Hi! My name is Martijn - and I just went live with my sustainable scuba dive brand Divehack :-)

[Kamaros]

I think the t-shirt shirt designs are pretty slick (my favorites are the sea horse and turtle). I think the concept of a kit that contains both save-a-dive and first aid items is good.

For 50 euro though, I'd rather just buy or assemble dedicated save-a-dive and first aid kits. I also think some items are pretty questionable, like the pointer stick and carabiner (commonly known as a "suicide clip" by some of the more advanced segments of the diving community). I think Diving_Dubai already did a pretty good job of describing the changes and replacements I'd make to a kit like this.

On a minor side note, while I've seen a lot of other startups with "hack" in their name/branding so I understand the trend (I work as a software engineer at a Silicon Valley startup where we're most guilty of this sort of thing), I don't think it's a good name to associate with a dive gear company, especially one with a focus on conservation. In software, a "hack" is literally an inelegant, unsustainable workaround for a problem that works at present, but is likely to break or cause problems in the future. Not something I'd want to associate with any of my life supporting scuba gear, or with conservation efforts.

 

[Couv]

a "hack" is literally an inelegant, unsustainable workaround for a problem that works at present, but is likely to break or cause problems in the future. Not something I'd want to associate with any of my life supporting scuba gear, or with conservation efforts.

And why I thought this thread was posted one month too early.

 

[Martijn de Jonge]

Hi guys,

Let's start honest: I was a little upset yesterday about the first replies.
But this morning I woke up and read it all over again, and I see very helpful suggestions: thanks for that!

The good thing is that Kickstarter is about launching idea's and setting next steps in product development.
It's not about final products, you are looking at prototype nr 3.(but yes, producible). Now I'm entering the next phase of user tests and making it better.
I still have a goal - making divers lives a bit easier - and protecting the oceans and it's aquatic life. And I will stick to that and trying to get better
Maybe it was good to mention as well that the main target audience is divers with 0-100 dives who want a handy starter-kit, to bring when doing tropical water dive vacation.

So next steps:
1- carabiner hook replacing by bolt snap. Any suggestions what type would be best?
2- o-ring. If it's in the Ready Set, do more than one. That won't be a problem. What type/material would be best to use?
3- pointerstick: as said, for me it's a handy tool to bang my tank, point out (yes, really) fishes and shrimps. I have also scuba tips/tricks cards in the box, about the buddy check, no touch policy, and more. You think it would be enough to specially mention that you cannot touch anything with a pointer stick? I can't delete it out of the box right away - people already pledged for The Ready Set. So we're talking about prototype nr. 4 then - if I decide to delete this item.
4- mentioning the sugar cane bio plastic tubes is a good one. I will change it right away in my campaign.
5- the cord is suggested to be changed for a bungy one. What type would fit best? I also put in the cord because a lot of the divers I interviewd (50% female) said that they want someting in the box for their hair - so it won't be in sight. Maybe I can do a bungy and a cord as mentioned.
6 - about the multitool. I didn't fit it in with the basic set (didn't score that high on the basic lists - out of my questionaires), BUT I have free space in the box for it. Or for pills, lense box, ear drops. What ever you want. How do you think about it? And is there any specific multi tool you are suggesting to use?
7 - I know the price is not as low as it can get, but I'm low scale yet. I'm working on it for scaling up, then the price can come down. And I know you can compose your own kit and it would be cheaper and maybe fit better to your personal needs. But that's something the pro's, like you guys, will do. People who dive on vacation once a year don't do that. They rather go for a all in one convenience solution, uhh sealution (sorry, can't resist it )

Special thanks to @Diving Dubai and @Kamaros. For help like this I'm happy to be here (aldough it's a bit painful sometimes, but who said entrepreneurship is easy ).

Any more suggestions. I would love to hear them. Have a great day guys!

 

[chrisch]

...
I would love to hear your opinion and reviews ...

If you want to save the oceans then the best way to do it is to stop people flying here there and everywhere and buying pointless garbage and driving big SUVs full of dive kit. The major problem with the marine ecosystem is acidification due to the human generated CO2 combined with the over fishing by humans. We divers add to this all the time visiting new dive sites and eating local caught fish when we get there, often taking heavy equipment that could have been rented locally (helping the local economy).

