Here is a watch that goes beyond keeping time and is likely to give every wilderness lover that owns one piece of mind. The Recon 6 Watch stores survival tools such as a compass, bottle opener, can opener, flashlight, rescue whistle, 25 feet of fishing line with two small hooks, fire starter and more. The rugged time piece is also scratch and chip resistant. Early bird backers can get theirs for $275 with an expected delivery of September 2014.
Tag: outdoors
Finding level ground at a campsite is sometimes a challenge, depending on where one happens to be camping. For those excursions in the foothills or along the mountains, there’s Alltera. The aircraft grade aluminum bench is forty inches long, weighs 13 pounds, and best of all, has telescopic legs. So sitting on a hill far away from home (or even close to home) won’t mean that there’s a risk of unwanted rockin’ n rollin’. It can be easily connected to the trailer hitch of a truck as the rear support – ideally, a truck that’s parked, or use the third leg extension. Backers get one bench for $249.
Too much sun on the beach can have some seriously harmful consequences and beach umbrellas aren’t always the best option for avoiding burns. Neso Tents offer an easy solution to this problem. These portable shelters are stakeless and lightweight making assembly quick and easy. They use sandbags for weight and come in a ton of different hues. Early-birds can avoid over-sunning themselves for $49 with an estimated delivery date of June 2014. These tents, while well designed, still run very high in terms of pricing compared to similar products on the market. Neso hopes to raise $12,000 in its 45-day Kickstarter campaign.
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Aaah yes! The beauty and peace and quiet of the great outdoors. Nothing like a good hike on a gorgeous, sunny day. And for those times when you find you need to go off the beaten path to take care of a bit of business, The Deuce of Spades lets you pair up with any tree in the forest. The 0.6 ounce aluminum latrine digger is much lighter than other trowels, and is touted as able to break most types of soil with ease. But it doesn’t have sharp edges, so hard ground may render it ineffective. For $14, backers can choose from shiny red, yellow, green or blue- and an expected delivery of May 2014.
The Premise. It’s the perfect summer day and you’ve invited some friends over for a pool party and to show off your grilling skills extraordinaire. The lengthy warm days with weekend cookouts and friends are supposed to be relaxing and fun. But the preparation for those grilled delights can be the pits!
The Product. Brochette Express allows you put that pit back in its place and reclaim your territory as master chef of fine outdoor edible fare. Like so many other important things in life, it all begins in the kitchen. The product was inspired because of how long it takes to cut up meat, veggies, fruit and then put each piece on a skewer. Looking something like an illusionist’s chamber for driving swords through a person, the slatted, rectangular container is placed on its base and holds meat, veggies or fruit. Layer as desired, and once filled, a lid with 16 skewer holes is placed on top. Bamboo or stainless steel skewers are inserted through the holes, cut along the slats, and voila! Sprinkle with your favorite seasonings and grill, baby, grill.
The Pitch. The video for the $30,000 campaign doesn’t explain what type of material the rectangular container is made of, though it appears to be some form of plastic. Gender war aficionados will appreciate the video in which of the lady of the house skewers her kabumbling male cohabitant. After showing him how to do brochettes the express way, she lets him save his masculine face by carting them out to the grill for testosterone-tinged heating.
The Perks. There are seven tiers from which backers may choose. For $25, backers get a complete product plus 16 bamboo skewers. $50 gets stainless steel skewers rather than bamboo. The estimated delivery is May 2014.
The Potential. Brochette Express is ideal for adults those who really enjoy entertaining and grilling, no matter what their age or gender. While it’s quite easy to find skewers, there doesn’t seem to be anything out there that aides with a quick and easy preparation process for those who enjoy cooking and dining on kabobs. Brochette Express appears to make the cut.
The Premise. For years, doctors have suggested that a major factor in the rise of depression, energy loss, and insomnia is a result of the increase in time most people spend in doors, bathed in the glow of computers and televisions. The remedy to this concern is simply exposure to the sun, but concerns about complications from ultraviolet rays keep people unsure about just what to do.
The Product. With a clip onto any article of clothing or accessory, the SunSprite is available to tell consumers how much bright light exposure they need in a day for optimum health benefits. The SunSprite itself is solar-powered, meaning that charging it is as easy as using it. A line of lights on the product’s surface measure how much light its owner has basked in that day, and a companion app helps people plan for harsh UV exposure, advising them to use sunscreen or other protection. The SunSprite comes with no extra cables or attachments and is roughly the dimensions of a house key.
The Pitch. SunSprite is the brainchild of the Harvard-educated doctors and engineers at GoodLux. The message in their introductory video is simple – the human body was designed to be out in the sun, and their device will help make sure its owners are getting enough exposure. Additional videos include a product unboxing and the medical background behind the product’s inception. The graphics help explain the different reward tiers, how the SunSprite works, and how bright light affects the human body. GoodLux needs $50,000 to finish tooling, production, and certification for their creation.
The Perks. The Sunsprite and its companion app are available for contributions of at least $99, and is expected to be arriving in June in time to get plenty of sun. Pledges of $399 also include a SunBox SunRay II (or different model for European backers) that will allow backers to get light exposure even on the cloudiest of days.
