A prototype is a preliminary model of something. Projects that offer physical products need to show backers documentation of a working prototype. This gallery features photos, videos, and other visual documentation that will give backers a sense of what’s been accomplished so far and what’s left to do. Though the development process can vary for each project, these are the stages we typically see:
Proof of Concept
Explorations that test ideas and functionality.
Functional Prototype
Demonstrates the functionality of the final product, but looks different.
Appearance Prototype
Looks like the final product, but is not functional.
Design Prototype
Appearance and function match the final product, but is made with different manufacturing methods.
Production Prototype
Appearance, function, and manufacturing methods match the final product.
Prototype Gallery
These photos and videos provide a detailed look at this project’s development.
We are Harmattan Design (Holt Evans & Radu Zarnescu), Kickstarter veterans and Enthusiastic Creators. Last year, our fourth campaign The Smart Belt 1.0 became the most funded fashion accessory in history.
We sent out all the pledges and wanted to know what our backers had to say. To our delight, 67% of our backers wanted more colors for their belts, more buckle finishes and many had other even more interesting ideas of what we can improve.
So, on popular demand, this year, we are back and better, TAKE A LOOK!
What we believe is that there is no one thing that made our SMART BELT such a huge success, but the combination of all our innovations bundled into a nice and elegant, finely tuned package.
Firstly, replacing the 5 hole system with 32 adjustments brings a world of comfort and a whole new dimension of adjustability. Not many people think about it or realize it but, our waist changes as we go about our business throughout the day while the belt we wear does not adjust because holes are too far apart.
Forget feeling tight or loose, you'll forget you have a belt on but your pants will stay exactly where they're supposed to.
Our Kevlar® Core is our staple innovation. Belts wear out because the leather flexes longitudinally and loses structure. Our Kevlar® Core prevents that from happening by reinforcing the whole structure like nothing else. It makes the whole thing indestructible yet light and comfortable.
The Leather we use is the most exclusive leather anywhere in the world. Vegetable Tanning is almost a lost art. Because it takes longer to tan the leather with natural tannins it has been replaced by chromium tanning at the turn of the century. We get our leather from a small valley in Tuscany, Italy, one of the hand-full of places in the world where this is still done. It's much more resilient that normal leather, it's all natural, eco friendly and really smells good too. It will come with a certificate of authenticity and a serial number.
Have you ever had a problem with a wrong size or buying a present for someone, ever been in between sizes? Not our Smart Belt 2.0. You will get to make your own size, so no chance of getting it wrong.
This was one of the biggest asks we got from our Backers, more colors and more buckles. And we don't disappoint our backers, we exist as a company because of them. After you pledge by selecting a reward from the column on the right and after the campaign ends in late July, we will send you a survey by e-mail where you can select options.
On the experience of a Super Project last year, The Smart Belt 1.0 with 15.000 backers in which we were 40 days late in starting to ship, we learned our lesson. This time, we are manufacturing beforehand and using a bit of stock as a buffer for any hurdle we might encounter. We will start shipping in August and fulfil in order of backer number at a rate of about 4000 backers per month with a better courier service this time.
“DuPontTM and Kevlar® are trademarks or registered trademarks of E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company."
We welcome third party sharing of our product in graphic form and text but only if in accordance and in full respect of trademark and copyright use guidelines concerning Kevlar® issued by it's respective owner, E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company.For more information on using these trademarks linked to the materials we use in manufacturing THE SMART BELT 2.0, please visit: Kevlar® Trademark Policy
We, Harmattan Design LLC, are a responsible company and believe that quality is of the utmost importance. As such, we source our Kevlar® Fibre directly from manufacturers licensed by E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company and are Registered Customers.
Patents and Intellectual Property
Part of our due diligence as a reputable company, in launching a new product, is the undertaking of an IP Audit. Such an audit, by a well known US IP specialised law practice, has deemed our Smart Belt 2.0 to be free of any infringement on any standing patent, domestic or foreign. Any claim to the contrary, in a public arena, in a purposeful attempt to disparage our efforts will be pursued for damages.