To be honest I didn't look at whatever it is you are trying to promote for free on here as I don't want to buy it (why should you get free advertising after all?) But whatever it is, is not "sustainable".

Some very very tough decisions will have to be made soon or we will reap the consequences of a generation of mismanagement of the environment. Even the people that pretend CO2 is not changing the climate do not pretend that it is not acidifying the oceans. The huge issue of plastic garbage is another nail in the coffin of the marine ecosystem. To address that humanity must stop buying stuff it doesn't need and the rich nations must pay to clear up the mess of the poor ones, no matter how unfair that seems.

I run a business and am as guilty as anyone else, I try not to fly at all but I still travel and dive. I don't know what the answer is or even if there really is one, but the greenwashing of consumer products is not the answer that is for sure.

 

[vovanx]

1- carabiner hook replacing by bolt snap. Any suggestions what type would be best?

BigGrip Stainless Steel Bolt-Snap 3 1/2

2- o-ring. If it's in the Ready Set, do more than one. That won't be a problem. What type/material would be best to use?

they are quite generic, "Butyl rubber" i think. google for Viton brand.

3- pointerstick: as said, for me it's a handy tool to bang my tank, point out (yes, really) fishes and shrimps. I have also scuba tips/tricks cards in the box, about the buddy check, no touch policy, and more. You think it would be enough to specially mention that you cannot touch anything with a pointer stick? I can't delete it out of the box right away - people already pledged for The Ready Set. So we're talking about prototype nr. 4 then - if I decide to delete this item.

there are pointerstick/reefhook convertibles with screw-on top, which would be much more useful, but they are quite rare and expensive.

5- the cord is suggested to be changed for a bungy one. What type would fit best? I also put in the cord because a lot of the divers I interviewd (50% female) said that they want someting in the box for their hair - so it won't be in sight. Maybe I can do a bungy and a cord as mentioned.

50cm x 3mm bungee to hold random things and also it could be used as a spare mask strap, and 50cm x 6mm bungee to fix the hair and also it could be used as a spare fin strap.

6 - about the multitool. I didn't fit it in with the basic set (didn't score that high on the basic lists - out of my questionaires), BUT I have free space in the box for it. Or for pills, lense box, ear drops. What ever you want. How do you think about it? And is there any specific multi tool you are suggesting to use?

the most useful tool would be a 24mm spanner wrench... but they are quite large and heavy to bring them everywhere.

 

[Martijn de Jonge]

Awesome @vovanx ! Thank you very much for your help!

 

[Imla]

Swap the Carabiner/Boltsnap with a proper, good quality Double-Ender. A good double-ender can always do the work of a bolt-snap. The bolt-snap will not function as a double ender.

For girls: I would much rather put bungy-cord in my hair, rather than the elastic shown on the picture. Uncovered elastics will ruin hair.

(Though, I must admit... I would never spend luggage-space on this kit as the items feel too random and the box would take up too much space rather than just toss it all in the net and travel from there. My slight bit of Ocd would also kick in keeping toiletries with tools with paperwork... But thats just my 2kr)

 

[JohnnyC]

The biggest problem is that none of the stuff is really necessary, and most of it is cheaper elsewhere. Certainly not "seasentials" I like the shirts though. You've got some cool designs.

You can get bolt snaps from Dive Gear Express starting at 4 bucks US. Viton o-rings are super cheap too, a 5-pack is like, $3. Bungee is like 40 to 50 cents a foot. Those three items right there are more useful, and more plentiful than what you're offering.

You've already seen the push back against pointer sticks. People tend to have favorite brands of sunscreen, etc. so what makes your reef-safe sunscreen worth paying a premium for?

