The Premise. Family outings into the great wilderness always require a few items. Food, drinks, towels for the beach, camping gear for the woods and chairs are all essential for a trip into the great outdoors. All of this gear can be tedious for the lazy everyday average Joe to carry back and forth from the car.
The Product. The Gypsy Mule Wagon consists of one or two folding chairs that transform into a heavy-duty wagon. The chairs that recline and have adjustable heights look like something perfect for the beach. The striped fabric comes in different colors as does the metal frame. The wheels and handle attachments must be assembled to the chair in order to transform it into a wagon. Additional accessories include backpack straps to carry the chairs with and cargo netting to make transferring items easier.
The Pitch. The Gypsy Mule Wagon’s Kickstarter campaign begins with a rambling video of company president Robert Tyson putting the wagon together and showing how it’s just as easy as 1-2-3… 4-5-6-7-8 and all the way to 20 because that’s how many steps it takes to put the thing together. The campaign also shows how the Gypsy Mule Wagon is made, what it is made out of and the difference between the Single- and Dual-Chair wagons. Rob and the folks at Gypsy Ventures Inc. hope to raise $130,000 in order to shlep their wagons into the production process. More instructions for assembly, different fabric choices and other information can be found at the company’s Web site.
The Perks. You’ll have to pay a significant duty to have your beach chairs do double-duty. Contributions of $325 or more earn a Single-Chair Gypsy Mule Wagon with limited choices of color and fabric choices. Backers willing to fork over $650 or more get a Dual-Chair Gypsy Mule Wagon. Higher donations earn more freedom with design and fabric choices for the wagons. Estimated availability is currently set at August 2014, giving the creators plenty of time to deliver after the campaign ends in March.
The Potential. Any product that means having to lug things around less is always welcome on the market. People love the idea of saving time and making their lives easier. In that sense, Gypsy Mule Wagons are on the right track. The beach may be difficult for the wagon’s wheels to plod through, but the Gypsy Mule Wagons are perfect for camping trips or picnics at the park. The clunky detachable wheels and other accessories make the wagons not as portable and compact as promised, however. A host of beach carts can help carry gear even when you’re sitting in other chairs. And while it holds only a fraction of the Gypsy Mule Wagon, the Beach Chair Portable Folding Cart presents an alternative featuring wheels that don’t detach, which might make assembly and storage easier. All in all, the Gypsy Mule Wagons are a convenient, albeit expensive, option for the lazy and burdened lover of the outdoors.