Author: Ross Rubin

Categories
Home Pets

Apartment Pet Door lets your antsy animal gallivant while you relax

Pets can be a great way to have instant companionship, especially when one lives alone or is traveling alone. But for as wonderful as pet companionship can be, some pets have fidgety personalities and simply can’t decide if they’d rather be inside or outside.

Apartment Pet Door is a modular pet door that provides an elegant and mobile pet door solution for owners with pets who can’t make up their minds. The door is adjustable — from 82 to 92 inches — and just snaps right into place. The flap on the bottom of the door allows pets to come and go as they please without requiring owners to actively let them in or out. The product seems easy enough to install and may be worth checking out for anyone with an indecisive pet at home.

Of course, more mobility for pets might also increase the odds they wander off and get lost or, perhaps, get fleas. That said, pet owners might also want to check out Tool2Find, Arden Collar, and Kitty Tub. This campaign seeks to raise $22,000 by April 16, 2015. Early bird backer get one door for $99 with an expected delivery of June 2015.

Categories
Home Organization

Bungee Bath lets your shower items bounce around without falling down

Finding places to store items in the shower, like shampoo, conditioner and body wash can often leave shower-goers frustrated. After all shower caddies can get old and gross after a while of use. That being the case,  ideas that can keep things clean, tidy and organized are certainly refreshing.

With a suction cup on one end and the bath product holder on the other,

Bungee Bath aims to do just that. Equipped with a suction cup on one end and product holders on the other, this product is extremely useful. Not only does it make bath items more accessible, it also promises keep things cleaner. The product seems to attach to most surfaces and should be able to fit most standard shampoo and conditioner bottles out on the market.

It’s unclear if the Bungee Bath truly reduces shower clutter. Further, the product can only hold up to 3.3 pounds of weight. Nonetheless, with color options available in blue, black and green, the product is certain to match most bathroom color schemes. Backers interested in bath items may also have an interest in Octaloofah, Reach for Me, and Wave Hooks, This campaign seeks to raise kr20,000 (~$2400 USD). Early bird backers get one product for kr45 (~$7 USD) with an expected delivery of June 2015.

Categories
Podcasts

The Backerjack Podcast, Episode 11: Neptune’s suite, a dash cam’s beat, and stress retreat

In Episode 11 of The Backerjack Podcast, Steve and Ross check out three of the latest products seeking funds and preorders.

  • Neptune Suite, a family of computing products that rely on having all the computing intelligence in the smartwatch. It’s the most audacious mobile tech product mashup since the Dragonfly Futurefon.
  • LyfeLens, a connected dash cam that monitor your car even when it’s parked and serve as a mobile hotspot
  • Emvio, a stress-manaagement watch that relies on measuring heart rate variability.

Download  the episode or listen below, subscribe via iTunes or RSS, and follow Backerjack on Twitter and Facebook.

Categories
Fashion

Gym Beans lets you tote your shampoo and body wash on your wrist

Working out is an important part of staying healthy and keeping one’s stress levels at a minimum. Sometimes, though, carrying all of your toiletry needs to the gym can be a bit of a hassle.

Gym Beans is a toiletry bracelet that promises to help fix that. While the product may be too bulky to wear while working out, it’s certainly light enough to casually toss in your gym bag and to put on while taking a post-workout shower. In this regard, Gym Beans should make the workout experience just a tad more convenient.

It’s worth noting that it’s not entirely clear what Gym Beans is made of and whether or not it houses any hypoallergenic properties for those with sensitive skin, an especially important consideration when sweat is part of the equation.

The Gym Beans Kickstarter campaign seeks to raise $10,000 by April 20, 2015. For $10, backers can get one bracelet with an expected delivery of May 2015. Fashion forward buyers might also like to check out BÆNDIT and Vega Edge.

Categories
Food and Beverage Maker/Development

Edu-CADO makes growing guacamole trees easier on green thumbs

Many young children, both boys and girls, love playing around and roughhousing in the dirt. And while getting one’s hands dirty is undoubtedly fun for kids of all ages, it would certainly be nice if parents could inject a bit of education into the mix at the same time.

The Edu-CADO promises to do just that. Edu-CADO is an educational gadget that ultimately helps kids and parents work together to plant a guacamole tree. The device’s avocado seed holder is a modern take on the old fashioned method of sticking toothpicks in the seed and balancing it over a glass of water, though the Edu-Cado is notably toothpick-free. The green plastic Edu-CADO contraption offers a more stable way to balance an avocado seed over a glass of water as it houses a pocket for the seed, holes for the roots, and four hardy arms to hold it all together. Though specific measurements aren’t provided, the device appears to be compatible with pretty much any size glass or mug you might have in your cupboard.

Edu-CADO provides a fun activity for both kids and adults who want to exercise their green thumb. It also presents a new and improved way for nature-oriented homeowners to plant a tree in their own backyards. Other easy and fun gardening items worth checking out include NutriTower and Powerguard Greenhouse. This campaign seeks to raise $9500 by April 13, 2015. Backers can pick up one product for $7 with an expected delivery of Aug 2015.

Categories
Kids/Babies Sleep

Glow Away may help kids scare off the boogeyman

Convincing kids to sleep in their own bed when they are afraid of the dark is a borderline impossible task. Indeed, many parents consistently and actively seek out solutions designed to keep their little ones under their own covers and sound asleep through the night.

