new though.
Power source? I can't imagine that thing will have very good mileage given its size...
They have in fact a FAQ section but it's all theoretical though
http://www.scarpar.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=3
Please build. But out a half way decent suspension under the thing. I'd actually consider using something like that for urban commuting if it could handle a decent drop/jump.
Good thing they had the music. I am sure that thing is obnoxiously loud.
Looks like it needs more suspension travel and power, but a great concept.
Looks dumb.
Can it go fakie?
This thing looks cool! I'm a snowboarder and it looks like it would be a lot fun riding around on a powered board during the warm months. Guessing a commercial version of this would be a bit expensive though.
Hmm, certainly looks interesting, but "We're sorry, but this video is no longer available"... :(
I wonder what happens when this thing hits concrete. The video doesn't seem to show it on anything that hard.
Maybe the belt just spins without it going anywhere?
Modify the belt to drive some wheels and make it an on-road powerboard, it'll go much faster and sell better.
So a gas powered scooter without a steering column then?
I think the all terrain aspect is the main selling point....I'm just not sure if they consider concrete/asphalt to be "terrain"
Wow... you'd think they'd spring for a better computer renderer.
These things look like they've been rendered on a 10 year old Amiga.
Cue the "CompTard" comments! IMO it looks like it could be fun I agree how does it work on pavement?
WANT. Minus the lame-ass music.
WILD WACKY ACTION BIKE, THE BIKE THAT'S HARD TO RIDE!
I have been shopping motorized skateboards lately and I will definitely buy one of these
Dude, check out e-glide. I got my I got my Dewey Weber 48 inch power longboard from them and its awesome. I use it for getting around campus quick and commuting back to the house. It may seem a little pricey, but what they build is quality stuff and their parts are user replaceable, not to mention the guys that build the boards are great and always willing to help. I recommend A+! And no I dont work for them. Just a satisfied customer.
Just for you, I checked Scarpar's FAQs, and this baby will run you 2-3k ... whenever it is produced!
I don't care how hard they try to make this thing look cool. It's too damn slow and heavy to be much fun.
35mph too slow? They claim the current version can do that with a goal of reaching 50mph.
Ummmm. This has been done before, san tracks, but bigger offroad wheels. It's called the Wheelman. (and Wheelman Bushpig which uses 2 stroke for more power) It's been around for at least 7 years.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wI6TSXGWy00
Can't find the original manufacturer website. Looks like distributors have flooded the Google Search.
I've rode one in the past. It's amazing fun and performance.
This Scarpar is just isn't fast enough. Approach angles aren't extreme enough. Overly complicated. The only thing it probably would do better than Wheelman is snow.
-Trevor Bommersbach
would everyone just stfu about the bushpig this thing has twice the horsepower that pos does!
The only thing the video didn't cover is the likely god-awful motor screech as you wind this piggy up. Imagine the sound your RC car makes, only omnipresent as you cruise down a serene single-track. The hairs on my neck are raised thinking about it.
Instead of the two tank-track design, they should go for the He-Man Battle-trak setup, with four oval tracks that constantly flip end over end. Now that would be EXTREME!!!!!!!!
When I read this headline, all I could think of was those used car hucksters - "everything must go!!!" I thought this was going to be a post complaining about the advertising for this thing!
Hmm, barring it's mileage and cost, I would love to have one.
Still ten times better than that 2 person Segway/GM mobile trashcan.
That is really sick!
http://www.google.com/ventures/
This could be fun - I think more power would make this totally tubular.
It would be interesting to see something like this, but with Segway technology. Maybe a 3 axel tread made for shredding.
I remember Ripley's Believe it or Not had something like this featured. It was called a Wheelman.
I WANT!
It's so awesome to finally see something like this being an actual reality and not the drawings of a graphics grad student. I totally want one!!
haha, rendered in solidworks, much? that's a stock background and lighting scene on the front page. nice concept though. would like to see it on the market.
I think I would sell part of my brain to obtain one of these.
I can't believe the army isn't interested.
That's pretty cool. I'll try and get some practice in, while I wait for this to come out. It's off to the hardware store for a board and two belt sanders!
Hi
Oops... now I just spammed this thread. I meant to post in the contest thread.
OKAY
I'd rather have a Wheelman Bushpig. Wheels are far more reliable than treads.
So Lame. Like I really want to see those things ripping up the forest and making a bunch of noise. What is wrong with people?
CHISELED SPAM is what you will see in the mirror if you surf on a weak plank with dumb, fixed wheels and interface with a muffler, retread, snow turd, road kill, driveshaft, railroad tie, or unconscious pedestrian. If you think this is unlikely, you've been surfing too many ghost malls. All of these obstacles and more were recently observed on a one-mile stretch of the
New Jersey Turnpike. Any surfer who tried to groove that 'vard on a stock plank would have been sneezing brains. Don't listen to so-called purists who claim any obstacle can be jumped. Professional Kouriers know: If you have pooned a vehicle moving fast enough for fun and profit, your reaction time is cut to tenths of a second -even less if you are way spooled.
Buy a set of RadiKS Mark II Smartwheels - it's cheaper than a total face retread and a lot more fun. Smartwheels use sonar, laser rangefinding, and millimeter-wave radar to identify mufflers and other debris before you even get honed about them. Don't get Midasized - upgrade today!
I love it but it looks a little heavy. skateboarders could run circles around that thing. good concept but w/ room for revision.
This is two years old - at least and still hasn't made it to market.
http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/scarpar-futuristic-board
Dude I would kill for one of these. It's the only boardsport I have yet to try
Are you kidding!? Wow! I actually really want one like NOW! Screw riding my bike at the beach. I want to cruise one of those!
is it weird that i can see some anime created based on this?
If it is "all terrain" you want, then look no further than the ARGO 8x8 amphibious ATV. Got one and LOVE it.
Batman should have one of those... lol
DO WANT!