Set the table
My first experience of table tennis was in the early 1980s, when my father clamped a green plastic net across the family dining table before thrashing me 21-0. Consequently, I find sweet irony in the fact that Cornilleau’s latest and most advanced outdoor model doubles as a table for dining and socialising, while occupying that unique category of designer games furniture.
As the game has its roots in the Victorian home, it’s no coincidence that the heights of a typical dining table and table tennis table are about the same (76cm). The two forms were always destined to diverge, but Cornilleau is, without question, best placed to reunite them. After beginning as a joinery firm in the 1940s, it found itself dragged into the world of table tennis in 1969 when a French department store placed an urgent order for 300 tables. There was no looking back. Over the years, French ping-pong legends such as Jacques Secrétin and Jean-Philippe Gatien were consulted on modifications. In 1988, it began making outdoor tables using resin laminate while incorporating innovations from its competition-grade models. Now, with Play-Style, it’s combined that high-grade outdoor playing surface with a table you’d be happy to invite friends to sit at without offering an apology first.
It’s best to clear away plates before attempting a game
It’s best to clear away plates before attempting a game, but thereafter the switcheroo is easy – a magnetic net is quickly installed and bats brought out from an integrated drawer, along with balls that are 30 per cent heavier for outdoor play. The resin surface has a perfect bounce (approved by the Fédération Française de Tennis de Table), and a matte coating that absorbs sunlight and reduces glare.
With the Olympics just months away, French table tennis hopes lie in the prodigious teenagers Félix and Alexis Lebrun. During the Games they’ll be playing on Chinese tables rather than Cornilleau’s (“Sadly, that was the decision of the International Olympic Committee,” says a company spokesperson) – but as interest in the sport reignites, it’s Cornilleau that French amateurs (and diners) will be turning to. Cornilleau Play-Style , from £1,749
Ready to rollerski?
Skiing is generally restricted to slopes covered in snow, and as SKWheel’s co-founder Romain Massebeuf notes with dismay, that snow is retreating. “We have to find another solution to give freedom to the skiers of tomorrow,” he says. SKWheel is a set of wheeled skis with an ingenious pivoting system that, after seven years of testing and five prototypes, has succeeded in mimicking the sensation of skiing for the all-terrain enthusiast, with an 80kmph top speed (although for urban use you’re limited to 25kmph). While evidently a distant cousin of the rollerblade, its centre of gravity is lower, so it feels more stable; as Massebeuf says, “beginners can master it in 20 minutes, but for skiers it’s more like five”. SKWheel-One , €2,400
A question of scale
Withings Body Scan scales, £349.95
The market for health monitoring devices is incredibly crowded, but the Body+ from Issy-les-Moulineaux-based company Withings became the best selling smart scale in the USA. This is the flagship scale of its new range that, thanks to a handle containing extra sensors, can measure weight (naturally), fat and muscle mass in each area of your body and provide insights into your vascular and nerve health. As someone who cares about his wellbeing but doesn’t always want to be confronted with the harsh reality every day, I welcome its “eyes closed” mode, which refrains from displaying information on the scale when you step on, but lets you check numbers and trends in the app whenever you’re mentally prepared. Withings Body Scan , £349.95
Flight of fancy
French jet ski champion Franky Zapata has a dream of allowing people to experience the freedom of flight without a pilot or lengthy training. Regulatory bodies are in no rush to allow this, but his work continues; first came the Flyboard Air (a kind of jet hoverboard), then the JetRacer (a kind of flying car), which in turn has paved the way for this extraordinary VTOL pod with 12 propellers, two legs and multiple safety systems. Powered partly by sustainable fuel and partly by battery, it has a top speed of 60mph and a flight time of around two hours (the average among other machines in its class is around 10-20 minutes). Mass market may be some time away, but AirScooter “experiences” are imminent. zapata.com
A life cycle
REF Urban Boost modular bicycle, £2,700
The “right to repair” movement has been lobbying big tech for years to let us disassemble devices and replace parts. Apple, for one, pushes back by pointing out that the more repairable it makes it, the less secure and safe it is. This is similarly true in the world of cycling, but French brand REF has pursued its vision of a greener, modular, locally made bike whose parts can be replaced without harming the stiffness of the frame. The Urban Boost is its bestselling model, precisely configurable and capable of transforming from a commuter bike to a long-tail bike over the course of its lifetime. An REF spokesperson says, optimistically but earnestly, that it could be the only bike you ever need. REF Urban Boost , £2,700
@rhodri
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