The Potential. This simple device is sure to help people make sense of an easy holistic solution to their ailments. Outdoor enthusiasts will surely be adding these to their list of essential gadgets. While it may not become a common accessory based on the price and limited functionality, the self-powering, non-invasive SunSprite will become a fast favorite to those who are serious about lighting up their lives.
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It’s funny how taking something old, tweaking it, repackaging it, and remarketing it makes it new. Even in an age of videogames and handheld gadgets, those little jars filled with soap that have those dinky wands for making midget-sized bubbles fascinate. How big can you make it before you break it? For those looking to step up their bubble’s bigness, Wonki Wands boasts of being able to make bubbles up to 40 feet in length. And the wands come in purple, pink, green, sparkle, blue, and copper-black for added affect. For a pledge of at least $24, backers get their choice of wand color and 16 ounces of bubble stuff. The expected delivery date is April 2012, and shipping is free within the US.
Traveling with little kids can be a challenge, and it’s even more difficult if they are potty training. The toilets that kids use when they’re learning to “go” are not travel-friendly. One, they’re bulky, and two…gross? So Leila designed a portable travel potty to help kids go, even when they family is away from home. Her design gave encompasses a multi-use, collapsible, portable potty that can be easily stowed in a diaper bag or purse. You do have to have use a plastic bag with the product, so you’ll need to keep those on hand as well. The clever design is as biodegradable as its intended contents and a set is available to backers for $25.
The Premise. The wok is a versatile kitchen staple that has been around for thousands of years. Whether frying, steaming, boiling, or sautéing, the wok can do it all. But when it comes to outdoor cooking, most people turn to their grill or maybe a smoker. Traditional electric or gas stove tops just can’t get hot enough to set the wok a-rockin’.
The Product. The WonderWok is an outdoor grill that unleashes unbridled heat directly to a wok. The wok rests on top, allowing the chef to move it at will. It also comes with a grill and griddle attachment. The WonderWok’s base is silver while the wok and attachments are black. Installation involves simply hooking it up to a propane tank, much like a conventional grill.
The Pitch. The Indiegogo campaign chronicles how Gregory Wong dreamed the WonderWok into existence. AnAsian cuisine chef with his own YouTube channel, Wong understood the need for something like the WonderWok on the mass market. Where his campaign lacks is in explaining the product itself. There are no pictures of the WonderWok in the campaign itself and only fleeting glimpses of its commercial kitchen-like design in the video. The same aversion to stills shows on the WonderWok’s Web site. Wong hopes to raise $100,000.
The Perks. Reward tier pricing may prevent the WonderWok from winning out versus conventional propane grills that can cost a few hundred dollars. Wong offers seven reward tiers that include variations of perks such as bamboo chopsticks, bumper stickers, recipes from his YouTube channel, baseball caps and the like. Only a contribution of $5,000 or more will earn a WonderWok with an estimated delivery date of April 2014.
The Potential. The WonderWok could represent a slice of stir-fried heaven for Asian cuisine chefs who want to expand into more outdoor events; it will be a harder sell for the average weekend backyard burger flipper. Beyond the huge price displarity, there are already several other less expensive alternatives such as Mr. B-B-Q Cast-Iron Wok is a heavy wok designed to sit directly on the grill. Eastman Outdoors sells a similar Outdoors Steel Wok Kit, that is essentially an outdoors grill with a wok on top, much like the WonderWok, just not quite as hot. With these alternatives, it may be difficult for Wong’s creation to find a steady role in the world of outdoor cooking, but professionals should be able to offer at least a wok-on role.
The Premise. The displays on many of today’s mobile devices are very sharp, but don’t do well fighting the sun. Pretty much everything except the Kindle Paperwhite becomes very difficult to see. Unless you can find a spot in the shade, you’re not going to be able to work outside.
The Product. The lightweight, collapsible eShades offer the protection you need to be able to see your screen. They attach using a tape that sticks well but doesn’t leave any residue, and they fold flat. The phone shade can fit into a wallet. If you want, you can leave the shade on as a screen cover when not in use. The idea is not unique — another Kickstarter project called Hoodi offers a larger and more permanent shade made of fabric, foam and magnets instead of cardboard and tape.
The Pitch. The video is straightforward and showcases the product without a lot of flash. The video has simple shots of each of the shades and how they can be stored. It also shows the screen on a tablet with the shade on — and the shade only covers half of the screen (not the greatest advertising). The project creators show, with a fan, how the shade can stand up to high winds — although you’re not likely to be sitting outside with your expensive electronic device in stormy winds, but okay. There are several diagrams below the video that showcase when the shade would be good to have, and also what models and colors are currently being offered. They do go on to mention that they have the same shade in a leather option that would be more substantial.
The Perks. They seem to be reasonably priced shades — for $9, backers receive one smartphone shade, and for $11, one tablet shade. A donation of $14 will get the backers a notebook shade. The rewards go up from there, offering each shade in multiples. The product itself offers some protection from sunlight and offers some privacy.
The Potential. This type of product will definitely have a place for everyone who has suffered the plight of trying to use their smartphone or tablet outdoors. There are many of these types of items that will be offered, and more permanent options (like the leather eShades or Hoodi) will do better than the thin eShade.