Winter is well under way, though you wouldn’t know it here in SoCal where we’ve experienced an uncanny amont of 70 degree days.  No matter, because we’ll never be able to go sledding, that is unless of course we drive 2.5 hours north.  And if we do, we’ll surely be dragging along VW’s – yes, the carmaker – latest sled, Crazy Bob.

If you can’t tell, the design is inspired from their latest model GTI.  Heck, it even says it on the sled itself, so you’d have to be pretty thick to not pick up on that.  Then again, if you have a penchant for sledding, then you may have already experienced a fair amount of head trauma, so will let it slide.

Feature wise there is a big red handle and a set of foot rests to help you keep your butt in the seat.  VW has also included your very own VW logo and a GTI honeycomb grill, though the latter will do nothing for performance.

If you’re interested in picking up Crazy Bob from the German company, expect to pay a few dollars shy of $90.  Unfortunately, we can’t find an official buy link, so hit the comments if you find one.

Reign supreme on the snow ball field this winter with the Snow Traceball.  It’s shaped just like the Xistera used in Jai alai – balls in that sport reach speeds of up to 188mph.  The base of the weapon/toy has a built-in mold for shaping and packing snow balls for maximum velocity.  While this isn’t the first snow ball apparatus we’ve seen, it might be the most dangerous.  Toss in some ice balls and we’re probably talking retinal detachment and other ocular injuries.

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I’ve said it many times before and I’ll say it again: living in a cold climate totally sucks.  Unless of course you like to ski and then it might have its advantageous.  But you know what sucks more?  Shoveling snow.  Well, Rob Klinkey of Illinois had finally had enough of the back breaking exercise and he whipped together the Roboplow.

It has an articulating 50-inch blade, 6 wheel drive, 660 amps of power, two 10 watt LEDs for night plowing, a camera and some sort of remote control.  There is an on board battery so your plowing time is limited per charge and you just better hope you don’t hit any school children on their walk home.

[via Make]

Ain’t nothing like a hot piece of metal in your pocket to get you through some cold days this winter.  The Zippo Hand Warmer uses a platinum catalyzed glass fibre burner to provide up to 10 times more heat than your average hand warmer.  Capable of burning for 12 hours at a time, the Zippo Hand Warmer uses 12ml of everyday lighter fuel.  Sounds like a great compact solution for those in colder areas suffering poor circulation.

It comes packed with a warming bag for optimal handling and is priced at only $30.  I really like the aesthetic and wouldn’t mind owning one if I lived in a cold weather area.

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For those of you in the North East getting pounded this winter by an array of unflinching snow storms, you might want to consider having a can of this Spray-On Anti-Ice Slip Shoe Spray handy.

Safe for carpets and other types of flooring and shoe soles, all you have to do is is spray the shit on and you’ll instantly feel your footing and traction improve.  Extremely flammable, I would recommend spraying these on your high heels before you go to work at Coyote Ugly.

Available now from SkyMall for $15 a can.

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A cold and crackling face can be the death of your “mind over matter” in extreme temperature situations.  Surprisingly not developed by some mainstream brand name, the Cold Avenger Balaclava will keep your face warm and dry while humidifying inhaled air.

Made from medical grade plastic, the Cold Avenger mixes the cold inhaled air with warm exhaled air, creating a delicate balance of heating your face and keeping it dry at the same time.  The Cold Avenger will keep your face between 40-60 degrees fahrenheit depending on the scenario.

Priced at $80, I can imagine this product being very appealing to anyone engaging in winter and cold weather activities.

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Screw the THE.  The North Face just sounds too pretentious.  Two new North Face jackets have surfaced with exterior iPod controls so you don’t have to be futzing around with exposed hands this winter.

Looking a little different from each other, the Femophonic Women’s jacket and the Men’s Hustle Audio jacket are nothing new exactly, they now just have North Face branding.  Each jacket uses the CONNECTEDwear system to allow you to connect your iPod to the inside of your coat while controlling it from the outside.  Easy as pie, or like Sunday morning.

On sale now for a freezer burning $350 a piece.

[via CrunchGear]

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When your snowball fight reaches critical mass, you can be that dude that comes out of nowhere in slow motion with the weapon that will win the battle.  The Sno-Fling could be just that.  Essentially just a stick with a cup at the end, it allows your hands to never have to touch the snow.  Where’s the authenticity in that?

All you have to do is jam the stick into the snow and fling the formed ball at the enemy.  You can also blow into the other end of the stick as it acts as a battle horn sounding victory across the battlefield.  On sale now for $6.

[via TheGreenHead]

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It was just Monday that we saw Columbia’s Bugathermo heated boots.  But honestly, in retrospect, those fell short on the complete package, especially after bearing witness to Mountain Hardware’s Refugium (men’s) and Radiance (women’s) jackets.

Hidden in the inner lining is an array of flexible lithium-ion batteries that provide power to 3 heating sources – 2 in the front and 1 in the back.  But wait, there’s more!  Located in the front left pocket is a USB output that can provide power to any gadget that requires 10 watts or less of power; so think phone, MP3 player and other small gadgets.  The jackets have 3 temperature settings and can provide up to 8.5 hours of continuous heat.  Both versions are available now and cost $374 with the necessary battery pack, or $229 without – ouch either way.

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Cold feet on a cold winter day can be absolutely debilitating, especially if you procure the wonderfully appealing gang green.  Not so fast say Columbia sports wear.  They just launched the Bugathermo, a high performance waterproof boot with its very own built-in heating system.  Charge these suckers up and at the lowest of 3 settings you’ll get 8 hours of toasty warmness at the balls of your feet.  Flip the LED switch to high, though, and you’ll be searingly hot for up to 3 hours.  $250 might be a bit steep for some, but considering the Bugathermo is a high performance outdoor boot with a heating system, I’d say that price tag is comfortably warm.

[via Besportier]

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