Video and Audio Content
All footage, images and soundtracks presented within this campaign are our own manufacture or are licensed from their respective owners for the purpose and scope in which they are used. Testimonials of our product are voluntary and renders from actual backers from previous campaigns that have had extensive experience in using the initial iteration of The Smart Belt 2.0. The testimonials are their own manufacture and are used with their specific and direct consent.
Warranty & Money Back Guarantee
The Smart Belt 2.0 has a limited warranty of 2 years from the receipt of the product. The warranty covers manufacturing defects, structural failure of the buckle or the strap. The Money Back Guarantee is valid 30 Days from receipt of the product and can be claimed only after the product is returned to us in a good working order and with no apparent marks or signs of wear.
We asked some of our more communicative backers to give us an opinion of the Smart Belt 1.0 and this is what they came up with. We put them all glued together in one clip in order to save space on the story board. HAVE A LOOK!
This project is promoted by Green Inbox Partner Program which includes risk free Facebook ads.
Survey Service Partnership
Some comments we picked up from the comments section of our previous iteration (The Smart Belt 1.0) here on Kickstarter, some from Messages and a lot from the Satisfaction Survey we sent out.
Kickstarter, Backer No: #1199, Gary Blasco, Comment:
'This belt is the best. How can I get another?'
Kickstarter, Backer No: #8607, Anthony De Juan , Comment:
'I"m not going to lie, these belts are pretty awesome. Very happy with my purchase. Great job!'
'I just wanna say that i love this belt. I ordered 2 belts and iven been using them everyday for a few months and they work flawlessly, and look good! Thinking of ordering 2 more since they are so great.'
'Amazing at of creators, best project I have backed, thanks for sorting my issue'
Kickstarter, Backer No: #1108, JP, Comment:
'… I opened them and had them sorted in a few minutes. They are exactly what I hoped they would be. Very clean and seem solid. … '
Kickstarter, Backer No: #11138, Filip Hansson, Comment:
'So far so good, my two belts are doing the job as well as looking awesome. No quality issues so far, fingers crossed I dont get any in the future either.. :)'
'Hey Gents,Have just received my two smart belts and I am thrilled! The wait was well worth it! Great product, works well, I can barely feel it and on top of it: it looks premium! (Which it actually is given the quality of the materials I could experience) Nothing else to add, wonderful product at this price tag! Will order some more for all my suits.
'I'm the 2000th comment!!! Wooooohooo! Love the product! Also, Aramex worked great - took 6 days for belts to be delivered after receiving tracking number! Gonna follow the company closely for other products, love Harmanattan Design!'
Kickstarter, Backer No: #5419, Jay Gairson , Comment:
'Beautiful belt, I wish I had bought more! I backed both this and the "ULTIMATE Belt" at the same time and this belt is far superior in craftsmanship, quality, aroma, style, manufacturing, and even the buckle itself. Well done!'
Kickstarter, Backer No: #11509, Jonathan Lowden , Comment:
'Got my two belts on Friday and I love the look and feel. Wore the black one yesterday and everyone kept asking about the ratchet system, so don't be surprised for my friends and family buying some.'
Kickstarter, Backer No: #1105, George Gazeas, Comment:
'Received belts. All good. Thought I'd do a positive review'
Kickstarter, Backer No: #3694, Ben May, Comment:
'Received my two belts on Monday and have to say, fantastic. Love the quality of the buckle and leather, and the mechanism works great. Not the quickest with button fly jeans, but still super happy. Have backed a dozen or more projects and has to be one of the best. Great work, just want some shoes in the same leather now.'
Kickstarter, Backer No: #12671, Daniel Nejman, Comment:
'Backer #12671 , i just recieved my belts! thanks alot, very impressed with quality and design.'
Kickstarter, Backer No: #13198, YSH, Comment:
'I recieved my 2 belts about a week ago. I'm really satisfied with quality!! I lovin' it!!Please let me know if you suggest another order for us, or sell on Amazon or we can get from some WEB site. I want to buy another one :) Many thanks for your great work!!'
