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Treadwall Balances Your Love of Rock Climbing With Your Acrophobia
Posted by John Mahoney at 11:06 PM on July 31, 2008
Yes there are pool treadmills, desk treadmills, and water-resistance treadmills for dogs, but the Treadwall throws the horizontal nature of previous treadmill innovations out the window. For 10-grand, you can climb yourself to death in your own living room without getting higher than 10 feet or so, making the inevitable fall when you fail to keep up with the scrolling handholds all the more manageable. But let's see how some drunken Jackass wannabees fare in the following video.
AU: Wow. I was climbing something very similar to this at the local rock-climbing centre when I was in Cadets back in 1996. Unlike the US to be so out of date...
Yeah, not so good. [BornRich]
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
court
Posted August 1, 2008 5:08 PM
I remembering first climbing something like that at around age 6 so around 1998. In the local Timezone centre. It calculated the metres climbed and adjusted the speed dependent on how long it had been since you'd fallen off. It would then give you a print out at the end of how many metres you'd climbed.
cmsjustin
Posted 11:50 PM 31/7/08
They had one of these at a gym by my house a few years ago. I really liked it, only thing I really did at the gym, and it was a full body workout.
cmsjustin
Jon!
Posted 11:38 PM 31/7/08
@BadBoyNDSU: Now if only these machines could simulate the harsh climates and air pressure of Everest. Until then, I'm pretty sure Everest is a lot more difficult than these machines.
Jon!
atomx
Posted 11:37 PM 31/7/08
Doesn't seem to work very well, maybe it's better when you're sober.
That also goes for the camera work...
atomx
Jon!
Posted 11:36 PM 31/7/08
@designguybrown: I'm pretty sure uneven ground is bad for your ankles :)
Jon!
BadBoyNDSU
Posted 11:22 PM 31/7/08
They've had these for at least ten years. My old gym had one, and it's speed can be adjusted. It's also tells you how far you've climbed. I did about 22,000 feet over the course of a year. For comparison, Everest is about 29,000 feet.
BadBoyNDSU
designguybrown
Posted 11:21 PM 31/7/08
excellent - another reason to shun nature so that we can retreat into our lairs. Now we just need the 'trail-mill' - a 'natural' treadmill that can simulate the uneven ground, stray roots, and mucky mess of a hiking trail without the unpleasantness of being uncomfy, wet, or stimulated in any other way... hike a trail in the comfort of your own home watching, say 'mantracker' or some outside adventure channel... ah the future....
designguybrown
RG_Shrike
Posted 11:18 PM 31/7/08
nice...
love when the drunk chick yells " eat his asshole out" and the look on the other drunk chick is priceless.
RG_Shrike
kaizoku80
Posted 11:16 PM 31/7/08
I don't see how a video of some of John Mahoney's friends making fools of themselves on an exercise device that's been around for years is gadget, or even "shiny new toy"-related...slow news day?
kaizoku80
Jon!
Posted 11:12 PM 31/7/08
*climbers
Jon!
Jon!
Posted 11:12 PM 31/7/08
Operator: "FULL SPEED!!!!!!"
Wall-climers: *bloody screams *snap *crackle
Operator: "Oh crap..." *slowly walks away
Jon!
Git Em SteveDave is a poor substitute for LindsayJoy
Posted 12:21 AM 1/8/08
Can you wear crocs while climbing it?
Git Em SteveDave is a poor substitute for LindsayJoy
impliedsurprise
Posted 12:21 AM 1/8/08
all this talk about machines used for workout and nobody has yet made a reference to f***ingmachines.com yet?
impliedsurprise
murph
Posted 12:17 AM 1/8/08
Don't forget the Ice Skating Treadmill
+ Watch video
murph
aquaosx
Posted 12:14 AM 1/8/08
My gym has had one of these things for like 10+ years.
No one uses it.
aquaosx
Jesse Mrozowski
Posted 12:10 AM 1/8/08
My gym has one of these but in the 3 years I've been there I've only ever seen 1 person using it because it's right near the basketball court so you have to risk being hit with basketballs to use it.
Jesse Mrozowski
nutbastard
Posted 12:49 AM 1/8/08
motherfucker i had no idea these existed. i was just getting around to drawing up the plans for the climbing machine i invented.
on the other hand, maybe i can just buy on of these (although mine was to use an IR beam to tell the motors to advance the track... this one appears to use set speeds)
nutbastard
Set to evil
Posted 12:41 AM 1/8/08
Wow Giz! real cutting edge stuff! These have been around for at least 15 years. Next you'll be doing a story the lattest portable CD players!
Set to evil
Kaiser-Machead's Chips Ahoy!
Posted 12:28 AM 1/8/08
Jaaaaaane how do you stop this crazy thing!!!!!
Kaiser-Machead's Chips Ahoy!
Carmen Sucks
Posted 1:14 AM 1/8/08
@nutbastard: uh ohs...I'm sorry love. Perhaps you could better the invention and market it?!
Other than that, the thing seems kind of short and maybe it's just me but this was a bad video to show it off.
Carmen Sucks
Human Bomb
Posted 1:39 AM 1/8/08
My cousin's company in CA services these things. I wish the gyms here had one. The nearest full climbing wall is at a college about forty minutes from my house.
Human Bomb
stradric
Posted 1:33 AM 1/8/08
@kaizoku80: Seriously. This thing has been around for quite a while.
stradric
txtanner88
Posted 1:16 AM 1/8/08
What the shit is this? It reminds me of the 80's cult classic "The Breakfast Club".... except in a Gym.
txtanner88
Carmen Sucks
Posted 1:16 AM 1/8/08
Okay another commet
wtf is up with the douche bags lifting weight in street clothes
one of them wearing just spanx and that disgusting tech music in the background
...ughI hate gym meat heads
Carmen Sucks
GilesEuryalus
Posted 12:26 AM 1/8/08
I am going to second the old/not shiney comment, my local rock climbing has had this for a long time. The problem with it is that it gets really repetative after a few minutes and once you learn the route, the machine can't go fast enough for someone with moderate talent. I guess being drunk fixes that though. -- Using Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera.com/mail/
GilesEuryalus