Gear Patrol

Want a crash course on the “miracles” of modern industrial food science? Then take a gander at the ingredients of a bag of big brand microwave popcorn. What seems like a simple process apparently requires a labs worth of chemicals and GMO’s (genetically modified organisms) to flavor, preserve, and pop those gum aggravating kernels into…

Supporting Pet Lounge Studio’s limited edition Bambu Pet Hammock kickstarter project is definitely one way to show your furry friend they’re numero uno. Designer Cory Drew approached the task as any furniture designer would, focusing on materials and lines. The result is a floating pooch palace that’s achieved by stretching the upholstery grade, ultra-suede pillow…

Don’t feel like shelling out 6 large for this but own an iPhone? Well, there’s a Kickstarter Project for that: the Air Guitar Move. Using a tethered pick equipped with a motion sensor, the Air Guitar Move allows you to unleash you inner Jimmy Page (sans the actual axe) by strumming in the air while…

We’ve seen handles and zoom lenses, but here’s a first. Dot is a simple, pocket-sized 360° lens attachment and app for the iPhone 4 that captures fully navigable, panoramic video. Developed by Kogeto, the combination of the two + your iPhone streams real-time video to the web where anyone can control the camera remotely, semi-Drone…

Unless your endowed with triple jointed thumbs, taking photos with your iPhone can be mighty cumbersome if not downright painful. The Kickstarter project, Red Pop, aims to fix that with a simple, well-designed solution: bringing the shutter button back to its rightful finger (your index) and location. Simply plug-in the adaptor, which also serves as…

The Backcountry Boiler just recently stepped on the Kickstarter scene, but the project has been a labor of love for Devin Montgomery for quite some time. In fact, check out his blog theboilerwerks and you can follow his development process from start to finish. The central concept behind the device was to develop a sensible…

Our latest Project Kickstarter find is a safe and elegant protection system for your favorite two-wheeled companion (and we don’t mean your broke ass rollerblades). The TiGr’s compact Titanium bow and highly pick resistant lock is flexible, allowing users to secure their bike to structures up to 5 1/2″ in diameter. For some bikes, it…

A prodigy of Kickstarter, the Wanderlust Pinwide ($40) has finally landed for general public purchasing and with it comes ultra-wide pinhole photo magic for Micro Four Thirds cameras (Olympus Pen, Panasonic GF2). Boasting specs you don’t necessarily see everyday: 11mm (22mm equivalent) focal length for 80° fields of view and f/96 ~ f/128 aperture (seriously),…

This week on Project Kickstarter we highlight Designer Don Lehman of Chicago, IL. His project’s premise is simple but incredibly helpful for anyone with a touchscreen enabled device, like the iPad. Centered around artists, designers and architects, the More/Real Stylus Cap takes an everyday object (like a Bic or Sharpie) and enables it for use…

In this edition of Project Kickstarter, we bring you yet another accessory designed for an Apple product. This time it’s not the iPod Nano though, but its larger screened brother, the iPad. Designed by two Portland-based photographers, Nick Curteman and Tom Baker, the project aims to further the iPad’s multi-purpose potential by way of flexible…

In this edition of Project Kickstarter we go a bit off the beaten path to highlight photographer Dina Kantor who hopes to photo-document the town of Treece in southeast corner of Kansas. Population 140. The story of Treece is bleek. Treece and its neighboring city, Picher, OK were both once thriving hubs of ore mining…

Our obsession with products and projects funded on Kickstarter has grown from a peripheral hobby to an all-out obsession. In fact, we’re starting an informal series of posts highlighting the projects we’re observing and/or pitching some dough into, like The Glif. Our latest mini-investment (disclosure: $150) is the TikTok+LunaTik Watch Kit, the coolest watch-conversion of…

The Glif iPhone 4 tripod mount and stand ($20) is both simple and useful. Normally we try to steer clear of products that are still in the conceptual stage, but judging by the funds the idea has already raised on Kickstarter, it appears this product will soon be a reality. Created to maximize the potential…

The BP oil spill in the Gulf Coast is categorically disastrous. Grassroots Mapping, a group of cartographical DIYers are taking what they know best, maps, and documenting the effects of the oil spill from 1,500 feet up. Using ~$100 grassroots mapping kits, essentially cheap cameras tied to helium balloons and kites, GM (ironic acronym) has…