Reinventing the wheel is so played out. People have been doing it for decades. We’ve got wheels that roll sideways, wheels of cheese, wheels that climb stairs, Wheels of Fortune. There’s obviously no shortage of innovation in wheel tech. So Under Armour, not being one to follow trends, decided to break free from the pack and reinvent something else entirely: the zipper.
And it’s about time somebody did. Zippers haven’t gotten a significant update since they were invented back in 1893, so we’re glad to hear that somebody stepped up and did something about it. Under Armour’s new zipper, called MagZip, isn’t so much a complete overhaul as it is a clever improvement. But the minor upgrade does offer a key benefit: the ability to zip with just one hand. Just imagine the possibilities! Soon, the days of using both hands to zip up will be behind us, and never again will we be forced to pause our Angry Birds games just to keep warm.
This new design wasn’t conceived just for convenience. MagZip’s inventor, Scott Peters, got the idea after watching his uncle struggle with myotonic dystrophy, a condition that tends to destroy muscle strength and coordination. The aliment often renders seemingly simple tasks, like buttoning buttons and fastening zippers, nearly impossible. So Peters set out to develop a solution.
As you may have already guessed from the name, MagZip eliminates the trickiness of zipping by incorporating small magnets into the box and pin assembly, thus making it easier to align the two. Check out the video below to see how it works.
Under Armour says it plans to debut MagZip in its new line of athletic wear this November.
