Kids surfing the sidewalks on the Ripstik Caster Board, a two-wheeled variation on the standard four-wheeled skateboard, don’t have to put a foot down, but they may want to keep their guard up.
The Ripstik, named 2008’s outdoor toy of the year by the Toy Industry Association, lets riders accelerate and even ride uphill without pushing off the ground by shifting their body weight atop its two rotating platforms and wheels that turn 360 degrees.
But the fun comes with a risk of injury, especially for beginners. We asked an emergency- room physician about that after hearing about kids who’d been injured while riding.
Since the toy’s fall 2006 debut, Julian Orenstein of Adventist Hospital in Shady Grove, Md., says he has treated Rip- stik-related scrapes, fractures and head injuries, but the damage has been no more and no worse than what he sees from traditional skateboards.
Orenstein, who bought a Ripstik for his 11-year-old daughter, says that the toy improves balance and fine motor control, and that most injuries should keep kids out of action for only a few days.
His advice: Make sure riders wear a helmet and ride on smooth surfaces, just as with bicycles, skateboards and inline skates. “Kids will fall,” Orenstein says, so they need to be protected.
A “How to Ride” video posted by Ripstik’s manufacturer, Razor USA, on its website urges riders to wear protective gear such as elbow and knee pads, adhere to age and weight restrictions (the board is not recommended for kids younger than 8 or more than 220 pounds) and avoid riding on wet pavement.
