LiftRider feels like wearing nothing at all! Comfortable on the chairlift. Balanced on the slopes. Holds everything you need!
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Mmmm, tastes like... nothing at all.
over 7 years ago
– Wed, Aug 02, 2017 at 10:19:51 PM
Question: When is NO TASTE the best taste of all?
Answer: When drinking from your LiftRider hydration bladder!
LiftRider has been one learning experience after another and the hydration system is no exception.
When it came to picking materials for our hydration system I figured… easy enough... Just use what the top brands use - CamelBak, Osprey, Platypus.
It turns out they have all switched to TPU (Thermoplastic Urethane). The reasons are simple: dirt cheap, single layer film, easy to weld, strong and durable.
When I got our sample back, however, I took my first sip and noticed a faint plastic taste.
Wait a minute!? How could that be? The big boys use the same material!
So I bought a new bladder from each of the big brands. I took a sip. And low and behold the same plastic taste!
No way!
The quest for taste-free
I began researching materials and water bladders. One of our backers happened to be a plastic films engineer and he pointed me in the right direction.
It turns out if you want taste free (and BPA free) the material to use is HDPE (high density polyethylene). HDPE is very stable so no leaching chemicals, no taste, no odor.
What is the catch?
The problem is that HDPE is not strong enough as a film and so you need to use it as the inner layer of a 2 layer film and it requires specialized welding tools. Bottom line: using two layer HDPE film plus the other enhancements I wanted nearly triples the cost of our bladder and limits us to just a couple factories that can weld it.
“Nevermind”, I said. “Make me a sample. I’ve gotta taste it.”
Reluctantly our factory made a sample. I took a sip. Low and behold. No taste!
Wow. So you can have a taste free bladder. It just costs nearly three times as much. Decisions, decisions…
Before I tell you what material we finally chose let me tell you a bit about the other enhancements I made to our hydration system.
LiftRider’s one of a kind hydration system
As you know we designed our bladder to sit transverse, just above your hips right at your center of gravity. It has baffles to remain low profile.
Here are some of the improvements that you asked for and got.
Full 2 litres rather than the original 1.5
Big opening at the top for easy cleaning and drying
A fill cap in addition to the big opening at the top for easy filling in a bathroom sink
Hose insulated with neoprene
Thinsulate and reflective material insulation inside the bag running up from the bladder and in the bite valve pocket on the strap
A special sleeve in the bite valve pocket for a hand-warmer to stay ice free on those bitterly cold days
Bite valve with easy shut off
And of course we kept the quick disconnect so you can snap out the bladder with ease
It really came out nice!
So what material did we choose?
While the taste of TPU wears off after a while, I just couldn’t resist the taste free HDPE. It is so much better. I thought it was worth it!
Una Mas?
In case you haven’t heard, backers only can get additional LiftRiders at an insanely low price. Only 100 available at this price. First come first serve.
Breaking Good
over 7 years ago
– Mon, Jul 31, 2017 at 06:57:03 PM
One of LiftRider’s most important features is one that I hope you never use!
It relates to chairlift safety.
Packs can be dangerous on the chair
Have you seen footage of what happens when a backpack gets tangled on the chairlift? It can be scary.
If you haven’t seen it check out this video:
Swinging your pack to the front may be worse
Some riders will remove 1 arm and swing the pack to the front with one arm still through the other strap. This actually increases the chances that something gets caught because all the undone straps are now behind you.
Over the past year I have talked to 11 people who said they had a pack get caught on the lift. 8 of them had actually swung their pack to the front with 1 arm through!
LiftRider solves the problem 3 ways
Low profile so you can keep it on and sit back.
No extra straps or loops to get caught.
A patent pending breakaway system if something does get caught.
Patent pending break-away system
Watch my son, Will, demonstrate LiftRider’s breakaway system in this video:
How does it work?
Read on and find out...
Improved shoulder strap breakaway
Our shoulder strap breakaway works like this.
The bottom of the strap is connected to the bag with snaps.
When the bag is pulled over your head the snaps hit your armpits and release.
Here are the strap ends:
On the original prototype a couple users found that the pack would release occasionally while skiing. We solved this problem by using three heavy duty snaps instead of two and adding velcro in addition to the snaps.
Chest strap breakaway
We invented a foolproof break away system for the chest straps as well.
Here is how it works:
The original prototype relied on the chest strap sliding down the piping track and coming off the end of track. The new velcro tab system (patent pending) is much more reliable.
We spent a great deal of effort designing and testing ways to make LiftRider safe on the chair. We hope you will never have to use them. But if you do we think you will be glad you were wearing LiftRider!
Una Mas?
Backers only can get additional LiftRiders at an insanely low price. Only 100 available at this price. First come first serve. The are almost all gone as I write this.
Like Butter!
over 7 years ago
– Wed, Jul 26, 2017 at 06:00:22 PM
The push-button “Insanity” Strap Adjustment system is one of LiftRider’s inventions I am most proud of.
And the Insanity Straps got a massive upgrade in LiftRider 2.0.
The new system is smooth as butter. And I am super excited to tell you about it.
The big difference?
