Living at the Bear Manor accommodations in the middle of a Finnish forest gives you a different perspective on the world where so many are on the verge of burnout. We got inspired to develop the world’s first electric snow scooter after noticing how tourists arriving at our accommodations longed for silence and respectful, un-intrusive ways of exploring our nature.
– Pasi Kauppinen, inventor
Traditionally, Finns braved the harsh winter to hunt in deep snow using an odd pair of skis; a one short ski called kalhu for kicking and a longer ski called lyly for sliding. For the Finns living in the rugged nature of the North, the lyly was an innovative means of sliding across the snow quickly and silently. In the Kalevala, the Finnish national epic, a hunter is trying to catch a magical elk by using a lyly ski to quietly approach it. These days, our minds long for another kind of magic:
silence.
Our electric snow scooter is a modern take on the lyly sliding ski. Just like the traditional lyly ski, the scooter is sustainably manufactured of wood and recyclable. The small e of course referring to the electric motor silently moving it through the snow. If you wish to go further than your legs can carry, hear the squeak and creak of packed snow and see huge tree branches silently lean and bend under their heavy, white blankets, eLyly is the innovation for you.
A strong determination, or sisu as we say in Finnish, kept us going as we spent years planning an ecologically sustainable, silent way of moving across snowy landscapes by combining a wooden structure with an electric motor. The visual design and finishing touches of eLyly is created by famous Finnish designer Harri Koskinen. Koskinen also hails from the northern parts of Central Finland, the birthplace of eLyly.
The world needs sustainable means of travelling on snow. The development of the world’s first electric snow scooter with state-of-the-art design, eLyly, made out of wood and electric components was a long process that required much of the famous Finnish determination. Now, everyone has the chance to travel across snowy landscapes with a motorised vehicle that meets their values.
-Minna Kauppinen, developer of eLyly