Category: Nutrition/Hydration

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Nutrition/Hydration

Water Fall is a filtering system worth pouring over

Filtered water is all the rage these days. People simply can’t abide water straight from the tap as some claim it has a “funny taste”. For those who like filtered water, but don’t want to wait too long look to Water Fall. This filter takes the best ideas from the pour over coffee design by poising the filter over the water. It uses a stand to hold the filter above a water carafe. In this way, the user can filter as much water as they’d like, whether they want to use several pitchers for a dinner party, or simply filter a glass’s worth. The design of Water Fall is sleek and discreet. One will cost backers $59 for the filter, stand, two carafes and one filter for delivery in March 2015. Water Fall hopes to raise $50,000 on Kickstarter.

Water Fall is the best option out there for filtering large amounts of water. Other systems focus on one container at a time like the LiveWell Water Filter. It’s a pain to have to purchase filters from Water Fall, however, most popular systems work this way as well, like Brita. All in all, Water Fall may prove to be the most convenient option for pure water enthusiasts.

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Cycling Lighting Nutrition/Hydration

Aqualight water bottle quenches need for bike path lighting safety, thirst

AquaLightCycling at night can be dangerous and it’s imperative to have forward- and back-facing lights for your ride. AquaLight is a water bottle with built-in lights. The back light is red and faces back while the forward light is white. Obviously, the bottle also holds water and sits in the beverage cage. The creators claim that the lights are bright enough for safety, but it’s hard to tell, especially since they sit so low in between the bike frame and wheels. In addition, not all bikes have beverage cages, so the light is impractical for bikes without this feature. Still, for interested backers, AquaLight will cost $40 with choice of color. This lit-up water bottle hopes to raise $17,000 on Kickstarter.

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Camping Nutrition/Hydration

Portable cooler carrier cradles hydration across rough terrain

Providing water for outdoor activities often means that a spot needs to be found where one can place the water cooler where it won’t fall over. Portable Water Cooler Carrier makes it easier to have water on hand, whether the location has a smooth or rough terrain. This isn’t going to save a great deal on plastic bottles and paper cups unless everyone remembers to bring their own travel mug or water bottle. And if one is bringing a water cooler on a camping trip, that is some extreme camping. Nevertheless, backers can get two products for $125 with an expected delivery of July 2015.

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Nutrition/Hydration

Folder-sized Memobottle makes your water refillable, refileable

Memobottle

Here’s an interesting idea: a rectangular water bottle. Yes, Memobottle allows those who like to carry their water with them an opportunity for potentially easier toting of their water for the conservation-conscious briefcase-toting rowd, Available in the the length and width of different standard paper sizes, Memobottle may be a fun design, but it seems like this could really weigh down a briefcase at the larger sizes and be awkward to drink from the front. Nevertheless, backers can hydrate with this flat flask for $22 AUD with an expected delivery of December 2014.

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Nutrition/Hydration

LiveWell Water Filter eliminates contaminants, adds flavor in one gulp

The Premise. Reusable water bottles have become all the rage completely annihilating plastic bottles (or so we hope). Those who remain loyal to plastic do so mainly because they feel that the taste of the water is more pure. Some use filtered water in reusable bottles, but not all have access to it. Especially for those in third-world countries, water contamination is a serious threat.

The Product. The LiveWell Water Filter is a system that freshens your water just before you drink it. The bottle is filled with water and then topped with filter attachment, tablet holder and spigot. Each tablet has a different flavor (mango, pineapple coconut, apple cranberry or blueberry pomegranate) and is packed with vitamins and electrolytes. Simply screw on the cap and attachments for clean water as you drink.

The Pitch. LiveWell Water Filter would do well to add a video to their campaign. However, they do a good job of explaining what their product does and have a fun graphic showing each part of the bottle they offer. In addition, the creators have lofty goals of offering tablets in the future that will radically improve sight, skin, muscle recovery, immune function, endurance and assist in managing weight. LiveWell also provides detailed nutritional facts for each table it currently offers. This multi-faceted bottle hopes to raise $15,000 on Kickstarter.

The Perks. For only $15, backers can enjoy this bottle that comes with a seven-pack of flavor tablets as well as a three month supply of filters. Higher tiers offer different tablet flavors, more bottles, more filters, and even custom design of the bottles. Estimated delivery is currently set at an ambitious October 2014.

The Potential. Water bottles with built-in filters are definitely available to consumers. Brita offers such a product and boast BPA plastic and dishwasher safe bottles. The LiveWell Water Filter system doesn’t mention either of these features, but does offer flavor. While everyone may not want their water to be flavored, it’s a safe bet that one can just forgo adding the table to have pure filtered water on-the-go. 

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Kids/Babies Nutrition/Hydration

EasyGo Dispenser dials down to satisfy baby’s hunger

EasyGo DispenserFeeding baby on the go has become as easy as turning a dial to a downward position. The EasyGo Dispenser lets busy parents stash power formula in a container so that the daycare center or caregiver can dispense exactly the right amount into a baby bottle full of water. The dispenser works with most of the popular brands on the market, and can later be disassembled into four parts that are dishwasher safe. For $25, backers get one product with an expected delivery of August 2014.

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Nutrition/Hydration Travel

Hey Joe, where you goin’ with that brewing mug in your hand?

The Premise. Coffee can, unfortunately, make or break a meeting, lecture or work event. Without it, it’s hard to focus and getting anything done becomes extremely difficult. While most schools and offices recognize this by providing cafes and coffee carts in house, that cup of java is not always right at hand.

