Wakeboarding typically involves standing on a board and holding onto a line that’s attached to a boat. It’s fun, but it requires at least one other person and that other person usually (annoyingly) insists on taking turns. The Radinn (radical + innovation) electric powered wakeboard lets you be as selfish as you want by eliminating the need for a boat.

Instead, the rider controls the on-board jet propulsion system with a handheld remote control. Since it’s powered by a lithium battery and not gas, the board is quiet on the water and makes riders look kind of like they’re surfing with no waves.

The board turns and moves in the same ways that a traditional wakeboard moves, but the rider is in total control of his or her speed and direction rather than relying on a boat. The handheld remote control has a tether, of course, to keep it from dropping into the water and stranding the rider.

Traditional wakeboard bindings and boots can be used with the Radinn, so you won’t even have to go out and buy all new gear. The board is lightweight and fits into a car or boat just like any other wakeboard. And in case you missed it in the video above (because you were distracted by the unreasonably gorgeous Swedish athletes), it handles like an absolute dream.

The post Water + Wireless: Electric Powered Boat-Free Wakeboard first appeared on Gajitz.

We’re starting to think that we’ll never actually see the kind of hoverboards we’ve been coveting since Back to the Future II came out in 1989. That stings, but Zapata Racing has something to placate us for the time being. Their Hoverboard lets riders fly above the water on a board that looks like crazy amounts of fun.

The Zapata Hoverboard is kind of like a wakeboard that sports an 18-meter-long pipe that lets it fly around over the surface of the water. The on-board handheld controls let the rider operate the craft and how high it hovers. The board has a two-person capacity, so one person can run the controls while the other simply enjoys the ride – or one rider can take control of his or her own ride.

The Hoverboard’s water hose is 18 meters (59 feet) long, allowing the rider a pretty wide range of freedom. The board can get up to five meters (16 feet) above the water and achieve speeds up to 24 MPH, which sounds like a true thrill ride.

A Jet-Ski engine powers the whole contraption, and twin jets of water shooting out from the bottom of the board keep the ride stable as the rider flies around above the water’s surface. If you happen to have a spare $5850 lying around, you can get your own from Zapata Racing and (after a bit of training) start racing around like a boss on and above the waves.

The post Surf’s WAY Up: Water-Powered Hoverboards Are a Real Thing first appeared on Gajitz.