I've never seen one of these before and am intrigued. I learned how to spin on a spindle, but later gave it up because of shoulder problems. But a spindle is wonderfully portable, which is really useful for mobile spinning. A Spurtzleur would be just as portable, and solve the shoulder pain problem.
Thank you for sharing this Leigh. I think the spurtzleur would be even more portable for spinning on the move. I usually end up standing when I'm using the drop spindle, as it gives me more length before I need to wind on. I could imagine using this on a train fairly easily. I wonder whether you'd get wrist ache after a while perhaps; there's a lot of hand movement there.
Nancy, yes, a lot of hand work. I don't know if it's more than a spindle, but I think it looks pretty rhythmic. They say it's a really good tool for introducing people to spinning.