I just wrote this review of a peripheral device for skateboarders in CoolTools:. Cooltools editor Steven Leckart turned me on to this device originally:
Sequence from Surfersvillage
The Kahuna Big Stick is a lightweight wooden shaft with fixed rubber wheels that allows a skater to push and pull while keeping balanced with both feet as opposed to pumping with one foot. On the level, it is way superior to foot-pumping. Even on uphills, I’ve found if I do a few foot pumps, then follow with a few paddles, it’s faster and smoother. On slight downslopes and the flats, I can now get a lot more speed by not having to foot pump. It’s got me skating a two-block section in town that used to be too slow. Plus, it adds an upper body workout to a sport that is mainly a leg workout. Surfers see me with it and invariably break into a grin; they instantly get it and are charmed. It really is unique. The day I got my 5′ 6″ Big Stick, I tried it out in a parking lot while getting gas. Boy! After about five tentative strokes, I started reaching out as far as I could, zooming around. Later that night I decided to skate in the streets (no cars). I got in a bunch of half-mile downhills in an hour. It is insane fun.
Check out the Youtube video of these Southern California dudes carving it up with Big Sticks:
