{"id":2299,"date":"2016-04-18T03:09:47","date_gmt":"2016-04-18T10:09:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/explore.globalcreations.com\/theblog\/?p=2299"},"modified":"2016-04-20T23:37:17","modified_gmt":"2016-04-21T06:37:17","slug":"koze-lamzac-kaisr-portable-couch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/explore.globalcreations.com\/theblog\/featured\/koze-lamzac-kaisr-portable-couch\/","title":{"rendered":"Koz\u0113, Lamzac Hangout and KAISR Original Portable Couch"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Koze<\/p>\n

Kickstarter is an interesting website. If you aren’t familiar with it, it is a place where proponents of a project can describe their project, set a financial goal and solicit funds in an attempt to reach their goal. \u00a0If they reach the goal, everyone that\u00a0has pledged contributes and the proponents proceed with their project. \u00a0Sometimes\u00a0projects go nowhere and raise little or no money. \u00a0Sometimes they barely make their goal and sometimes the contributions are far more than the goal. \u00a0The latter is the case with the\u00a0Koz\u0113 Portable Couch.<\/p>\n

Koz\u0113 Portable Couch<\/h1>\n

The\u00a0Koz\u0113 Portable Couch (pictured above) is an inflatable couch made of parachute fabric and designed much like a dry storage bag often used by canoeists and kayakers. \u00a0In this case the bag is bigger, about seven feet by three feet and, when inflated, can hold 400 pounds.<\/p>\n

Seems like blowing it up would be a major effort, but no. \u00a0It’s just a matter of opening the end of the\u00a0Koz\u0113 and waving it through the air to capture as much air as possible – takes a couple seconds. \u00a0Then one quickly rolls up the end and snaps it\u00a0shut, just like those dry bags. \u00a0The claim is that the\u00a0Koz\u0113 will hold air for 6 hours, but I suspect that varies depending upon the weight of the person on the bag. \u00a0Deflating is as simple as opening the\u00a0Koz\u0113 and packing it away.<\/p>\n

It is manufactured in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.<\/p>\n

What is it Good For?<\/h1>\n

Made in College, the proponent, says the Koz\u0113 can be a replacement for a camp hammock – no trees required. \u00a0It packs down into a bag that is seven by fourteen inches and it weighs less than two pounds so you could take it backpacking in place of a hammock, assuming six hours is enough sleep for you. \u00a0I prefer a tent and it doesn’t look like the Koz\u0113 would work very well in a backpacking tent – it’s too big. \u00a0For me it would work best for lounging around the campsite on a car camping adventure.<\/p>\n

The fabric is waterproof and the\u00a0Koz\u0113 holds air, so yes it will float and make a fun water toy. \u00a0It is not, however a flotation device. The\u00a0Koz\u0113 is pretty tough, but floating down a river with it could see it being torn by rocks or branches.<\/p>\n

It can be used anywhere you need a chair outdoors. \u00a0It can replace a picnic blanket or beach\u00a0towel or even be used at a music festival.<\/p>\n

How Do I Get One?<\/h1>\n

The thing about Kickstarter is that proponents offer rewards in exchange for contributions. \u00a0In this case the reward for a $60 contribution is a\u00a0Koz\u0113 and you can get multiple\u00a0Koz\u0113s with multiple $60 contributions. \u00a0You are basically pre-ordering your\u00a0Koz\u0113 with your contribution. \u00a0That’s probably why, with 54 days left in their campaign to raise $4,000, Made in College has raised\u00a0$124,365 to get the Koz\u0113 into production.<\/p>\n

There are two\u00a0small catches. \u00a0First, there are\u00a0currently around 400\u00a0Koz\u0113s available for a $60 contribution. \u00a0If contributors take all those, \u00a0there are an unlimited number of\u00a0Koz\u0113s available for an $80 contribution. \u00a0Second, the campaign ends of June 11. To get one, make your pledge at:\u00a0www.kickstarter.com\/projects\/madeincollege\/koze-lightweight-inflatable-and-amazing-comfort-an<\/a>. \u00a0There are several colors available.<\/p>\n

Other Options<\/h1>\n

\"lamzac\"<\/p>\n

Another option is the Lamzac Hangout (above). \u00a0A product that is made in The Netherlands and looks exactly like the Koz\u0113. \u00a0The Hangout appeared last fall and quickly sold out. \u00a0They are now estimating a shipping date for new orders of June 15. \u00a0The Hangout is available for $69.95 at\u00a0shop.fatboyusa.com\/products\/lamzac-hangout<\/a>\u00a0or from many other sources at eBay for various prices<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"KAISR<\/p>\n

Still another option is the\u00a0KAISR Original (above). \u00a0It also looks exactly like the\u00a0Koz\u0113 and has four days left in an Indiegogo Campaign<\/a> (similar to Kickstarter). \u00a0They have raised nearly $3 million. \u00a0They offer two\u00a0KAISR Originals for a $148 plus shipping contribution and say the retail price will be $109 each.<\/p>\n

Note that Amazon.com<\/a> carries\u00a0similar products, some manufactured in China, that may or may not be of \u00a0quality similar to those above. \u00a0Check the comments on Amazon to get an idea of the quality of products there.<\/p>\n

What’s Up with the Options?<\/h1>\n

All these seemingly identical options got us wondering what’s what.<\/p>\n

The Koz\u0113 backstory:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t

“Like all good inventions, Koz\u0113 was born out of necessity. While on a hiking trip with some good friends in Asheville, North Carolina, we were struggling after a couple miles of waterfall hiking. When we finally made it to our campsite, we instantly grabbed our favorite hammocks and searched for some trees. The problem was, John ended up on the other side of the campsite, and another friend couldn’t even find any trees at all!<\/p>\n

“While we ate dinner John sat on a couple of bags by our hammocks, his far across the campsite at the closest available trees. We had all but forgotten the problem. That’s when we noticed, John was just as comfortable as all of us, perched on his inflated dry storage bag.<\/p>\n

“If it were only just a little bigger…Eureka<\/i>. ”<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n

What happened after that Eureka! moment is not clear, so we have no idea why\u00a0Koz\u0113 looks exactly like the Lamzac Hangout.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Lamzac\u00a0backstory:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t

“The idea for the Lamzac was born on April 4th 2010 during a party with friends in the Dutch town of Meppel. After a night of partying and too little sleep it was time to deflate and pack all the air mattresses. During this process Marijn Oomen, the inventor of the Lamzac, observed that the mattresses were very quick to deflate while the previous night considerable effort had been expended to fill them with air.<\/p>\n

“This led to a quest to be able to fill an air mattress with air as easily as it is to empty them of air. The first insight Marijn had was that you could use the air in one air mattress to fill another air mattress. This then spawned an idea, what if you could catch air in a bag and then by sitting on it push the air from the bag into an air mattress? During the long ride (for Dutch standards, our country is tiny) home the idea kept bouncing around in Marijn\u2019s head, he just couldn\u2019t let it go! This led to the first prototypes for the Lamzac.<\/p>\n

“He showed his invention at a tv program called ‘best idea of Holland’ in 2010 that you can see here:\u00a0www.youtube.com\/watch?v=fWzoXjN4Dco<\/a>. He ended up in the final.<\/p>\n

“It also led to a new realisation, why not just sit and lie on the bag and forget the air mattress all together? With a new product Marijn started his business Lamzac and began selling his instantly inflatable bags on markets throughout the Netherlands! Marijn managed to sell many of his Lamzac orignals but also realised that the design required further fine tuning.<\/p>\n

“In 2014 this realisation spawned the new Lamzac Hangout, a greatly improved design, and he sells the product from 2015 on. Now it is proving to be an international sensation. Some product video’s that are posted in the beginning of 2015 show millions of views.\u00a0https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LamZac-274039415944730\/videos<\/a>.\u00a0By collaborating with lifestyle brand Fatboy the Original, Lamzac will be able to facilitate distribution to consumers even better than before.<\/p>\n

“Both Fatboy and Lamzac make products with a high ‘copycat’ content. Even before Fatboy became big, copies were regularly seen. History is repeating itself, because Lamzac has also been involved with copycats. Fatboy is so enamoured with the unique Lamzac idea that Fatboy the Original has now committed itself to the Original of Lamzac.\u00a0With the Lamzac Hangout we believe that soon people all over the world will get in touch with their own inner “Lamzak”, which translated from Dutch means lazy person or lazy inactive bag!”<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n

One of the Facebook videos mentioned above shows a couch that looks like the\u00a0Koz\u0113 and it was posted to Facebook more than a year ago. \u00a0I couldn’t find anything about the\u00a0Koz\u0113 that long ago.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Trademarks<\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n