Many outdoor sports like biking, climbing, and rafting all have an inherent element of danger. And while effectively communicating helps groups of enthusiasts avoid disastrous situations, there’s been a glaring lack of easy-to-use communication systems for these outings.
Now there’s the BONX Grip, a rugged, hands-free Bluetooth earpiece designed to facilitate group chats in the name of increased safety while climbing cliffsides or shredding fresh mountain snow. The BONX Grip works in tandem with a companion app that sports a simple UI. With it, users can easily start a chat session, later using their voice alone to facilitate the voice chat. Large mute and volume buttons on the BONX Grip itself augment the earpiece’s functionality.
And since it uses a smartphone’s data connection, each BONX Grip effectively has unlimited range, which makes it easy to wear for long stretches of time especially with its adjustable sizing, snug fit, shockproof and water resistant design. Each BONX Grip goes for $110 and is expected to be shipped in November 2016. The team behind the BONX Grip is looking for $100,000 by August 17th, 2016.
The dream of a communication system capable of being used anywhere but rugged enough to survive the rigors and demands of sport is still far off despite the BONX Grip’s valiant attempts. Previously, the Explore1 snowboarding helmet offered unlimited numbers of users in a three-kilometer range while the LIVALL bike helmet did the same for cyclists. Unfortunately, those two are limited to specific sports, making the BONX Grip superior in every way — except for needing to rely on a cell phone signal. Because of this small caveat, there’s no way it can seriously be considered a device made with safety in mind because leaving someone’s potential survival to how close they may be to a cell tower seems haphazard at best.