The Ski Mojo claims to provide skiers with "an extra thigh muscle". Sean Newsom takes it for a test drive.

This weird and wonderful contraption, pictured above, and demonstrated in the animation below, is designed to reduce the workload on your thighs - giving you the strength to ski for longer.

It may look ridiculous, but having given it a limited test on man-made snow, I have to say - it seems to work.

The Mojo works by transmitting your weight from your backside, through a spring-loaded arm, to your shins and ski boots.

It's held in place by a cuff on either shin, and a small articulated attachment which fits into the back of your boot. Spring-loaded "arms" then travel up the outside of your thigh (via a pivot at the knee), and are joined together by a bum strap. This supports your backside and keeps it pushed upwards and forwards, thus taking the strain off your muscles.

Strap it on, and it feels as though you've just acquired a pair of bionic legs. You flex your legs in the normal way - except for the fact that, thanks to the springs, they're capable of generating lots more downward pressure. What's more, the bum strap gives you so much support you can hold the schuss position for five or ten minutes.

Setting off down a slope for the first time is, admittedly, a little nerve-wracking. But once you're realised you can turn in the normal way, it quickly becomes a beguiling experience. The SNO!zone at Milton Keynes, where I tested it, isn't the place to give equipment like this a proper workout, but significantly I was left hungry for more. I couldn't help wondering what I might do with all this power and grip on the side of an Alp.

One skier who has tried it on a real mountain is performance coach Carlyle Jenkins of Prohab, who tested it in Portillo, Chile. "It's only when you get into a flexed ankle position that you notice it," he says, in a short film you can watch on the Ski Mojo website. "It's like someone is holding your weight just enough to take the pressure off your thighs." He particularly liked the way it seemed to help with the initiation of turns.

The Ski Mojo is now on sale at £289, and you can see it at www.skiallday.co.uk. I'm taking it to the Alps to test it further in December, and will of course be reporting back then. There is another reason I'll be wearing it however. For a year now, I've been feeling a twinge under my left knee, and it's starting to interfere with my skiing. But wearing the Mojo, I didn't feel it once, and for this reason alone, I'm excited about the product. It's a side-effect the makers of the product have noticed themselves, and it's bound to interest a lot of skiers out there who might otherwise regard it as unnecessary.

The product has also won the backing of tour operator Crystal, which is offering a free Ski Mojo to every group leader who books his friends/family into a Crystal ski holiday in the Alps.

Report posted 16/10/07. Last updated 29/10/07