GERMAN DESIGN AWARD 2020 WINNER

EFEKT-ive into year 2020!

Dear partners, supporters and fans!

With a great pleasure and pride we announce, that again we recieved an important prize. The new and unique product snow shovel EFEKT WOOD W38 was recognized and awarded by the GERMAN DESIGN AWARD, which discovers and presents innovative design trends from all over the world.

So it happens that our product was awarded in the category EXCELENT PRODUCT DESIGN: WORKSHOP & TOOLS with the title WINNER.

Statement of the international professional jury:

»Clearing snow is a strenuous job that is made much easier with this shovel and its innovative handle. The concise ergonomic shape of the elaborately crafted wooden handle transfers the force perfectly to the shovel and enables a comfortable body posture during use.«

 

At the same time we would like to congratulate all the other recepients, more about the award can be found on: https://www.german-design-award.com/en. Additionally we would like to invite all our fans, supporters and partners to participate in the vote for the PUBLIC CHOICE 2020 prize, where all the products compete. Your vote can be submitted with a registration on the website here: https://www.german-design-award.com/en/the-winners/gallery/detail/29982-efekt-w38-wood.html every vote will bring us immense joy and we are thankful in advance for your support and all the shared moments from the beginning until today.

 

With you and for you we try to be the best.

 

Thank you for being a part of EFEKT.

 

Your EFEKT team,

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5 GOLDEN TIPS! How to minimize the chances of back injuries while gardening?

Gardening is not an extreme sport, where would you need a helmet and a starting number on your chest. Nevertheless, the back pain is a common occurrence during the first spring gardening action. In this article, we advise you how to be aware of most common causes for injuries while gardening and how to avoid them. We wish you a pleasant read!

 

1. Warming up and winter training

As while doing other physical activity also before gardening, it is recommended to warm up and stretch, because the forces on the body are immense and the movement, for the majority, not a daily routine. Even more effective are exercises for strength and balance, which you should do before the gardening season occurs. Walking and cycling is not enough for a healthy spine and joints. During the short winter days, we encourage you to visit training or group sessions, where the emphasis is on the build-up and flexibility of the whole spine and balance.

 

Better, you will be prepared before the start of the gardening season, less chance you have being injured while gardening in the spring!

 

For a warm up before any physical activity in the garden, we recommend at least:

  • 2 ×10 squats
  • 20 × spine stretching
  • head rotation 10 × each way
  • rotation of the shoulder joints 20 × each way
  • rotation of the wrists

2. Enough fluids

Spring enthusiasm in the garden can “dry us out”, that is why it is very important that we be adequately prepared for gardening. A state of dehydration affects brain activity, blood pressure, blood stream, digestion, liver function and increases the chances of spine injury and other joints during the physical activity.

We do not drink water excessively at once, but frequently and in smaller doses. If there is, increased sweating it is advised to add a pinch of mineral salt on one litre of water, that we substitute at least some of the lost minerals.

Alcohol additionally increases water secretion from the body, that why it is not recommended during hard physical activity. In addition, we would not advise drinking of energy drinks and drinks that contain caffeine.

 

We do not drink water excessively at once, but frequently and in smaller doses.

 

 

3. How to ease back stiffness during gardening?

Back, shoulder, elbow, wrist, hip, knee, pain … Long term bending over our loved earth leaves behind stiffness, especially, in our spine and pain in other joints. The most successful way, how to reduce stiffness before, in between and after gardening is passive hanging. We recommend that, every half an hour for 30 seconds you hold on a doorframe or a close by tree branch and let the gravitational force release your spine and other joints. If you cannot hold yourself with hands, you can always let your feet touch the ground for a little help. During the hanging breathe peacefully, emphasising a longer exhale. The more often during the day you will perform this, more vital you will feel. Your spine will be grateful!

 

Alert! When you finish with hanging, do not jump/fall to the ground, but try slowly and under control establishing a reconnection with the floor below you.

 

4. Gardening plan

Divide the garden works into smaller tasks during the whole day. The golden rule of ergonomic gardening is that you take every 30 min a brake for a rest and hanging, especially during digging and pruning. Your joints and head will be refreshed and you will be able to work more effectively through the whole day. In the beginning of the gardening season, do not set yourself a too big garden, since many of amateur gardeners cannot take care or eat their crops in time, resulting in their decay in the garden through the season.

 

In the beginning of the gardening season, do not set yourself a too big garden!

 

 

5. The right work and right tools

  • Try to avoid exaggerated stretch outs with your hands in the front or sideways, when you lift loaded tools or plants. This causes big pressures on your spine, especially when you are tired.
  • Do not bend over with a skewed back, but make the majority of the bend in your knees with a straightened out spine. Use ergonomically shaped gardening tools, which reduce the bend because of their length and handle shape.
  • Most of the classical tools have a too slim handle, which forbids an efficient hold of the thumb around the handle. The consequence is unnecessary squeezing of the tool handle and stiffness in the forearm. We recommend you to put on an additional rubber tube on the handle for additional grip. Even better, it would be, to acquire ergonomically shaped tools, which have thicker handles made of wood or rubber coated aluminium.

