Merry Christmas! (Production Update)
over 8 years ago – Fri, Dec 22, 2017 at 10:46:19 PM

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year, everyone! 

Just a quick update here... as promised, earlier this week BROG delivered the 100 Deadmen we discussed in our last update. They showed up Wednesday - a day or two later than we'd planned (not BROG's fault). Regardless, we were ready to rock and roll when they arrived. We processed the lot overnight and shipped out 87 on Thursday morning. 

The math-whiz's in the audience might have noticed that we received 100 but processed 87... yeah, we had some items damaged in transit. So 13 of you will be receiving your Deadman directly from BROG, ASAP. You'll get an email with tracking info once it ships. It should be very soon. 

And that's it, folks! This shipment (plus these 13 extras) completes the Kickstarter orders! (...and there was much rejoicing!) We still have some extremely patient pre-order customers that will be taken care of in the next shipment we receive in early January, but this shipment still represents a significant milestone for us. 

We owe a HUGE "Thank you" to ALL of our supporters... You guys & gals took a chance on us and we feel honored. It's been a wild and slightly bumpy ride, but we've loved it and are looking forward to a super-awesome 2018!

Thanks for your support - see you on the trails!

Daniel & Bryant
The Deadman Team

Production Update (Dec 5)
over 8 years ago – Tue, Dec 05, 2017 at 12:49:25 PM

Hey everyone! We’re doing everything we can to expedite and streamline the process… Here’s the latest info we have from Blue Ridge Overland Gear (BROG).

When we last updated you, we told you we’d shipped through backer 168. Since then, BROG has been manufacturing them and preparing them for freight shipment to SoCal. They have 50 units completed now and will manufacture another 50 this week, giving us enough to fill a pallet and freight them on the 11th or 12th. Provided they don’t have any further delays in the meantime, that will put the pallet in SoCal early the week of the 18th. These units will be sent to backers on the West Coast.

For those on the East Coast, your Deadman will be manufactured while the SoCal freight shipment is en-route. Your Deadman will drop-ship directly from BROG in VA, skipping the freight process entirely, arriving sooner as a result.

Regardless of whether your Deadman is headed to SoCal or drop-shipping from BROG, we’re projecting that all of the remaining Kickstarter orders will be shipped to you by early the week of the 18th. We’re doing everything we can to get these fat yellow beauties into your hot-hands in time for the Christmas holiday… we all expected to see them delivered in the early fall, so while Christmas is still quite late, we’ll enjoy our egg-nog a little more this holiday season, knowing they’re all on their way to their new homes.

So where does that put your order, exactly? Here’s what we’re planning:

Backers who will receive a shipment from Deadman, once we receive the pallet: 169, 171, 172, 173, 175, 176, 177, 178, 182, 183, 186, 187, 189, 191, 192, 193, 195, 196, 197, 198, 199, 200, 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 210, 211, 212, 213, 214, 216, 217, 218, 220, 223, 224, 225, 226, 230, 231, 232, 235, 236, 237, 239, 240, 241, 245, 247, 251, 252, 255, 256, 257, 258, 259, 265, 266, 268, 269, 270, 272, 273, 274, 275, 276, 278, 279, 280, 281, 282, 284, 286

East Coast Backers receiving a shipment directly from BROG: 170, 190, 194, 208, 215, 219, 233, 238, 242, 244, 249, 260, 262, 271, 285.

For those of you that pre-ordered on BackerKit, we’re also planning to get to most of you in this freight shipment as well! Once we have a more specific count, we’ll update you separately.

As we get closer and approach these milestones we’ll update you again. And of course, once we ship your reward, you’ll get an email with a tracking number, so you can see exactly where your Deadman is at and when it’ll arrive.

Thanks again for your patience - this has been quite the ride!

Daniel & Bryant
The Deadman Team

Production Update (Nov 22)
over 8 years ago – Wed, Nov 22, 2017 at 11:13:56 PM

Hey everyone! Sorry for the lapse in comms - it's been a frustrating few weeks. 

We last reported that Blue Ridge Overland Gear (BROG) was prepping a pile of about 150 Deadmen for the two weeks that followed. Well, long story short: that didn't pan out. BROG had two machines die on them, which resulted in unplanned delays. They tell us that the machines were fixed yesterday and we're back up and running.

As of tomorrow's shipment, we've shipped through backer 168. Orders are shipping directly from BROG to minimize any additional delays in getting these things to you. BROG tells us that they have another 53 on-deck, ready for final assembly, boxing, and shipping over the next few days. They've got a few people working tomorrow morning (yes, Thanksgiving) as well, just to catch up a bit more. Of course, as soon as those go out, they'll be adding more to the queue.

