The Premise. Sunscreen is perhaps the messiest safety measure you have to take when outside, but applying it out of a squeeze bottle requires that you — oror someone you don’t mind touching you — wind up with greasy hands. Spray cans leave your hands clean but tend to get everywhere and leave spots unprotected. They’re also highly flammable, which could be a possible hazard particularly around campsites.
The Product. BlokRok is a patented sunscreen application system that is designed to take the messy out of sun protection. A plastic case holds the sunscreen or sunblock while a porous roller on top both dispenses and applies the lotion at the same time. The roller has a cover for when it’s not in use and is detachable making refilling easy. This product also comes with a carabiner attachment making it more portable. BlokRok is small and fits right in your hand for maximum convenience.
The Pitch. The fun campaign video displays the messiness and even danger of regular sunscreen applicators along with some scary skin cancer facts. The campaign also pokes fun at existing sunscreen applicator products, showing how unsophisticated and lame they are. BlokRok hopes to raise $45,000 in a 50-day Kickstarter campaign.
The Perks. Early-bird backers can enjoy the BlokRok applicator for only $25. For $35, backers get the BlokRok along with a wrist lanyard. Reward tiers go up to $5,000 with an estimated delivery date for the product of August or September 2014.
The Potential. BlokRok’s campaign is correct in saying that other applicators look completely ridiculous. Most go for a sort of paint roller technique with a weird inconvenient shape. In addition, they don’t actually hold the lotion, but need the lotion to be spread over the roller and then applied which doesn’t seem to cut down on the mess at all. The BlokRok is designed well, holds lots of lotion and is easy to use. The video mentions that the product works well with viscous lotions, implying that perhaps thicker lotions may not be compatible. All in all, however, BlokRok looks like the perfect way to avoid burns while keeping your hands and eyes sunscreen free.