You offer your package as an essentials kit, but for most divers, none of that is essential. For those divers that don't carry a save-a-dive kit, every boat has a couple o-rings at least. Your package doesn't offer anything more than the boat is offering in that regard. The first aid stuff is nice to have, but it's very limited, and you're not marketing it as a first aid kit. Most boats offer communal defogger, and even more people just use spit. Rubber bands are typically pretty useless. Sure, great for hair, but they degrade very rapidly in salt water, and they're a fixed size, so it either works or it doesn't. The cleanup bag is a nice idea, but it looks like any other cheap Chinese promotional drawstring bag. What makes yours worth more than any other commercially available mesh bag? For $10 you can get a mesh bag with metal handles designed for diving. Offering lotion seems a little weird as most people who use lotion have their own preferred brand. I get that reef safe sunscreen is a nice way to protect yourself from the sun, and be conscious of the damage some products do to the underwater environment, but why buy a whole kit of stuff that you won't use just to get a tube of sunscreen?

My suggestion is that you cancel the Kickstarter and reevaluate. Ask the question on this board, "what are the essentials you need when going diving and snorkeling?" Offer a kit based around those suggestions. As you can see from the pushback you're getting here, your product offerings aren't in line with what people consider essentials. Very little in your kit actually has anything to do with diving or snorkeling, and those items that do are poor representations of what people actually need. You're selling sunscreen and a cheap bag for 35 Euros. I get that your tube is environmentally friendly, made of sugar cane-derived plastic, and that's a great marketing line, but you're not gonna sell truckloads of the stuff at 35 bucks a pop.

Kickstarter is for developed ideas to gain capital to produce, crowdsourcing is literally venture capital. Their product design rules require a functional prototype. Whether the final product is the same prototype or a fully developed product is fairly inconsequential, but Kickstarter isn't around to finance your market research. You're supposed to have a fleshed out product beforehand, otherwise you're rarely going to be successful. While your product may be fleshed out for a certain demographic, as it stands it's definitely not the diving and snorkeling demographic.

 

[JohnnyC]

If I were offering a "seasentials" pack, here's a basic idea of what I'd put in it, prices in USD:

Bolt snaps, 1 each of small and medium should cover it. $8
Bungee. 2 feet of a medium thickness should more than do it. $1
O-rings, a 5 pack of 112 or 014. That's DIN or yoke, and let the purchaser choose in the survey. $3
Cave line, 5 feet or so should be more than enough for anyone to make a small repair. $.20
Zip ties, a couple in several sizes, small and medium at least. $.50
First aid, a few bandaids, a couple things of burn/sting cream, a couple alcohol wipes. $1
A cheap scuba tool, they're like $12 for a multitool. $12
Your reef safe sunscreen, it's a good marketing aspect and it's probably the most useful thing in your whole kit.
Ditch the fancy case, get a REAL mesh bag, and put the stuff in some environmentally friendly small baggie type of thing. $10

Buy the bungee and cave line by the roll. Buy zip ties by the big package at a home improvement store. Buy the o-rings in bulk. Really the two most expensive items will be the multitool and the bolt snaps. I'm sure you can get a good deal on mesh bags in bulk. I'm sure Randy at Piranha could point you in the right direction or give you a great deal. Not counting your sunscreen and the silkscreening to brand the mesh bag, you're looking at less than $40 paying retail costs for all the supplies. Buy them in bulk and that's even less money, infinitely more useful, you still have your reef safe sunscreen, you're not needing to source your fancy case, it's easier to travel with, and is actually geared for divers, and to a lesser extent, snorkelers. Heck, make a snorkel package that's just the bag, sunscreen, first aid kit, and some bungee and zip ties in case they need to fix a mask or a fin strap. That's less than $15 and specific for that demographic. Include a little basic first aid card, and on the back put some ways to be eco-conscious while you vacation, or make it a little 3 or 4 page fold out thing with more information on it if you want, uses for the zip ties and the bungee, the right o-ring size for the scuba tank, useful knots and their application, etc.

You can still market it as "seasentials," it's much more appropriate for your target demographic, it's still environmentally friendly, and doesn't require sourcing a bunch of bespoke products and subsequent branding.

 

[lionfish-eater]

I have hundreds of dives in various places. I have never put on sunscreen before going on a dive. I use a hat and sunblocking shirt.
You are sending the wrong message by including the sunscreen.
Your customers will be encouraged to use the items in your kit because they were told it's essential. Same with the poker stick. The only thing worse would be if you included a reef hook and a bag of fish food.