Here is a watch that goes beyond keeping time and is likely to give every wilderness lover that owns one piece of mind. The Recon 6 Watch stores survival tools such as a compass, bottle opener, can opener, flashlight, rescue whistle, 25 feet of fishing line with two small hooks, fire starter and more. The rugged time piece is also scratch and chip resistant. Early bird backers can get theirs for $275 with an expected delivery of September 2014.
Month: June 2014
Finding level ground at a campsite is sometimes a challenge, depending on where one happens to be camping. For those excursions in the foothills or along the mountains, there’s Alltera. The aircraft grade aluminum bench is forty inches long, weighs 13 pounds, and best of all, has telescopic legs. So sitting on a hill far away from home (or even close to home) won’t mean that there’s a risk of unwanted rockin’ n rollin’. It can be easily connected to the trailer hitch of a truck as the rear support – ideally, a truck that’s parked, or use the third leg extension. Backers get one bench for $249.
The Premise. Sitting down all day can be harmful to our health, but what is an office worker to do? Some opt for sitting on yoga balls, while others may try to power walk in place during work. Either way, it’s difficult for corporate drones to get the exercise they need and complete their work at the same time.
The Product. The Cubii is a miniature elliptical trainer for under your desk. You place your feet in the product and rotate them at the resistance of your choice just as you would on a conventional elliptical machine. This device is small enough to be portable and discreet, making it perfect for the office. The Cubii has Bluetooth capabilities and communicates with an accompanying app to track your activity from your phone.
The Pitch. The long Cubii video features various office workers giving testimonials for the product, all saying that they love being active and don’t find exercising while working to be a distraction. In addition, the creators explain their passion for fitness and personal health. They also talk about how their app can also be used with fitness products, such as the Fitbit. Cubii hopes to raise $80,000 in a 40-day Kickstarter campaign.
The Perks. Early backers can enjoy the Cubii and accompanying app for $279 (shipping not included) or a regular price of $299. Higher tiers offer multi-packs of the product for either couples or an entire office (of eight people). Estimated delivery is currently set at January 2015.
The Potential. Several crowdfunded products have tried to solve the evil office sitting problem of our modern age. Some do it with standing desks, such as the aptly named StandDesk, while others try with robotic chairs like the ChairBot. These other products focus on actually not sitting, while the Cubii is all about staying in motion when parked at your desk. For a sawed-off elliptical machine, the Cubii is a bit expensive, especially since it’s entirely mechanical. However, compared to these other products, this mini-workout device is by far the cheapest option. Its app that is compatible with other fitness devices is especially appealing. All in all, the Cubii could be just the solution for stagnant office employees.
Messy cords can be an eyesore and tangle causing broken devices and inconvenience. Some products come with their own bread tab to gather cords with, but they don’t always work well. The WrapAround is a cord organization system. It is designed to gather cords neatly and each WrapAround clips together so that multiple cords, such as those needed for a television system can stay together in nice, organized bundles. For a set of four, backers can shell out $10 early or $12 at a regular price. WrapAround needs to raise $17,500 in a month long Kickstarter campaign to reach its goal.
There are some works of art that just shouldn’t be hindered by the confines of a frame. Some of these are found delicately complimenting the front of a refrigerator, or thoughtfully strewn along the walls of a teenage bedroom, college dorm room or first apartment. But seriously, some forms of modern art just don’t look right in a frame. That’s why there’s Pinch Rail. The metal hanging system attaches to the wall, and then two binder clips on the top left and right of the picture allow for it to slide into place. For $50, backers get a gift certificate for a 24” Pinch Rail, with an expected delivery of December 2014.
The Premise. Eating healthily is difficult. Going out for meals is especially hard because portions have gotten out of control in the US. Counting calories and pouring over nutrition books is hard to do and completely inconvenient for those on the go. Food scales are a nice solution, but can really only be used at home.
The Product. Wellscale is a small portable smart scale that lets you weight what you’re eating discretely. It connects to an iOS and Android friendly app that allows you to track your foods, weight and general nutrition. The app comes with a built-in advisor that can look at your food intake and make suggestions to cut down on certain items. The scale itself is so small that it can fit into your pocket.
The Pitch. The campaign video features the lovely Portuguese creator talking about his product. He shows how the scale can sit below a plate and measure each food item’s nutrition during a meal. A kitten also shows up, eating food off of the scale so that the viewer can see how sensitive the scale is as it changes while the cat eats. Wellscale hopes to raise $37,000 in a month-long Indiegogo campaign.
The Perks. Early healthy birds can get the Wellscale for $65 or $85 at a regular price. Tiers climb from there offering bundles of the product all the way up to $7,650. All tiers have an estimated delivery date of December 2014.
The Potential. Nutrition and health is always on our minds. Whether we do anything about it depends a lot on convenience and connectivity. Wellscale is quite similar to the Smart Food Scale that had a successful Kickstarter campaign a year ago. While the two are comparable in capabilities, the Wellscale app is also Android friendly which the Smart Food Scale lacked. In addition, it’s much smaller and portable which really sets it apart. Again, convenience is hard to pass up and its portability gives it a great chance of success on the market.
Perhaps the biggest annoyance to those who enjoy their portable vaporizer on the go is that the coil heating system wears out too quickly. Evoke has set out to make a vape system that caters to enthusiasts in more ways than one. The dual-sided gadget has a rounded side that fits easily into the palm of the hand, or flat side for sitting securely on the table. It also uses induction heating rather than the coil heating method, so it lasts longer, heats faster, and is able to control the temperature instantly while still remaining cool on the outside. Early bird backers can get theirs for $79.
Ever since the birth of video games, it has been the fantasy of many to be fully immersed in a virtual experience, seeing every sight and feeling every event. KOR-FX is an adjustable, flexible vest that offers haptic vibrating feedback to the player in response to sound within the game. It isn’t the first time that a vibrating gaming vest has hit the market, but KOR-FX believes its precision vibration will help gamers take the next step to being inside the game. They boast that players will “feel every bullet,” but on closer consideration that sounds like a bad, painful experience. Adrenaline junkies can throw caution to the wind and pick up a KOR-FX in September 2014 for $135.
Weather is unpredictable, which can be a very bad thing when it comes to severe storms. While there are plenty of local meteorologists doing their best to interpret the patterns weather clings to, StormTag is a small, keyring device that functions on Bluetooth LE. StormTag can detect temperature, barometric pressure, humidity, and more, then send that data to a phone in real-time or upload it anonymously to the cloud to create a larger picture of data that can be used for scientific or hobbyist purposes. Whether it’s for a surfer who wants to catch a big wave, or just to keep safe in the face of unpredictable but dangerous weather, anyone interested in StormTag can get one for $20 in November 2014.
With tablets quickly becoming common devices that consumers own, the clunky keyboard-and-mouse input of desktop machines is beginning to feel obsolete. Zmartframe is a device that offers two-point multitouch on any 19- or 22-inch monitor. The device straps onto the monitor and features an easily-calibrated Windows touch PC interface, but with the flick of a switch can also turn any monitor into a stand-alone Android PC. Devices like these have existed for some time now, but the actual functionality has been suspect, so it’s up to Zmartframe to really stick the execution on this one. Supporters can get their fingers on the basic Zmartframe in October 2014 for $260.