GET YOUR GEAR OFF THE GROUND WITH THE TOUGH HOOK!
The Tough Hook is designed to help store heavy equipment like body armor and scuba gear.
Unique design features include rugged I-beam construction, 150+ lb. load capacity and a built in handle grip for easily transporting equipment.
Development
The idea initially came to me while serving in Iraq with the U.S. army and not having a sensible way to hang my body armor. There were no systems on the market specifically designed to store heavy equipment like plate carriers or body armor.
Those who use this equipment every day can attest that it is heavy, very heavy; no way will a traditional hanger hold 25, let alone 60 pounds of gear.
To hang up their gear some people had make-shift rack systems or hacked implements. Most of us, however, just left it on the ground or under our beds exposing our gear to water, dirt, dust, mud, rodents, you name it. Keeping our gear clean was a constant concern, and yet the functional importance of this piece of equipment cannot be overstated. Leaving it on the ground just never seemed right to me.
The trouble was, even back home, I was still storing this thing on the ground. But now it is taking up space, stuffed on the floor of my closet. If only there was a way to hang this up.
After leaving the Army I found myself again needing to hang body armor, this time as a civilian contractor in Afghanistan. As a civilian I did not have the same every day type use for my body armor, but I had to find a way to manage a large heavy vest in a limited space situation.
Fed up, and seeing a possible product I could create and bring to market I started looking at hanger and other structural designs.
I found a plastic hanger on the market that could hold 25lbs and they were using an I-Beam design (see steel girder) to make their hangers strong and light, so I started with that.
I knew there had to be hooks at the ends of the hanger to prevent vests from sliding off. Also needed was a simple means to carry the vest by hand, thus, an easy carry handle was integrated.
What we have accomplished so far
After we were done designing, we got lucky and found a great CAD guy who is also a patent agent and inventor himself. Lucky again, I found a great CNC guy and our first prototype was born.
We have our website, facebook and social media up and running.
We found a factory and an injection mold maker who we are satisfied will do an excellent job.
Our design is patented.
We are pretty much ready to go. The only thing we are missing is your financial support.
What we need money for
The remaining costs associated with this project are:
Production of the first 5000 units including the mold and hangers
Website completion and other
Shipping
Assembly
Professional photographs
Automation software (shipping, bookkeeping, contact management)
&
Professional public relations firm to help promote and grow the Tough Hook brand.
Outlook
If our project is funded we expect to start production immediately.
We are confident that there will be serious demand for the Tough Hook, as the need for this product is great.
The following numbers do not include Law Enforcement, civilian and media users of body armor, scuba equipment users and many more.
Reaching military
age annually
2,161,727 males (2010 est.),
2,055,685 females (2010 est.)
Active personnel
1,456,862[2] (ranked 2nd)
Reserve personnel
1,458,500[3] (ranked 7th)
Sending a Tough Hook to a US service member in Afghanistan
We recognize that there may be people who would like to contribute to our project, but have no real need for a hanger that you can do pull-ups with.
So at the "Support a Troop" level of contribution, a Tough Hook will be sent in your honor to a US service member deployed to a combat zone.
Risks and challenges
With plastic injection molding, the making of the mold it’s self the most expensive and time consuming component. The lead time for the mold to be made is 45-60 days and another week to get the first sample.
Once the sample and the mold are approved, the process is relativity quick, with the first units going out in a few weeks.
The main risk we foresee associated with a timely fulfillment will be the mold and sample not meeting our specifications. If that happens there will be delays.
Although we do not expect there to be any serious delays, we will commit ourselves to staying in contact with our supporters to keep them updated as to the time when they will receive their Tough Hook.
Questions about this project? Check out the FAQ
Support
Funding period
- (30 days)