Check out our roundup of the best new crowdfunding projects and product announcements that hit the web this week.<\/b>
\nAt any given moment, there are approximately a zillion different crowdfunding campaigns happening on the Web. Take a stroll through Kickstarter or Indiegogo and you\u2019 ll find no shortage of weird, useless, and downright stupid projects out there \u2013 alongside some real gems. We\u2019 ve cut through the Pebble clones and janky iPhone cases to round up the most unusual, ambitious, and exciting new crowdfunding projects out there this week. That said, keep in mind that any crowdfunding project \u2014 even the best intentioned \u2014 can fail, so do your homework before cutting a check for the gadget of your dreams.
Ever seen that sweet typographical clock that spells out the time in full words instead of numbers? The Qlocktwo, as it\u2019s called, hit the scene a few years ago and has since gone on to win numerous awards for its innovative and visually appealing design. A couple years after its big debut, the company behind the clock released a smaller, more wrist-friendly version called the Qlocktwo W. It\u2019s basically a watch with the same typographic clock face, just miniaturized a bit. The only problem, however, is that both the original and wrist-borne iterations of the Qlocktwo are outrageously expensive.
But don\u2019 t fret \u2014 there\u2019s a fresh new project up on Kickstarter for a wristwatch that boasts a very similar design \u2014 but for a tiny fraction of the price. The blandly-named Wooden Word Watch is exactly what it sounds like: a wooden watch that bears a striking resemblance to the Qlocktwo clock, and displays time typographically instead of numerically. The best part, however, is that you can reserve one now on Kickstarter for just $219 \u2014 nearly a quarter of the price of the Qlocktwo W. If you\u2019 re a fan of good design or a watch collector looking to add a unique piece to your collection, this thing should definitely be on your radar.
High-performance textiles have come a long way in the past couple decades, and now gear manufacturers have a veritable boatload of different materials to choose from when designing stuff. There\u2019s super lightweight stuff like cuben fiber, waterproof stuff like GoreTex, and even super durable slash-proof fabric like Dyneema. But the material the Wolverine Pack is made from makes the aforementioned textiles seem like they\u2019 re from the Stone Age. This compressible utility pack is made from something called FuseFabric \u2014 a new material that allegedly has self-healing abilities.
In the unfortunate event that your Wolverine Pack should get punctured, all you need to do is pinch the fabric around the hole and rub it between your fingers. Due to the material\u2019s unique construction, this slight bit of friction and heat will cause the fibers to bond with each other and fuse together again \u2014 thereby filling the puncture. We haven\u2019 t seen this stuff in person yet, so we\u2019 re still a bit wary about how effective it is \u2014 but there\u2019s a pretty convincing video in the \u201cprototyping\u201d section of the campaign. Check it out and see for yourself!
Lock boxes come in just about every shape, size, and configuration these days. There are ones you can unlock with your fingerprint, ones that link to your smartphone, and even ones that call the cops if tampered with. Despite all this diversity and technological sophistication, however, most lockboxes suffer from the same drawback: they\u2019 re heavy as hell. Because safes by definition should be hardy and tough to break into, the vast majority of them are made out of metal, which is inherently rigid, heavy, and inconvenient to carry along with you. But what if there was a lightweight, flexible option that still offered the same level of protection against thieves?
That\u2019s precisely the idea behind FlexSafe. It\u2019s totally unlike any lockbox you\u2019 ve ever seen. Instead of layered steel, this badboy is made from a variety of special textiles that make it slash proof, smash-proof, and otherwise impervious to thieves. On top of that, the bag\u2019s unique locking mechanism allows you to attach it to just about anything \u2014 be it a bike frame, a telephone pole, or even your deck chair at the pool. FlexSafe also boasts a variety of high-tech features as well, including an RFID-blocking interior, a motion-triggered alarm, and an optional power bank that recharges in the sun.
If you ever plan to visit different countries in a single trip, bringing along a universal travel adapter is crucial. Depending on where you land, the outlets are likely to be completely different than what you\u2019 re used to \u2014 which means you\u2019 ll need an adapter to juice up your electronics. Luckily, there are tons of universal travel adapters on the market right now. You can pick one up for under $20 on Amazon right now \u2014 but the thing is, most of them aren\u2019 t so great. The vast majority of adapters you\u2019 ll find aren\u2019 t equipped with fuses, and virtually all of them are bulky and inconvenient for travel. Tofu is an attempt to change that.
Unlike most universal travel adapters, this one is designed to be slim, sleek, and travel friendly. On top of that, it\u2019s also equipped with a fuseless design. Generally speaking, fuses are a good thing \u2014 as they prevent power surges from frying your devices. But they also have to be replaced after they burn up \u2014 which is inconvenient when you\u2019 re traveling around a foreign country and don\u2019 t know where to find a replacement. To avoid this, Tofu employs a fuseless system that\u2019s allegedly still capable of protecting your laptop from unexpected power surges.
Ever wished you could design custom jewelry the same way you design a custom t-shirt? Well if Chicago-based upstart Bezel succeeds with its freshly-launched Kickstarter campaign, you might soon be able to. In an effort to disrupt the jewelry industry, Bezel has developed an innovative platform that allows you to design, scale, and print jewelry from your smartphone or tablet. And we\u2019 re not talking about cheap plastic either. Thanks to recent advances in 3D printing technology, anything you design on Bezel can be printed in real, jewelry-grade metal.
What\u2019s more, that\u2019s not even the coolest part. Once you\u2019 ve uploaded your design, you can actually use the app to \u201cwear\u201d your creation virtually to see how it looks on you. The real innovation, however, is in Bezel\u2019s sizing process. The app uses your smartphone\u2019s camera (and a bundle of highly-sophisticated algorithms) to calculate the circumference of your fingers and determine your ring size. Believe it or not, Bezel\u2019s software is so precise that it can approximate ring circumference for every digit on your hand, with millimeter accuracy. All that information is stored in the cloud and can be applied to any future designs you upload.<\/p>\n

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