3-in-1 all metal thermos, mug and food container. 100% surgical steel. Hard-wearing. Keeps taste of the content pure.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Progress update and survey
over 9 years ago
– Tue, Nov 22, 2016 at 10:05:43 PM
Hello backers!
Production update
Good progress in China - final pieces falling into place and we're super close now to the pre-production / engineering samples being ready. Here is the latest that we have:
Mug parts
We are still on track to start shipping 20th of Dec but of course there is risk with manufacturing as we've not yet seen a final working sample, not seen scrap rates and there are still a few steps remaining before we can say production is set up and running smoothly.
Survey going out
Look out for the survey going out in the next couple of days and please respond promptly when you see it. You'll be able to:
pick your colour
supply logo (if you're a club and backed the £350+ reward)
change address (if you moved)
add more mugs or flasks (if you so chose)
The survey will be closed end of November, so please don't hang around!
If you don't fill out the survey, once it's sent, by the end of November, it will be VERY difficult to update address, pick colours, etc!
That's all for now - will keep you posted as we have news to report.
Thanks again for your continued support!
Mike Dewhirst
Production under way
over 9 years ago
– Sat, Oct 15, 2016 at 09:29:13 PM
Hello everybody!
We've been busy and production has started - moulds are about half way there and are being tested. The rest should be complete mid-November, at which point we'll crack on with producing all the backer flasks.
Here are photos of the moulds, some sample parts (of the main flask body) and the factory workers - in response to some concerns about the factory working conditions.
Good progress so far and we'll keep you posted!
Mike Dewhirst
Water expansion test shots
Inner layer compressions moulds
Some of the moulds already made.
Factory worker on base cap welding.
Factory workers on final packaging (of another product)
Full steam ahead!
over 9 years ago
– Tue, Sep 20, 2016 at 09:05:27 PM
Hello backers and not only!
Apologies for the long silence but we've had a number of things to confirm before we could send out an update - hence the delay.
Before we start, just wanted to thank all our backers again - without you, this project would be nowhere and we won't and don't forget it! Thank you all, you are amazing dream-sharers and investors in good.
So here goes!
Design
1) We added a thin copper coating to the inside of the vacuumed space which helps with better heat retention.
2) We also increased the vacuum space thickness to 6mm instead of the standard 4mm based on some CFD (computational Fluid Dynamics) analysis that we ran trying to find improvements for heat retention.
This meant some lost volume so we extended the top of the flask to go as far as possible into the mug so in the end there was no volume loss.
The flask width also ended up being 5mm wider but we doubt you'd notice.
3) The cap (small one that screws into the vacuum flask) will now also have small ridges to make it easier to grip when unscrewing.
The ridged cap CAD
Similar ridges on another product.
Shipping
Some of you may have missed the shipping debate on comments so here is the long and short of it.
We will be shipping direct from China to save on double transit (first container to UK, then shipping again trans-Atlantic to US and other countries).
We also save a month of the container getting from China to UK by doing this.
The courier cost is a little more but you won't pay that.
For those who were worried about import tax - we will be declaring the value of the goods and shipping to be under £15/$20 which will mean there will be no import to pay in the UK.
Since you backed a project, rather than buying an item, we can declare just the materials cost rather than your backed amount. This is completely legal - so don't worry.
Those who were promised a refund will be getting it when we get around it regardless of the above. We don't want toxic backers, who are rude to others, as part of the project.
Timeline
The bad news - we won't sugar coat it.
Finalising the CAD, so that it satisfied both - the factory engineers and us 100% took longer than anticipated and took a lot of back and forth negotiation, so we started making moulds later than planned.
We could have rushed ahead sooner but this would have meant less volume, worse heat retention and possibly slippery cap which is hard to undo.
We hope you agree with us that this was the right decision.
The new timeline now looks like this:
Moulds fabrication started: 02/09/2016 (and well under way)
Production start: 24/11/2016
Shipping start: 20/12/2016
We may make up time during the remainder of the making the moulds and are pushing the factory hard to do so, but we can't promise anything.
We appreciate this is not ideal as you're likely to miss the pre-Christmas receipt and believe me I was personally chasing the factory twice a day to keep things moving along, but in the end, we are where we are.
Survey - colours, add-ons, etc
This will be going out soon and we've held off sending it as we were busy checking into the best way to ship things out the new direct from China way.
It will be done via BackerKit so you will be able to pick add-ons and additional flasks if you want to.
We hope to send the survey sometime this or next week.
The lawsuit
We also were contacted by Thermos' lawyers in the UK who threatened legal action unless we remove all reference and use of the word "thermos".
We checked into it and turns out in the USA, "thermos" is just a word you can use freely as Thermos failed to defend the trademark back in the 60's or thereabouts and the word is no longer such. In the UK, however, the trademark is very much registered and defended, so we asked KickStarter and IndieGoGo to remove all the wording, including where it was locked and undetidable.
We notified Thermos' lawyers and heard nothing since so we hope this is the end of that!
That pretty much wraps it up, any questions - feel free to message and let us know!
Not over yet!
Lastly, the chance to get the flask is not yet over, until we finish production.
So if you know somebody who might be interested in this, please let them know about this project.
We don't have huge marketing budgets to spread the word but believe and are sure an all metal vacuum flask (can't use the "Th.." word!) would be welcomed by many - mums, commuters, office workers, construction folks, bus drivers, you name it.
Please tell them about it and help us spread the word.
Thank you all so much again - we really appreciate your support!
Mike Dewhirst
P.s. KickStarter and crowdfunding is all about mutual support. Check out these cool campaigns that have supported us along our Kickstarter journey:
Vaiza: First Two Sided Lightweight Blanket For Home/Adventure
A two-in-one incredibly soft, lightweight versatile blanket that fuses design, comfort & luxury to accompany you on life’s adventures! CLICK HERE
Flexo - Bendable, bouncy, flexible building bricks!
Bounce, twist, bend, wrap or wear! Flexo uses a unique rigid brick and flexible tendon that allows you to truly flex your imagination! CLICK HERE
Progress report
over 9 years ago
– Thu, Aug 04, 2016 at 08:13:06 PM
Hello backers!
Long time no speak.
We have been very busy on a number of fronts since the campaign closed.
We now have received the money from KickStarter in our account.
As promised we started working on production before campaign ended.
Various production details (like the depth of the vacuum dimple! or the exact distance in the vacuum cavity) have been finalised and we are about to sign a very long and complex contract we've also been working on with our lawyers. The contract will legally protect you and us and ensure the factory in China has to adhere to specific quality requirements when manufacturing the final units.
We are also appointing SGS in China to do an independent quality check of the units as they will be getting shipped to you.
We hope to have the moulds finished and first production samples available in about 2 months. As soon as they are - we will be sending out another update with lots of photos.
We will also keep you posted throughout the moulds production phase and will send you progress photos during the process.
We have now also registered the company in the UK and are setting up bank accounts and all other such things.
Any questions - fire away and we'll do our best to answer quickly!
Thank you again for your support,
Mike Dewhirst
Forever Flask
Missed the KickStarter?
over 9 years ago
– Thu, Aug 04, 2016 at 07:02:54 PM
Hello again,
We had a huge inflow of emails after the campaign closed and during the 2 weeks of funds collection from those who missed the KickStarter campaign asking if they could grab a Forever Flask or two.
Many of you missed the campaign due to travel and being unable to make a pledge for various reasons so we're doing a short follow-on on IndieGogo - alas at a slightly higher price so the amazing KickStarter deal was only for those who were able to make it.
You can grab your Forever Flask on IndieGoGo at the below URL:
