Could This Tiny Device Prevent A Thief From Taking Your Skis Or Snowboard?

One unfortunate truth about outdoor recreation is that it's not always easy on your wallet. Whether you're buying a bike, kayak, skis or a snowboard, these essential pieces of gear are almost always expensive and that means theft is a potential problem. While there are locks that can be used to prevent theft, there are also tools to break through standard locks. Alpine Hawk takes a different approach to the problem of theft—for snowboards and skis, at least.

Alpine Hawk is an electronic device that will avert ski and snowboard theft as well as help you find lost skis in the snow. The small device attaches to skis or snowboards and works with an app on your phone to remotely monitor your equipment. It emits an alarm when your equipment is moved. The Alpine Hawk detects movements with the help of the integrated accelerometer; even small prolonged movement will set off an alarm to alert the owner through the app on the smartphone as well as an alarm on site, hopefully scaring the thief off. The alarm won't sound when skis are bumped, but when the movement is persistent it will go off.

There is a pair of Alpine Hawk alarm units for skis and a single unit for snowboards. In addition to the anti-theft capabilities, there is also a handy locator feature for the skis, should they come off and get lost in the snow. Just activate the "Ski Locator" feature through the app and if you lose your skis the Alpine Hawk will send off an alarm to aide in your search. Once located, bring them close to your phone to stop the alarm.

According to their site, the device can be attached anywhere on your ski or snowboards and will not have any effect on performance or balance.

The Alpine Hawk is currently crowdfunding on Kickstarter and has a goal of $92,000. There are 15 days to go. You can pre-order your Alpine Hawk for snowboards for $30 and Alpine hawk for skis for $55 on Kickstarter.