Neither we nor BROG expected to see this process last into the holidays, but apparently that's one of the challenges of manufacturing something with quality, by hand. We could've gone to China and had these stamped out en masse on automated machines, but we wanted to keep things here in the US, to ensure quality and give our neighbors jobs. BROG is definitely crafting each Deadman with love & care, but we've experienced a number of setbacks along the way due to our boutique, hand-made approach. We feel terrible that you've all had to wait so long, yet we're surprised by regular encouragement from backers who have given us a virtual high-five instead of the finger. We're really grateful to our community of supporters and are working with BROG to do whatever we can to get these out to you ASAP.

This Thanksgiving season, we're grateful for each of you!

Daniel & Bryant
The Deadman Team   

Production update (Oct 30)
over 8 years ago – Mon, Oct 30, 2017 at 06:34:31 PM

Hello everyone! Sorry we missed the update last week. As hard as we might try to be awesome and deliver a fantastic experience to each of you, sometimes we make mistakes or things happen which are out of our control - and sometimes both happen together. So this week we bring you some bad news, followed by good news, which is followed by some awesome news!

The Bad & the Good

We last communicated to you that we'd shipped thru backer 101 and that we expected to ship another 30 in the week to come. Two things happened that week that disrupted this plan. 

First, we learned that our list was accidentally mixed up and some backers below 101 did not receive their Deadman as indicated. We have corrected the list, so future shipments will happen in the correct order, but we apologize to anyone that was skipped as a result of our error. We can now confirm that everyone who was skipped at that time has been shipped their Deadman as promised. 

Second, Blue Ridge Overland Gear, our manufacturing partner, had two machines malfunction - one due to software incompatibility and another due to simple, yet unavoidable maintenance - which left them with a pile of 99% complete Deadmen that they couldn't quite finish and ship. That resulted in fewer shipments last week than planned. The good news is that these issues have been corrected, manufacturing has resumed, and we caught up on shipments.

The Awesome!!

We are now shipped thru Deadman backer 114 (including those who were originally skipped) and are working on the next batch. That might not sound like awesome news - especially if you're backer number 250... Here's where the awesome comes: this week Blue Ridge is turning it up to 11 and setting up for a batch of > 150, cutting/preparing the pieces this week and assembling/shipping them next week. Sooooo... we expect to see the next ~150 backers receive shipping notices within the next 2 weeks. That means we're hoping to finish the Kickstarter production run in the next two weeks! We know you all have been waiting for far longer than any of us expected, but the wait seems to be nearing an end!! 

Thank you all for your support on the trails and on social media. We couldn't do it without you, and we're stoked to finally get these into your hands!

Daniel & Bryant
The Deadman Team 

Weekly Update (Oct 15)
over 8 years ago – Sat, Oct 14, 2017 at 09:59:34 PM

This week we're headed to [an undisclosed location in SoCal] to support the Rebelle Rally - the first ever all-female rally competition in the US. We'll be out on the course, assisting with recoveries and wishing we were born with a slightly different chromosome composition... In all seriousness, we're stoked for the women out there in the Rebelle, and for what the Rebelle stands for. As one of their premier sponsors, MAXTRAX states: "The Rebelle Rally covers nearly 2000KM from Lake Tahoe to the edges of the Mexican border, in which the tough ladies navigate completely off-road without the use of any GPS or modern technology—relying solely on maps and compasses. Additionally, they’re tasked with finding a series of remote checkpoints out of the vehicle, being scored on their level of accuracy. It’s one of the toughest motorsport events in the country." #jealous

As husbands, and fathers with daughters, we're excited to see how the Rebelle Rally is empowering women and giving them confidence. Events like this give women another perspective on what's possible, and continue to break down cultural barriers. We are proud to support several competitors and a few teams, and to have met many of these women along the way. We can't be with them till late this week, but we're cheering them on from home. If you're interested to catch the action, check out: http://www.rebellerally.com/live-scoring/    

Production Update

Another week is behind us, and more Deadmen have been manufactured. Blue Ridge reports that we're on schedule with 30 completed last week and another 50 planned for the week ahead - so the pace is picking up! Hopefully everyone has received their other gear by now, so even though the Deadman is what you all signed up for, at least you're not waiting on everything. 

As always, if you have any questions, please reach out to us via Kickstarter, email, or on Instagram.

Daniel & Bryant