Kickstarter, Backer No: #2050, Michael Bölter, Comment:
'Receiver the belts: Look and feeling great!'
'Just tried them and they are amazing, I will be buying from you in the future ! The system is a bit hard to take off, but rather harder than a system that constantly loosens the belt. Nice leather, nice system, all as promised, one of the best kickstarters I have ever invested in'
Kickstarter, Backer No: #3228, Tobias Thiede, Comment:
'Got mine last earlier this week. They are wonderful. Perfekt size. Cool and easy closing and adjusting mechanism.'
Kickstarter, Backer No: #7365, JL , Comment:
'Got mine, and it's fantastic. I wish I had ordered multiples!'
Kickstarter, Backer No: #5291, Martin Q , Comment:
'Belts arrived today in Dublin, Ireland on the day they were required 2 hours to the party. Excellent quality leather, buckle is a bit fiddly compared to other ratchet types but I’m sure with practice they will get the hang of it. Thanks gents I hope all the extra work you had to do on this project will not put you off going to the community again. What you need now is to add more colours to your range. Happy Holidays.'
Kickstarter, Backer No: #2314, Kim Falk, Comment:
'I got my 2 belts yesterday her in Denmark, they are just as I expected.'
Kickstarter, Backer No: #10223, Christopher Cahyadi , Comment:
'Received my 2 belts. They are fantastic!! Superb Italian leather!!'
'Received my belts today. Only took 4 days from email notification to delivery to home. Looks really good. Feels like very high quality. No regrets backing this project. Good job, guys!'
Kickstarter, Backer No: #7184, Kevin Chong, Comment:
'Received my two belts yesterday. Remarkable craftsmanship, extremely easy to operate. The best belt I ever own! Thank you for creating this innovative product.'
'Received my 2 belts (Belgium). Great product! Great quality and pretty easy to assemble. The buckle system is easy to learn and works great! Thank you for this opportunity!'
'Update: Support is great, really helpful and lightning quick. Did not let me down and helped me out. Quality of the leather is great, I love the leather smell and the haptic. Belt also looks great. I’m impressed and glad for backing this.'
'Belts have arrived, can only say fantastic, these fell and work better than I hoped, thank you'
Kickstarter, Backer No: #9317, Tony Jackson, Comment:
'I received my two belts in the UK today via DPD and what a nice early Christmas present it has turned out to be. Really lovely quality all round and I'm very, very happy with both items. It took me about 5 minutes to get it all working, although a lot of force was needed to attach the buckle!!'
Kickstarter, Backer No: #626, Stefan, Comment:
'Received my 2 belts today in Germany. I really like the quality of both belts and buckles. Attaching the buckles needed a little more effort than expected, but hey.. The buckle needs to stay attached.. Closing and opening of the buckle works easy after two or three tries. Thank you very much!'
Kickstarter, Backer No: #11062, Ian Brown, Comment:
'Recieved my belt in Taiwan, and first impression is fantastic. Great quality and wonderful aesthetics. How can I go about buying more?'
Kickstarter, Backer No: #7229, Raymond Diono , Comment:
'Just received my belts. Superb quality and smooth finishing. Its worth the wait. Thank you Hold & Radu. I am looking forward to your next project. The buckle works well.'
'Also from Germany...recieved mine today. The installation of the Buckle was quite easy. It seems like a solid belt...now we just have to see if its as long lastig as they say. THANKS'
Kickstarter, Backer No: #595, Thomas Metge, Comment:
'Just received my belt today in Germany. The quality seems very good . This is exactly what I was looking for. Thank you !!!'
'Just got my belts too. They are awesome! I was a little afraid to cut them, but now they look fabulous. I´m looking forward to many years of looking good with these belts.'
Kickstarter, Backer No: #7135, Brouwers, Comment:
'Got my 3 belts today. Love them, great leather and buckle, easy to use and no issues so far.'
Kickstarter, Backer No: #2791, Michael Hudson, Comment:
'Got mine today just in time as my other belt wouldn't have last more than a few more days, I am very pleased so far. It was a bit hard to get the belt into the buckle but not a huge deal and to me just means it should hold tight for a long time. I love that I can ratchet the belt down in fine increments to get just the right tightness. Thanks for an awesome looking belt that will hopefully last me a long time.'
Kickstarter, Backer No: #8954, Shawn M Mercer Jr, Comment:
'Just received my belt today. The wait was definitely worth it , the quality seems very good . This is exactly what I was looking for. Thank you guys very much , I hope to use this for many years to come.'
'Received mine in Seattle. Cut off and inch at a time it I got the length I was looking for. Belt fits perfect. Easy it put on and take off. Will take a bit to get use to not having to find the right hole any longer. Looking forward to see these available to the public. Will definitely order more.'
Kickstarter, Backer No: #12722, Chris Leiter , Comment:
'Thanks to Rast’o Papp for sharing my unboxing video (Link: https://youtu.be/haB3l3nXBOw )'
'Just got my belt today in Massachusetts and it looks amazing. Thanks guys!'
Kickstarter, Backer No: #8896, Jason L Chapman, Comment:
'Just got mine today, in Illinois, and it's a lovely looking belt. Hoping it'll last me a decent while.'
Kickstarter, Backer No: #321, Wally , Comment:
'NYer here. Received my belt and everything seems good! If this belt is as tough as it was to cut it to size and put on the buckle, it'll last forever!'
Kickstarter, Backer No: #8385, Sal Lugo , Comment:
'Received my belts 2 days ago and finally got to cut the belts! Phenomenal product! Belts and buckles are awesome! Only took a few tries to get accustomed to loosing! Thank you!!!'
Kickstarter, Backer No: #2226, Wendy Motulsky , Comment:
'I received my belts a few days ago. They were easy to cut, wear, and remove. Thank you for the great product! Let's hope they stand the test of time.'
Kickstarter, Backer No: #3782, Valentin, Comment:
'Such an amazing belt! Been using it for about a month and I absolutely love it. Will order a couple more through indiegogo.'
Kickstarter, Backer No: #6047, Hai Ho , Comment:
'I've been using the belt for the past week. Fantastic is all I can say. It's hard to wear any other belts now. Good work.'
'Received it today. Looks gorgeous. The clip fitting was straight forward thanks to @Engelhart . Release is easy too. Great product.'
Kickstarter, Backer No: #7321, Feri Ariel Jainudin , Comment:
'What a great belt you have designed. The belt have just arrived today and it works like a charm. Keep the fantastic work'
'Excellent belt, lovely colour and finish. Your courier asked for so many details, one would think I was asking for a visa!!'
Kickstarter, Backer No: #96, Jorge , Comment:
'Just received mine and since day one I have been using it daily. Although it is true that you need to apply a considerable force in order to attach the buckle to the strap the first time, it can be done. As for taking it off, in a couple of minutes you will learn how to do it: try to think how it works. You need to tighten further around your waist while pressing outwards the notch in the buckle at the same time. You will feel the tension has been released so then, without releasing the notch in the buckle, just slide the belt outside of the buckle. Really a fantastic product and the quality of the leather is superb. Nice work!'
Kickstarter, Backer No: #6283, Ben Langers , Comment:
'I haven't gone a day without my new belt since I got it delivered. Just ordered two more. Thanks for this wonderful addition to my wardrobe!'
Risks and challenges
Last year we had the Smart Belt 1.0 that had 15.000 backers in total, on all crowdfunding platforms. This was our 4th campaign and the first in which we had a delay in starting to ship. We were 40 days late but managed to get it wrapped up in record time for that size of project.
We learned a lot about what is needed to do large scale fulfilment. After this experience we believe we have a well oiled machine. But, just in case something happens, we have already started making some stock in order to be able to plug any gap that might be caused by an unforeseen event.
