03/27/2023
Aloha backers,
I hope this message finds you all well. I am writing to provide a difficult update on our consumer active cooling vest "Honu" project.
After a months-long struggle with suppliers, and having explored various options for order fulfillment, we have come to the painful decision that it is no longer economically feasible to manufacture the Honu cooling pack. Evolving supplier order requirements, delays in manufacturing and supply chains, ongoing COVID lockdowns in China, inflation, and more factors have all contributed to this incredibly difficult decision.
All of you – our early backers - have waited a long time to receive your active cooling packs, and we’re sad that deliveries won’t go forward as planned. 19°N will be refunding all of our backers in full.
That said, we are strong believers that active wearable cooling is the future as our climate warms. We recently kicked off a collaboration with a leading outdoor chair company to explore the feasibility of embedding our ThermoCore technology into a “cooling chair” for tailgating and outdoor leisure. Please email us at [email protected] if you are interesting in following that product as we move from development to market.
Thank you for your understanding and continued support. We have posted a longer statement to our website that is linked below. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Mahalo,
The 19°N team