Glow Away is one such solution. Glow Away consists of glow in the dark bedding coupled with a 20 page illustrated storybook. The main character in the book teaches kids a mysterious spell. Then, the spell “magically” appears atop of the covers, in glow in the dark form, when the lights are turned off. Kids are led to believe that the spell is very real, with the glow in the dark blanket serving as irrefutable proof.

While some may see this as creative, the product arguably cheats parents of the opportunity to teach their children about legitimate tools that they can use to deal with fear. VeggieTales DVDs and books offer more solid solutions as both convey learning foundations that extend beyond childhood. Other creative sleep items for kids include Nap Time and Dreamphones. This campaign seeks to raise $20,000 by April 4, 2015. For $129, backers get a Glow Away book along with a coordinated fitted sheet or two pillow cases.

Categories
Apparel

uGALE keeps cooped up feet from offending coworkers

It can make for a really long work day when the guy or girl in the cubicle next to you decides to relax and take off his or her shoes, unleashing smelly feet upon the entire staff.

uGALE provides a nice solution to this odorous problem. uGALE is a unique insole designed to keep feet cool, dry and odor free. The product also claims to offer relief for foot problems such as athlete’s foot, mycosis, dermatophytosis or intertrigo. The uGALE insole includes a micro-compressor that sends air through built-in ductwork and keeps feet cool in the process. This prevents the sweating and bacterial growth that causes foot odors, an especially common problem when feet are cooped up in shoes all day long. Notably, the foot cooling mechanism in the insole is connected to a Bluetooth controlled app that is compatible with both iOS and Android.

uGALE seems like a great way to keep feet cool, comfortable, and healthy.  Shoe-loving backers might also like to check out ZEM shoes, and Bast Shoes. This campaign seeks to raise €18,000 (~$20,000 USD) by April 16, 2015. Early bird backers can get one product for €260 (~295 USD) with an expected delivery of June 2015.

Categories
Food and Beverage

Vigore bread box implements vacuum effect to keep bread, fruit fresh

There’s nothing like the taste of fresh bread; sandwiches are more savory, garlic bread is more robust, and getting up in the morning is somehow easier when flavorful, melt-in-your-mouth French toast is on the menu. And once a bread-based meal is finished, there’s no greater dessert or snack than some fresh fruit. Keeping both bread and fruit fresh, however, can be a challenge.

The Vigore bread box can purportedly preserve the freshness of breads and fuitts up to three times longer than more traditional storage options. Its makers, however, don’t add specifics so it’s unclear if the Vigore bread box is being compared to other bread boxes, refrigerator storage, or something else entirely. As for how it works, simply plug it in and the built-in electric air removal pump creates a sealed vacuum effect in the box that lengthens the freshness of the food placed within. The electric bread box turns on automatically for two minutes every two hours and only uses 1.5 watts of power per hour. This helps slow down the production of freshness-degrading microbes.

Interested buyers can check out www.vigore.ca for additional information.  Users interested in similar storage options can check out Rolly Bowl, Silicon Lids and Snackadium. This campaign seeks to raise $50,000 by May 9, 2015. Early bird backers can get one product for $89.

Categories
Podcasts

The Backerjack Podcast, Episode 10: making music, cooking books, and thwarting thieves

It’s a bit of deja vu as Steve and Ross check out a very different kind of connected lock from the Sesame lock and a MIDI alternatives to Opho Keys, both discussed in Episode 9, In this first double-digit episode, the podcast takes on

  • the Artiphon INSTRUMENT 1, a MIDI instrumen t that not only offers a symphony full of sounds, but a multitude of ways to play
  • a new connected lock and alarm for bicycles and motorcycles called the Nokē U-Lock from the team that successfully funded (but has not yet shipped) the Nokē Lock
  • Rocketbook, a cheap and simple alternative to cloud-connected writing systems like that of Livescribe that lets you start anew by zapping the whole notebook in a microwave oven
Continue reading “The Backerjack Podcast, Episode 10: making music, cooking books, and thwarting thieves”
Categories
Apparel Winter Sports

Achieve your NHL and Olympic dreams on the cheap with the Sparx Skate Sharpener

The dream of being in professional sports shared by many but achieved by just a few.  The road to becoming a professional athlete is unquestionably challenging and can be rather expensive at times. Hockey in particular is a notoriously expensive sport for aspiring athletes to pick up. Nonetheless, when hockey players finally land that lucrative contract in the NHL or win an Olympic medal, all of the time spent training and the money spent on expensive equipment instantly becomes well worth it.

Sparx Skate Sharpener is a device which aims to cut down the typically high costs of hockey training by offering professionals and amateurs alike the ability to sharpen their skates at home and avoid the hassle of driving to a hockey store. The device’s automatic sharpener is touted as being extremely easy to use. Indeed, users need only to place their skate on the sharpener and push a button. Just two minutes later, their skates are sharp enough to be used on a professional level.

The product utilizes the same type of grinding technology that hockey shops use. Additionally, it comes with a replaceable grinding ring so that users can customize the sharpness of their skates to their exact needs. All moving parts on the device are housed internally, with sliding guards included as an added safety measure. That being said, internal parts may ultimately complicate repairs for do-it-yourselfers. Backers who love skating might also like to check out Glo-Blades.

This campaign seeks to raise $60,000 by April 18, 2015. Backers get one product for $549 with an expected delivery of October 2015.