Free Sledding

ive been free sledding for quite awhile and to tell the truth my knees are fine the sleds have thick knee pads and as long as you dont land on a flat icy surface you'll be fine

I think you guys are both right. You can't absorb much of a landing with folded knees...certainly can't go as big as you could on a snowboard or skis. Don't let that complete your judgement. Sledding is one of the most fun things i've done in my life. It's a completely different concept compared to snowboard, but that doesn't mean it's not fun or that you have to choose one or the other. If you're gonna hit a jump on a sled, you just need a good, soft landing. Try it, then let me know what you think. My knees are fine.

You are close, #1. But you have it the other way around. This is nothing more than people with healthy legs (presumably) adopting a technique/gear used by paraplegics for almost 30 years. I recall seeing things like this when I skied a lot back in the early 80s. Sometimes they would sit with legs extended, a la kayaking. Depends on the level of leg/hip use they have.

Yeah... That should be just about as popular and enduring as kneeboarding.

"They" want you to believe that wakeboarding killed kneeboarding (too 80's-ish) but the truth is that knees aren't meant to be folded under the body to act as shock absorbers. At least mine weren't.

Imagine jumping of a cliff and landing on your folded knees... ouch.

OTOH, this probably open up huge woods and backcountry opportunities for paraplegics. (seriously)