A Propeller Backpack

For most people, getting to work in winter weather is a drag. But for one Russian inventor, the more it snows, the easier his commute goes.Sergei Khvalin has invented a propeller backpack that lets him coast around the city of Dzerzhinsk on a pair of skis.Pulling from his experience building model airplanes as a child, Khvalin assembled the backpack by combining a homemade wooden propeller with a lawnmower motor and mechanical parts taken from a para-glider, ITN.co.uk reports."It is a new way of transportation. Whoever does downhill skiing should understand this," Khvalin told Telegraph.co.uk.With the 200-cubic-centimeter engine on his back and snow on the ground, Khvalin can travel up to 25 miles per hour.Weighing in at about 33 pounds, the backpack is anything but light -- in fact, Khvalin says it can double as a "workout machine."

via Chop Time Off Your Commute With a Propeller Backpack.