Frisbee fumblers, take heart. There’s a new flying disc on the market, one
that’s so user-friendly even a 3-year-old can learn to spin it like a pro. It’s called the Spin JAMMER and, if recent
sales figures are any indication, it should be getting heavy airplay this summer at the
beach.
Masterminded by Michael Sandeen, 29, a Danville, Californian, inventor, the new
airborne wonder looks a lot like its saucer-shaped cousin.
The crucial difference in the “Whatchamastallit,” a sunken cone set in
the center of the disc to provide a finger hold for easy spinning (that’s
“stalling,” in disc lingo). The
cone helps make fancier maneuvers—behind-the-back catches, chest rolls,
leg-overs—a breeze as well.
Science buff Sandeen, who had a
hunch that an updated disc would really take off, “I knew there had to be a way to
become adept at Frisbee tricks without years of practice,” he says. “The cone idea just came to me. It was simple to make, inexpensive, and everybody
would like it.” |
|
Everybody, that is, except Wham-O, the makers of Frisbee—which went into a bit
of a spin when Sandeen adopted Frisbee’s flight-enhancing grooves, whose patent had
expired. Sandeen claims Wham-O offered to
buy him out (Wham-O denied it). Now he has
set himself a lofty goal; surpassing the Frisbee as America’s disc of choice. “This is going to be like the Coke-Pepsi
wars,” he boasts, “and I plan to win.” |
