Release Your Inner Boing

Like the hula hoop, the pogo stick is one of those childhood toys that brings out the kids in us. Just pure, classic fun. But if you’ve ever tried a basic pogo stick, you know all too well that bouncing off the ground even just an inch or two takes tons of effort. With their steel-spring construction, traditional pogo sticks aren’t really all that bouncy. Rubber-band cores give a little more oomph to newer models, but the really big bounce still eludes most jumpers.

We big kids — and little ones with lofty hops in mind — need a super-powered pogo stick. The Vurtego, which uses a patented air-spring propulsion system, unleashes the big bounce. In the hands of a master jumper (none of us here qualify…yet), this puppy can soar as high as eight feet in the air. Bruce Spencer, the 65-year-old inventor, gets a good four feet out of his Vurtego. He jumps every day, proclaiming the health benefits: improving circulation, building bone density and reducing body fat. His son Brian, company co-founder, just likes to have fun. Brian calls pogo sticking a new fuel-free urban sport and has an eight-foot jump on record. (Don’t worry, you can adjust the tension if you don’t want to soar to such heights.) Ready for a ride, anyone?

— Beth