Trail Tuesday- Would you say our goal is lofty, or super-lofty? Punny.

For the next few Tuesdays we will be giving updates on our Kickstarter campaign, and all the insights you could ever want from our end. But well still keep this simple for the sake of the reader-

Updates- We are now on Day 13 of our campaign and nearly $7000 has been raised towards our $12000 goal. That is sweet! But we now find ourselves thickly in the middle of the Kickstarter “U” so here’s what were thinking:

 Successes-

1)      Still going strong. $6700 is a solid standing, but still plenty of way to climb.

2)      Great shout outs and posts in the media recently including sites such as Gear Institute, The Campsite Blog, Word in the Woods.

Challenges-

1)      Keeping the momentum. Our strategy is to keep sharing the project in the media for the next week or two, and go for one final blitz towards the wind-down of the campaign.

2)      Communication-What is Superloft? Not your run-of-the-mill fill.

• The search for the right fill was by far the most challenging part of the prototyping process. We knew what we wanted, but we also knew the challenges in sourcing it. Working with different manufacturers we found that some were completely open to saying ‘hey we offer this fill from Brand X. Do you want it?’ Some manufacturers were vaguer for understandable reasons (of the legal nature). 

•  In the end we ended up describing exactly what we wanted to our manufacturer. In turn they create a unique blend of short-strand microfibers that make the filling highly compressible, very soft, and feel as much like down as we could design. It also has impressive water resistance qualities. The biggest disadvantage of this fill is expense, but we think we did well not to pass this on to customers. It is not your typical fill; it is Superloft. 
  

So what’s new ahead?

Well of course our biggest goal is reaching the finish line (and then some if possible). For that were going to need aid from the media, and we may be calling on our Founding Family to help get the word out. The FF has a nice surprise in its future so of course the efforts will be rewarded handsomely.

Thanks for the help so far and here’s to keeping it going strong!

Chris DeVore
Father Nature Outdoors
Because Mother Nature can be a pain.

Final Note: To run a Kickstarter campaign it takes a whole lot of research and preparation. We reached out to a few different cool projects for insight and we have two partners to show off this week-

Flip and Jive (Hepcat)- Handcrafted skateboards made from re-purposed bourbon barrels. Each board is unique, and the way we see it- it's like you're riding a piece of art. One of the coolest projects we have found.

The best designed tent ever made? Quite possible. That's what they're working on over at TheTentLab. With over 20 years of experience Mike is looking to take his project to the next level. Wish him luck!