11 Awesome Kickstarters for December
Outdoor Tech Chips and Exoskeleton
Outdoor Tech is no stranger to Kickstarter, being one of the biggest success stories in our Kickstarter roundups. Starting in 2012 with the original Turtle Shell, the company has quickly risen to prominence, largely due to their love (reciprocal of course) for their Kickstarter fans. This time around, they want to give their Chips bluetooth headphones for helmets a home inside of an Exoskeleton. That way, you don’t need a helmet to house the water resistant, 112 decibel, dual 40m m drivers and can pop them in and out of the skeleton.
Rapid Hammock
We’ve featured numerous new-fangled hammocks in this column before, but the Rapid Hammock is an incredibly ergonomic, lightweight, easy-to-use bit of gear. Weighing in at under 2lbs and with an installation time of about thirty seconds, this super sweet gear also will hold up to 450lbs. While the Rapid Hammock has already been fully-funded three times over, the designers continue to add new things to the design due to the heavy interest in their Michigan-made product. Hurry up and get in on this one before December 14th, and receive anything from a shout-out on their website to the gear itself, t-shirts, lots of increasingly sized combinations of the aforementioned, and for high-level contributors, you’ll get all of the gear and get to party with the developers, either in their home state or even at your pad, depending on the level of your contribution. For what it’s worth, these guys seem like folks you’d want to party with.
BULL & STASH Notebooks
Creative-minded adventurers the world over – take notice. With Bull & Stash, you don’t just get a notebook. You get a fancy leather-bound notebook that is refillable. The paper never ends. Once you’ve filled it up, you simply order new, quality paper from them and the old stuff pops right out, an easily archivable account of your thoughts, musings, and sketches while you’re “out there.” Picture this – you’re exploring a new-to-you destination and inspiration hits you. Keep the smartphone stashed away because you shouldn’t have it on your person to begin with. Instead of snapping “the picture doesn’t do it justice”-type pics on your phone, you can take your lightweight leather notepad out and record the experience first-hand. It’s a very “Jeremiah Johnson”-esque mental picture, no? Back these guys by December 24th and get anything from a shout-out to the gear itself, in increasing incremements as your contribution increases. The good news – these guys are also already funded, so if you make a contribution to their campaign, you’re sure to get stuff.
Indus Reclaimed High Performance Hiking Sticks
These eco-friendly developers have come up with a really cool idea – creating gear from gear and sports equipment that has been trashed. Using equipment like carbon composite shafts from golf clubs and the materials from discarded skis, the Indus folks have come up with a way to help cut down on waste and make a sturdy, functional hiking stick that you can feel good about buying. You’ve got awhile to back them (they need funded by January 30th), but in return you’ll get, you guessed it, anything from a shout-out to the Twitterverse to the gear itself in increasingly sweet increments for higher-level monetary contributors. Their goal is to develop an entire line of outdoor equipment using discarded stuff, so if you contribute in the highest bracket of $1,500 or above, you’ll get a future product named after you!
Mobi – Cork & Brass Wallets
There has been an influx of minimalist wallets recently, and while this one is also in the minimalist vain, it comes with an interesting concept – it’s made from a single piece of cork and some brass. That’s all. No leather, no muss, no fuss. It’s highly durable and washable and is just as strong as leather without being a piece of a cow’s hide. Above all, it looks pretty damn cool. There’s not a ton more to say about this campaign because it’s, well, a minimalist wallet made from alternative materials, but the look and idea behind the campaign is awesome. Back the developer by December 20th. The rewards are pretty basic – back the campaign and get a wallet or two.
Bomber Barrel Duffel Bag
Another straight-forward, no-nonsense quality piece of equipment. Sometimes, you don’t need bells and whistles, you just need solid, durable, gear. The Bomber Barrel Duffel Bag is just that. Made of Ripstop Nylon and featuring military-grade clips, it’s an incredibly durable minimalist bag. Looking at this bag, it seems like one of those things that you’ll never need to buy again, even if you use it daily. It’s just never going to fall apart or fail you. Plus, despite just being a black bag, it looks pretty damn cool. Back this campaign by December 13th, and you’re going to get what you pay for – the original goal was $15,000 and they’ve already reached almost $339,000. Yeah, six figures. It appears folks believe in this gear, and when you back them, you’ll get the straightforward reward of getting one of your own. So back this campaign. I know I will.
Deft Optics Customizable Goggles
So here’s a neat little idea – use quality materials to make a durable and functional, yet almost completely customizable pair of ski or snowboard goggles. Deft Optics’ product features interchangeable lenses along with an oversized spherical lense format and a slide and lock strap system. It’s also helmet compatible and anti-fog treated. Personalize your look and back these guys by December 12th and get anything from a high-five to gear to a ski/snowboard trip with the developers in Idaho.
Headgehog
It seems like dudes have to carry a lot of stuff these days. Considering the negative stigma attached to the “fanny pack” or the “man purse,” men are sometimes left to decide what items are absolutely essential to carry with them due to limited pocket space. The Headgehog helps solve one element of that problem. Another simple, functional, it-is-what-it-is product that could be a great thing to a lot of fellas, the headgehog is a comb that fits in even the most minimalistic wallet. “What’s so difficult about just carrying a comb” you might ask? Not much, but the headgehog is also designed as a bottle opener, chip clip, phone stand, wrench, phillips head screwdriver, and a money clip. Now sit back and listen as slackers all over the world say “WHAAAA?” Back this campaign by January 2nd and get your very own or a couple, plus a wallet and something called a “PocketMonkey” depending on the size of your contribution.
“The Ducky” Waterproof Banjo
Yes, you read that right. But why? Because it’s awesome. You can get all suave and pick out some glorious homegrown tunes while hangin’ in the hot tub with some fine human specimens. Really get’em into it. Or you can just relax in the leisure of your own bathtub, lake, stream, river or whatever plucking out the sweet sounds of Americana. Hurry up and back this campaign by December 6th (it’s already fully funded, so no worries about return on investment) and receive a kit banjo.
The Treehouse Project
You guys! This is it. The developers of this campaign plan to construct eco-friendly treehouses on Lookout Mountain near Chattanooga, Tennessee. Some of the most beautiful country that this great nation has to offer, all you need to know comes from this excerpt from the campaign’s page: “Part glamping, part boutique hotel, we plan to create unique treehouses that combine the creature comforts you’ve come to appreciate as an adult–luxurious beds, climate control, and the fastest internet in the Western Hemisphere–with the peaceful beauty of being up in the canopy, far beyond the demands of day-to-day life. The Living Building Challenge certification means that our treehouses will be net-positive, creating more electricity and water than they consume, and meeting rigorous energy standards.”
Incredible experiences abound from this if it gets funded. Fund these guys by December 17th and you’ll be rewarded with everything from a “thank you” to an incredible first-run weekend in one of the treehouses once they get funded. This is definitely one to get behind.
Anglerfish e-striker Rod Holder with Bite Alarm
Are you a fisherman? Do you need to multitask? Here ya go. Stop hunting for and whittling down a tree branch to hold your rod while you’re away and use this guy. It’ll let you know when you have a bite! Does that take away from the purity of solitary fishing, sure! But with the e-striker, you can set multiple lines and go insane with the amount of fish you reel in. The developers have a pretty lofty goal of $25,500 before they’re fully funded, but you’ve got until January 4th to hop on the bus. As a contributor, you’ll receive the aforementioned gear and increasingly sweet levels of angler swag if you contribute more.
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