Backyard gear developers can be hit or miss, but these three crowdfunded projects stood out as practical, affordable, and totally cool. Pick the ones you like and make your gear come true.
Cardboard Technologies Cardboard Bicycle
Unbelievable Testing Laboratory Tyvek Paper Shoes
Thrifty-Vac
Crowdfund Collection: Cardboard Technologies Cardboard Bicycle
Most bicycles are made from aluminum, steel, titanium and carbon鈥攑recious metals that require mining extraction, and high energy input to manufacture. Sure鈥攔iding bikes is green because you鈥檙e not burning fossil fuels, but most of us cyclists forget about the resources that go into making a bike.
On Tuesday, Cardboard Technologies launched to build the lowest impact bike ever. Made of trash鈥攔ecycled cardboard, plastic bottles and used car tires鈥攖he听Cardboard Bike claims to be durable, fire- and water-resistant, and to able to support more than 400 lbs. News on the bike has been out for a while鈥擯opular Science pinned it with a , and NPR gave it a . The campaign is designed to help bring the prototype to full production
鈥淚magine a world where we can literally take garbage off the streets and turn it into something useful,鈥 writes inventor Izhar Gafni about the Cardboard Bike. 鈥淸It鈥檚] a bicycle that can not only be used for urban transport, but that can help kids in under-developed countries get to school, and help their parents get to work.鈥 when the campaign reaches its $2 million goal, $250.
Crowdfunding Collection: Unbelievable Testing Laboratory Tyvek Paper Shoes
Three Kickstarter-esque projects that caught our eye
Taking lightweight sneakers to a new extreme, Unbelievable Testing Laboratories (UTL) is making 5.3-ounce shoes (men鈥檚 size 11) from Tyvek. Tyvek, which is made by Dupont, looks and feels kinda like paper, but it鈥檚 actually flashspun high-density polyethylene fibers. Ever shipped stuff in a Fedex envelope or peeled back the siding of your 1960s-era house to see a layer of white? That鈥檚 the stuff. It鈥檚 waterproof, highly breathable, durable, and strong鈥攚hich UTL believes makes it a prime candidate for footwear. It鈥檚 also machine washable and dryable.
But it鈥檚 not all Tyvek. The paperlike upper is attached to a foamy sole that the company says is twice as durable and even lighter than previous versions. And the shoe has a moisture-absorbing, breathable anti-stink 听 footbed. According to UTL, the final package looks like a sneaker and feels like wearing a high quality cross-trainer, albeit a very light one.
After 20 rounds of prototyping, UTL says it鈥檚 ready for production. Its Kickstarter campaign hopes to make 2013 pairs of its Limited Edition shoe. , $68.
Crowdfunding Collection: Thrifty-Vac
Backpackers and river trippers often rely on vacuum-packed food鈥攊t keeps longer and vacuum packing reduces a package鈥檚 volume, which means more space in your pack or drybag. Existing home vacuum-packing options for food use airtight containers or single-use plastic bags that can cost up to fifty cents each. They鈥檙e system-specific, and hard to find. What鈥檚 more鈥攖he vacuuming apparatus can cost $100 or more.
ThriftyVac鈥檚 hardwear is cheap by comparison鈥攁round $25, and it works with all existing resealable plastic bags.
Most vacuum systems pump the air out of bags. This one uses atmospheric pressure to press air out of bags.听You insert your听food bag inside a larger, outer re-sealable plastic bag.听Then you draw a vacuum using a hand pump, on the outer bag, which collapses onto the food bag inside it. The only other component you need听is a small check valve to prevent air from reentering the outer bag during the vacuum packing process. No adapters, heat, or foreign substances required. Eliminating the check valves embedded in current-day vacuum bags as well as the special materials and extra manufacturing reduces the retail price of the vacuum bag from an average of $0.37 to about $0.08. Thriftyvac鈥檚 Kickstarter campaign will help the inventor produce molds for the system, which should be available soon. , and it鈥檚 still going strong. $25.
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