 

Your health is not granted

Do not safe on your health’s expense and decide on the extraordinary ergonomic tools for your gardening work. There are many producers, which are promoting several ergonomic advantages. Among all of them, we recommend you easy usable and innovative ergonomic tools EFEKT!

 

 

EFEKT ergonomic tools for garden:

  • adjusted shape and handle length for less bending
  • control handle and adjusted handle thickness for easier manipulation
  • skilfully manufactured for a reasonable price
  • they offer tools in ALUMINIUM, as well as in an innovative WOOD series
  • developed, designed and produces in Slovenia
  • check their offer on rinz.eu
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#EFEKTexperience #2

Photoshoot and wandering around ski slope Vogel over the Bohinj lake

The ski slope, in the heart of the Julian Alps, is still waiting for an abundance snowfall. The landscape is, despite the lack of snow, like from a fairytale and in the little forests, with uniquely shaped trees, there are small hidden wooden houses. The shovels EFEKT WOOD w38 and w58 for snow had to go through various tasks of our team. Next, to snow shoveling, they were perfect for sleighing, posing, flying and even floating.
Till the next time…

Photo: Robi Srebrnič

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#EFEKTexperience

Photo shooting and freediving at beautiful lake Jasna in Kranjska Gora.

The photographers Nik and Matej captured some stunning pictures of the lake with its surroundings. Also, the new 2019 EFEKT w38 snow shovel was feeling like at home in the autumn alpine valley. Waiting for winter, of course :). Let the pictures speak for themselves.

Photo credit: Nik Škrlec and Matej Bergoč

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New EFEKT WOOD series

The new line of ergonomic tools for snow and garden EFEKT is presented under the name EFEKT Wood traditional material with a futuristic shape. Combining the advantages of the natural wood material and existing modern ergonomically  formed aluminium EFEKT SNOW and EFEKT GARDEN handles.

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7 tips for safe snow shoveling

Every year, again, we are surprised by the snow and its cleaning is exactly when we have the least time. In this article, we will present some tips on how to avoid injuries, frostbites and bad mood during snow cleaning.

 

1. Warm-up and hydration

Before and after shoveling, make sure you have enough fluids. Dehydrated condition increases the possibility of damage to the spine and other joints during physical activity.

As with other physical efforts, warming-up is also recommended when shoveling snow, as the forces on the body are large and the movements are for the most unusual. We recommend at least:

– 20x squats

– rotating of the spine 20x

– rotating with the head 10x in each direction

– rotating the shoulder ring 20x in each direction

– rotating your wrists

In the event that we do not have time to carry out the warming-up, we suggest that at least for the first 5 min we shovel slower and with less snow on the scoop. Gradually raise the tempo and the amount of snow on the scoop.

2. Snow scooping

Try to scoop the snow as far as possible in the center of the scoop, as this will make the shovel less flicker to the left or to the right. This is where the wrist is most affected, as it is usually in an unstable position. A good ergonomic shovel will solve this problem with a specially shaped scoop, which directs the snow towards the center, a suitable handle geometry that prevents left or right overturning, and a thickened handle for a more stable grip.

3. Lifting snow

When raising the shoveled snow, we must make sure that we do not bow too much in the back, but we try to squat and raise the snow with our feet. If you will try to lift bigger weights, the closer to the scoop you have to hold the shovel with your front arm. For classic shovels, this is more difficult because they force us to deeper bows when we want to increase the weight. Lifting with wide shovels (40cm or more) is not advisable, since the load on the back is too large. Except with a good ergonomic shovel, where the incline is considerably smaller. In this case, we can also raise larger loads.

4. Pushing snow

When pushing snow, it is important to select the right shovel. In the event that the snow is dry or wet (up to 5cm), a wide shovel (up to 60cm) is selected. When there is a big amount of wet snow, we select narrower shovels (up to 40cm). It is also important to have a stable position of the wrist, since sometimes the pushes are rapid and jerky or may stuck. We recommend less strenuous pushing movements and active use of both arms. There are also shovels on the market, which have a control lever for ease of pushing, where the wrist is in a more stable position and allows for pushing even with one hand.

5. Throwing

Throwing snow with a shovel is usually the main cause of damage to the spine, because from a downward position, we strongly blow away the heavy snow on the side. This is a great danger for an untrained backbone. We suggest that you try to throw snow in front of you and not on the side. Also change the shovel hold from left to right (to 5min) to load the load on both sides of the back. During the throwing, make a slight aquat in the knees for better stability. The shovel should have a handle diameter of approximately 32-35mm in order to have better grip and control over the loaded shovel.

6. Cold

Use gloves as needed, but not too thick. With sweaty hands, you will get cold easier than with dry. Some shovels also use an efficient PVC-insulated handle or wooden, which has excellent insulating properties. In this case, your gloves will probably be redundant.

 

7. Choosing the right shovel

Choosing the right tool can greatly reduce the risk of injury. The best choice of EFEKT ergonomic shovels is that they help us with their innovative designs in more everyday and stable positions of the spine and wrists. They are available in two widths, 38cm for heavier snow and 58cm for more dry and light snow. You can also choose between two ergonomic handles. Lightweight aluminum handle ALU or new ergonomic wooden handle of hybrid design WOOD.

 

You can read more about the snow program here

 

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