(FORTUNE Small Business) – Brine Soccer Ball $30

Brine started out stitching team uniforms for Boston schools in 1922 and now makes the official soccer ball of the NCAA. The Brine family sold the business two years ago to a private-equity firm, but its innovativeness still thrives. The Equinox is made of TPU (tetra-polyurethane), which sheds moisture and is more environmentally friendly than other soccer-ball materials. It has an airlock bladder, which keeps the ball inflated for two months, and the design on the outside won't rub off: It's printed underneath the cover. brine.com

Jack Nicklaus Driver $350

Nicklaus co-founded his golf-equipment company in 1992, and he's still involved in the design of every club. His latest, the titanium AirMax ML Driver, has a bigger sweet spot, which helps increase distance and compensates for off-center hits. Graphite shaft, two head sizes: 380 cc and 440 cc. nicklaus-golf.com

Acumen Heart Rate and Dehydration Monitor $199

After 25 years in the sporting goods business, Kai Yiu Sham decided to strike out on his own, opening Acumen in 1991. The company makes high-end heart-rate monitors that, unlike those of competitors, run on rechargeable batteries. The Eon Hydra Alert HRM, in stores this summer, has an added bonus: It calculates how dehydrated you are by monitoring temperature, humidity, and how hard you're working. acumeninc.com

Keen Water Shoes $84.95

There are plenty of shoes for water sports, but avid sailor Martin Keen could never find a pair that protected his toes. So he designed his own. The shoes so impressed Angel Martinez, former CEO of Rockport, that he joined Keen Footwear when it launched in January 2003. The unisex Hood River shoe has won raves from professional kayakers and triathletes. It has an anatomically contoured footbed and a sole with extra traction, so you get more stability on wet surfaces. And, of course, your piggies are well protected. keenfootwear.com

Azora Backpack $189

One morning a few years ago, industrial designers Andy McUmber and Joe Jouana saw a TV segment on how heavy backpacks were ruining kids' backs. The two partnered with an ex-banker friend and created Azora. The company's latest line of backpacks has a frame that distributes weight more evenly (and is now in testing with the U.S. Marines). The fully insulated Cool Mule model is a backpack and cooler in one--throw it in the water and it floats. Turn the pack around and you can sit on it. packmuleproducts.com

K2 Road Bike $1,800

K2 is known for ski equipment, but the Vashon, Wash., company also produces bikes that rival Cannondales and Treks. New for 2004 is the ultralight Mach 4 road bike (aluminum, 18.4 pounds). K2's greatest innovation may be its simplest--unlike the complicated sizing of most bikes, K2's bikes come in just four versions: small, medium, large, and extra-large. K2bike.com