The biggest difference is on LiftRider 2.0 you can press anywhere on the bottom part of the strap to loosen, whereas, on LiftRider 1.0 you must land your finger directly on the button.
How did we do that?
The secret lies in a custom part we fabricated especially for LiftRider 2.0.
The custom part
When we made 100 prototype LiftRiders last season there was no time to fabricate custom parts. I had to use off the shelf parts to jury rig my invention.
For LiftRider 2.0 I designed a custom spring loaded cam buckle especially for the Insanity Straps. We made injection molds. And the custom cam-buckles have been fabricated, assembled and shipped to our bag factory.
Check out the difference between the off the shelf cam-buckle (black) in LiftRider 1.0 and the custom cam-buckle (white) in LiftRider 2.0:
The new part is sweet. Right?
Smooth as butter
The custom part makes all the difference.
There is now only a single round circle on the strap end for both the magnet and the button-press-target. You can now press anywhere on the bottom of the strap to loosen. The feel is incredibly satisfying.
This is the old strap adjustment system. 1 circle for the button target and one for the magnet.
This is new system. It is so sweet! The button stands tall and proud. Press anywhere to loosen. A single target for both the magnet and the button. No confusion!
The reluctant backpack model
When you try Insanity Strap adjust on LiftRider 2.0 you’re gonna think “Why don’t all my packs work like this?”
Who knows they might one day :-)
Here is my daughter, Eva, showing off the new Insanity Straps.
Una Mas?
Backers only can get additional LiftRiders at an insanely low price. Only 100 available at this price. First come first serve.
I checked this morning and they are moving quick so if you want an extra one or two please act now before they are gone.
Una Mas?
over 7 years ago
– Tue, Jul 25, 2017 at 04:47:40 PM
I am thrilled so many of you asked to order more LiftRiders.
You are awesome for making this project possible. You believed in us before anyone else and that really means a lot. We want to return the favor and do something extraordinary just for you, our original backers.
I found a simple way to make LiftRiders available only to existing backers at a special price.
I talked to a few of you and here is the plan:
As a backer you can get additional bags at $85 plus the incremental shipping cost of roughly $4 and change. Way below the current pre-order price of $125 and the retail price of $180!
Only 100 bags available at this super low price and only to existing backers!
Bonus all 4 colors!
As a bonus if we sell 100 bags before mid August when production starts we will place the bigger order with the factory and get all four colors!
Top 5 reasons to get an additional LiftRider or three:
5. Get all your Christmas shopping done today!
4. Your ski buddies can carry their own stuff!
3. Your significant other won’t suck your hose in public.
2. Can’t chose a color? Get one of each!
1. When the person on the chair next you says “Where did you get that awesome bag?” you can say “I’ll sell you one. I have 4 more in the car!”
FAQ
How do I get the special backer price?
In a day or two you should receive an email from backerkit. It will take you to a form you should complete with your shipping information as well as your color choice for the packs you already ordered. At the end you can buy additional LiftRiders at the special price as add-ons.
How many can I buy?
As many as you like. First come first serve.
Can I resell them?
Sure.
What if I buy more but can’t get the color I want?
If we end up having to eliminate your favorite color you can get a refund on your add-on order.
But let’s reach the bonus and make all 4 colors!!!
LiftRider colors - “Survey says…”
over 7 years ago
– Fri, Jul 21, 2017 at 05:57:59 PM
Thank you for completing the LiftRider color survey a couple weeks ago.
Thank you also to so many of you who were flexible on color and said you would be happy with your second choice.
As you may recall we have 4 choices and we need to kill one of them. I know you have been on pins and needles ;-) So without further ado here are the top line results:
Simple enough. Kill the red. Right?
Here is the problem we cannot kill Red & Black. There is something I didn’t tell you.
Ski patrollers comprised the largest group of our first and most passionate customers. They helped us tremendously through the entire process. They tested the pack in so many conditions this past winter. They provided us with the excellent feedback on the first prototypes that allowed us to massively improve LiftRider2.0. Ski patrollers requested red and black so they can wear LiftRider on duty. And I promised it to them a long time ago.
I secretly hoped that red would win on its own. But it didn’t. And now we have to kill one of the other three.
I hate to kill any of them. Many who wanted grey said they would not be happy with any other choice. And I really love the other two.
Terrible.
So here is the plan.
In a few days I will send out a link so you can confirm shipping address and other information required to send you your pack(s). One of the items will be to select your color along with your second choice. At that point we will know all the numbers exactly and I will let you know which one we are going to kill.
Here are the colors again.
Blue logo will be like this:
Orange logo will be like this:
Grey logo will be black on black as you can barely see in the picture above. (For all the folks who insisted they want a stealth logo with their stealth black pack).
Red has red interior. The factory has our red sample so I could not get 3 view pics of the correct pack.
Red logo will be like this:
Can we please get all 4 colors?
There is a slim chance we can get all four colors.
So far the factory has set the minimum order for each color at higher than my risk appetite given our presales. But if we can sell more packs between and now and mid August when production starts… Who knows. I might be braver and pull the trigger on all 4 colors :)
Many of you asked if you can buy additional pack(s). As promised I will put system in place that only backers can access to offer you additional packs at a big discount. That should be ready soon.
