A semi-automatic way to save yourself from a skyscraper disaster, this belaying backpack works automatically to lower you speedily but safely down the side of a structure on fire or otherwise posing live-threatening dangers.

The SkySaver hooks onto a pre-installed attachment sunk into your wall, floor or ceiling. The bag portion clips quickly around your torso, while the line starts letting you down as you exit a window.

Users have very little to do in the operation of the device – mainly, they just need to push themselves away from the building and let the unspooling rope do the rest of the work, pacing their way down the side.

All seriousness aside, this seems like a fantastic way to amuse oneself either recreationally or as a last-day-of work exist from a building to which you never plan to return.

The post SkySaver: Rescue Backpack Lets You Rappel Down Buildings first appeared on Gajitz.

A childhood dream from The Rocketeer to Tomorrowland, the jet pack is now not only a reality but it just circled the most famous statue in the United States on an island in New York City.

JetPack Aviation chief David Mayman took his invention to the skies in a very successful publicity stunt aimed to help sell an upcoming commercially-available jetpack. While there are many other jetpacking attempts out there, this one is controlled, stable and sustainable for flight, as demonstrated in the video. They have done other tests and demos, mainly safely over bodies of water, but this one really shows what this thing is capable of.

“We believe a JetPack should be just that – a jet turbine powered backpack that is capable of vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL), is extremely light and small and can easily be carried around by the pilot. It should be powerful enough to lift the pilot quickly to thousands of feet above the ground but small enough to fit into the trunk of a car. Meet the JB-9 JetPack. The design of the airframe was helped by our earlier experience with rocketbelts but there were many changes needed related to the size, weight and shape of the engines as well as control systems and engine management systems. A jetpack on the other hand requires systems to start and cool engines, to manage fuel flow and to capture operating information for display to the pilot.”

The post World’s First Stable Jetpack Flies Around Statue of Liberty first appeared on Gajitz.

A portable personal vehicle for all seasons created by German engineers, this transforming back-mounted marvel lets you finish your hillside hike then sled back down or portage between lakes (or rivers or oceans) on day trips along both land and water.

The trick behind the Backyak is in sharing the load – two people together carry pieces of the dual-person kayak then assemble it on site. However, halves can also be deployed separately for single-person use.

A slightly different ‘Relax’ configuration lets you strap together the parts to form a bathing platform. A further ‘Sail’ package turns this platform into a catamaran sailboat you can drive with wind or paddles.

For winter usage, the ‘Snow’ package adds skis to the bottom and lets you cruise down hills using your feet to steer the sled. Any extra equipment or add-ons are designed to fit neatly into the voids of the hollow pieces being carried. An electric motor for powering your water rides and additional floating pontoons are also available.

The post Backyak: Modular Backpack Becomes Kayak, Sled & Sailboat first appeared on Gajitz.