The next evolution in backyard fun. Shoots non-toxic, eco-friendly, biodegradable Gellets™. No set up. No clean up. Just fun.
James, "The Gel Blaster Guy," goes live on Facebook at 11 a.m CST...Yep...3 minutes from now. Join us?
https://www.facebook.com/WeAreGelBlaster
Creating a product is fun. Figuring out how it works, adding cool new options, testing prototypes...all these things are great. But, for those of you who have never taken a product out of your mind and onto a store shelf...There are a million little things that pile up on your desk and require attention.
For instance, product packaging. How do we fit it into a box? How will that box look on the shelf? How expensive will that box be to ship? Where do we get a bar code? What kind of warning labels do we need to put on the box? How many boxes go in a bigger box and how much does it cost to ship that? What the heck is an HSC code? Don't even get me started on customs regulations...
These things, are less fun, but absolutely necessary. Right now, blasters are being built, our first production models are on the way, and we are neck deep in the "Little" things. Turns out little things are not always little. But, we are in the final stages of packaging proofs. We have a pretty good handle on all the necessary codes, and we are super excited to see these things in said packaging and being shipped out to you! Thank you, once again for all of you support, comments, suggestions and most of all, your money... We couldn't do this without you!
I have a few updates for you today...
First, THANK YOU! We are well over our $200K Stretch Goal, meaning we all have the power. And, as we all know, with great power, comes great...options to do more cool stuff! So, follow us after the campaign ends for progress updates on that: Facebook Instagram
Second... Thanks to your suggestions, we have added a rubber plug cover for the USB-C Port. Yay, You!
Third,
We are quickly approaching the $250K Stretch Goal of adding an additional fin/barrel tip for all backers. Which means, we have to order colored fins and barrel tips...asap, so we are currently color matching in the office. Fins, barrel tips and Gellet colors ... Sometimes, I think our grown up jobs, are just an extension of what we used to play when we were children. In any case, if we want to make the November ship date, we only get to choose from the small box of crayons. So, rainbow, iridescent, glow in the dark ...looks like maybe next year. But, I can tell you...Purple is definitely in the running...
Last...Help us get up and over that $250K hurdle and we will pay you commission! Go to Kickbooster to set up the details: https://gel-blaster-surge.kickbooster.me/boost
We have less than a week to go...So happy to have you all on this venture with us!
Okay, we have campaign momentum again. I think that is the perfect time to announce a couple STRETCH goals.
Goal #1 - $200,000 - Powered Barrel Tip - Allowing for all kinds of options and modular accessories in the future.
Goal #2 - $250,000 Every Package Backer gets an ADDITIONAL COLOR FIN PACK! We are still finalizing the colors, but when this happens, the options will be available during the survey process. (Yes, we recorded your votes!)
Remember...if you add $19 to your current pledge, you will receive 5 extra packages of ammo!
Hello everyone! Our team has been absolutely blown away by the incredible support and enthusiasm from our backers so far. Thank you so much!!! While we definitely appreciate the financial support, we also value your input. So, we need a little help with something...USB Charging.
We are in the final stages of prepping the hard molds. But, it looks like one of the development team's stretch goals could actually happen. The original battery plan included a 2 cell 350mAh battery that the user would remove and charge using a USB wall charger. Then, the user would plug it back into the SURGE. This is cheaper and easiest option from a development standpoint, but it’s kind of a hassle for the end user.
Their goal was to figure out a way to incorporate an integrated USB port into the bottom of the SURGE, without causing a delay. It looks like they may have figured it out.
This upgrade does a few things for us:
AND...Drum Roll Please... We will develop an external battery “backpack” that slides onto the lower Picatinny rail and plugs into the USB port, giving you...ALL DAY PLAY. Multiple packs would be perfect when using the SURGE at a camp, paintball, airsoft or NERF field, or any other commercial application.
We are doing everything we can to make this happen in the next few days!
This is where you come in...
The question is:
Should we do Micro-USB or USB-C?
The advantages of Micro are cost and familiarity. It is substantially cheaper to produce and most people already own plenty of Micro-USB cables. So charging is cheap and easy.
USB-C on the other hand has other advantages…way easier to plug in (orientation of the plug doesn’t matter), and it charges a little bit faster. But it’s also about .50 more expensive per unit than Micro, which is not insignificant. The main advantage to USB-C (at least for me) is that we could have the battery backpack use one single USB-C cable that would plug into the SURGE and give it power, and be used to plug into a USB-C charger to recharge the backpack.
So, tell us what do you guys think?
Micro because it’s so ubiquitous and available? Or “Type C” because it’s more modern, faster charging, and a little easier to plug in? I've attached a few images of the Type-C layout below...
Finally, we REALLY need your help in one more area. Gel Blasting is way more fun when you do it with friends. So, please share this project with yours. Or share it with people you don't like, that way you can shoot at them fairly. We need a big weekend on Kickstarter to definitely make this happen! Share on social media, texting email... All of it helps. If you think you have lots of friends who will participate, sign up on our Kickbooster and we will pay you for anyone of your friends who backs us.
It is easy and pays 10%! https://gel-blaster-surge.kickbooster.me/boost
Thank you so much for joining us on this venture...We looking forward to hearing you brag about how you were there in the beginning!
-Colin Guinn