The Product. The Hey Joe Coffee Mug is a convenient way to get that caffeine dosage for hardcore coffee addicts. It looks like any normal travel mug and is tall and black. The mug comes with small cartridges of coffee and with the push of a button will brew a cup of coffee. It is designed so that drinkers are welcome to use their own coffee as well. The temperature can be regulated with the push of the power button and the coffee brewing is powered from a rechargeable battery on the bottom of the mug. Cleaning is easy since the coffee is relatively contained. One simply needs to fill the mug with water and soap and then press brew sans coffee cartridge.

The Pitch. The campaign video really stresses the environmental friendliness of the product. It goes through statistics for how many disposable coffee materials people consume and how the Hey Joe Coffee Mug cuts down on that waste. In addition, the coffee cartridge package comes with seeds so that when the coffee grounds are used, one can plant them to grow into flowers. Hey Joe is looking to raise $20,000 in a 30-day Kickstarter campaign.

The Perks. Early birdies will receive the travel mug for $39. For $49, backers will receive the mug in black. At the $69 level, backers have the choice of color for their mug and also get 40 coffee cartridges so that they can start brewing. Reward tiers go all the way up to $10,000 with estimated delivery in November 2014. 

The Potential. Coffee convenience has become a thing of concern in recent years. The ever-popular Keurig machine has made it possible to brew one cup at a time easily. This type of machine, however, leaves behind little plastic cups of waste. Other products, like the highly touted AeroPress still requires a source for hot water. The Hey Joe Coffee Mug is the first of its kind that can brew on the go and regulate temperature. This product will certainly be a staple for all caffeine addicts with hectic schedules.

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Kids/Babies Nutrition/Hydration

Sleevely uses Bluetooth to bracket baby’s bottle binging

The Premise. Babies aren’t the best communicators. Parents can get a general idea of a baby’s mood, but beyond that, the reasons for that mood are hard to come by. Any insight a parent can have to stop the crying and fussing is extremely welcome.

The Product. Sleevely is a device that goes around a baby bottle and solves one of the mysteries of parenthood: has the baby eaten? By monitoring the amount of milk or formula in the bottle and when the contents are consumed, Sleevely reports to its app how much a child has eaten or if they’ve eaten at all. That data is all recorded so that parents can monitor their baby’s feeding throughout the day whether they’re at home, work, or anywhere else. With the correct data input to the app, Sleevely can even notify parents when a baby’s meal is going bad and needs to be replaced.

The Pitch. Inventors and cousins Ike Ofner and Dan Gilai have a lot of fun in their introductory video, and it’s hard to not to smile as the product is explained whether viewers are parents or not. For those that want to know the how more than the why, the campaign information discusses which bottles are compatible, how the Sleevely transmits information using Bluetooth, and how the patent pending sensors detect the amount of fluid in the bottle.Sleevely needs $85,000 to move from prototype to production.

The Perks. A Sleevely will set backers back $29, and parents-to-be can look forward to this product’s due date in December. Blue and pink variants are available at $39, Sleevely can be personalized with a baby’s name at $49, and a bodysuit is added in at the $60 level.  A baby shower gift package that also includes a compatible bottle starts at $70. All perks beside the basic white model should arrive January 2015.

The Potential. At first glance, it’s hard to see what the market would be for a beer (formula?) koozie for a baby bottle, but once the app is brought into the picture, the Sleevely is a very attractive, affordable option for parents. Raising infants is an imprecise art that requires extreme care, so any product that can help take the guesswork out of the process is highly appreciated. It’s hard not to like the Sleevely or the people behind it, and the parenting market will probably eat the product up. Though the prototype is iOS-focused, future Android compatibility due by the product’s launch will be a welcome addition.

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Apparel Health and Wellness Nutrition/Hydration

Hydras keeps your water bladder close to the vest

The Premise. Runners, cyclists, hikers and other athletes require lots of hydration during their workouts. Unfortunately, water bottles and backpacks can be cumbersome to carry and difficult to access when needed.

The Product. The Hydras is a portable water system perfect for athletes. This product offers shirts with four water bladders and tubes sewn in. The bladders are located at the shoulders and lower back, which are supposed to be the areas least prone to sweating. With perfect balance, the water evens itself out in each pouch for maximum comfort. The main tube comes over the should to make it accessible for drinking. Currently, Hydras comes in short sleeve, long sleeve and sleeveless wear.

The Pitch. Hydras’ main campaign video offers testimonials from wearers of this product with little other detail of its conception or design. The prototyping process fills the rest of the campaign. However, there are no pictures of the different shirts available with this product; that would be helpful for interested backers to see. There is also no mention of whether or not the shirts are machine-washable. This cooling system hopes to raise a staggering $115,000 in its 30-day Kickstarter campaign.

The Perks. Only backers with $150 will receive this hydrating shirt from the campaign. Lower tiers offer just the water bladders and tubes without a shirt or simply the chance to order the product before its official market release. Reward tiers go up to $10,000 with estimated delivery dates of November 2014.

The Potential. The Hydras shirts claim to offer more benefits than simply holding a water bottle or even using a CamelBak. The price seems a bit high, however, for one shirt, whether or not it holds water. Also, it seems likely that the water, while balanced in the shirt, may drag the fabric of the shirt down the back uncomfortably. Water temperature is also something to worry about because the water would most likely heat up during a workout. Still, the Hydras’ main benefit of evenly distributing the weight of the water across the back is essential for many athletes and the product may well appeal to fitness enthusiasts in need of a quick drink.