A few years ago now JetLev made waves around the world when they built a jet pack you could wear, powered by a jet ski and massive jets of water capable of propelling someone 10 metres into the air for a world of fun.

Engineering on jet powered personal water sport devices has come quite a way since then, now instead of needing to buy the entire product (jet ski and jet pack), you can just buy the jet pack and attach it to any normal jet ski – reducing the price from over $50,000 to under $10,000!

Now new water jet powered sports devices are starting to hit the market, two I’ve seen recently are by Zapata Racing. The first video below shows the Flyboard, which looks like a set of rigid boots with a jet of water under each one that allowed a lot more freedom and maneuverability than the original jet pack style devices by JetLev.

Recently the next stage of development by Zapata Racing has hit the water and they’ve built a jet ski powered hoverboard, which has a single jet at the back of the wakeboard and it produces some spectacular looking fun!

What will the next invention in this space look like?