Introducing the Fire Escape, a small, 1.7 oz multi-tool that can save your life! We, Outdoor Element, are a small company with big dreams and ideas. Our goal is for everyone to explore with confidence and we need your help to make that happen.
Inspired by First Responders, the Fire Escape has been dubbed a Must-Carry-Tool for just about everyone.
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We are currently in production and need your help for the initial PO. The Fire Escape should be on everyone's list of must-have items. Not only is it great to keep in your car, on your pack or holding your keys, but it has great every-day-carry functionality as well.
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For over a year we have been testing prototypes and are finally ready. We need your support for the first production run which is currently underway. Thanks for supporting small business and all our first responder buddies who are itching to get their hands on one of these! Seeing them in production is exciting.
Yes, we're a small company...but we've been featured in big places! Among the many accolades, our firebiner® was labeled "Best Essential Gadget" by Backpacker Magazine in their 2019 gear guide. Much love and respect to our community!
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The Fire Escape is the next-gen to the acclaimed firebiner®, and shares some of these tried and true features:
- EverSpark fire wheel
- Replaceable ferro rods
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Bottle opener (but in a new location)
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Titanium coated stainless steel body (rated for 125 lbs of gear)
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TSA Friendly (see update for more details on experiences with TSA)
- 4 Color Choices: Black, Silver, Aurora (Multicolor), and Red
It also boasts some awesome new ones:
- Bigger, beefy custom cutting blade that is replaceable (includes rubber cap to safely cover blade when not in use)
- Tungsten carbide-tipped window breaker
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O2 wrench & hang slot (for keys and such)
- ¼” hex wrench & hang slot
The Fire Escape is just as useful for every day carry as it is for emergencies. When you need it, you will certainly be glad you have it. Don't leave home without it.
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Seat Belt Cutter: easily slice through a seat belt to escape in an emergency
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Window Breaker: quickly smash out a window to escape a disaster
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Mojica had too much fun field testing this. The owners of Littleton, CO U-Pull Automotive Recycling center were awesome (we owe them a couple of fire escapes).
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Fire Starter: light your camp stove or campfire quickly with the EverSpark fire wheel. It is the same tried and true technology we use on the firebiner® so you know it will work every time with ease.
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Accessory Kit: always have a dry piece of tinder with you by carrying a TinderQuik in your Wombat Whistle attached to your Fire Escape. Available with packages that contain an optional Accessory Kit, or added on later.
Hex Driver: tighten or loosen screws as needed by inserting a hex bit and taking care of business. Fits all standard 1/4" bits.
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Bottle Opener: pop, fiz, happiness... Easily remove your bottle cap.
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O2 Wrench: ditch unnecessary extra tools and know you're covered. No more fumbling around when every second counts - oxygen tank open in no time. We let one of the prototypes take a hospital and ambulance run...it performed flawlessly.
Replaceable Ferro Rods: with 2 extra replaceable ferro rods lasting over 2,000 sparks each, your Fire Escape will be your go-to fire starter.
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Why carry 8 different tools when you can carry a 1.7 oz Fire Escape?
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For the price of a movie night out you can invest in the newest and coolest life-saving device on the market. Fire escape - $20. Peace of mind - priceless.
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To clarify,
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Accessory Kits come with 3 Tinder Tabs + 1 Wombat Whistle/Vial + 1 Mini Screwdriver tool. The vial will also have a quick connector for easy clipping onto your Fire Escape or Firebiner.
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Kodiaks are survival bracelets made with our customer survival paracord which contains jute, a great fire tinder, and fishing line inside the cord. A fish hook is braided into the bracelet. The buckle has a hardened steel striker plate and a thick ferro rod to throw great sparks and easily start your fire, grill, stove, etc.
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Maintenance Kits contain 5 replacement Ferro Rods + 2 Set Screws + 1 Spring + 1 Mini Screwdriver tool + 1 Split Ring to attach the mini screwdriver to your Fire Escape or Firebiner or to your Accessory Kit. With the stretch goal being met, you will also get a free ferro rod holder. See the picture below.
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Tinder Tabs contain 15 easy-to-start, wax-infused, cotton tinder tabs that burn from 1 to 2 minutes to easily get your fire started.
Options
Please note that you will be able to choose your different options in CrowdOx, after the campaign, when you also confirm your shipping address. You will get to choose the following options:
- Fire Escape: choice of 4 colors - Black Forest, Silverthorne, Aurora (multicolor) and Red (we are still trying to decide the actual color name)
- Accessory Kit: choice of vial, 3 options - Packrat (silver aluminum) or Wombat (POM plastic) whistle/vial combo in either Black or Orange
- Firebiner: choice of 4 colors - Black Forest, Silverthorne, Aurora, Blue River
- Kodiak Survival Bracelet: choice of size (SM, MD, LG) and color (Black, OD Green, Red)
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If you love to explore, have a passion to be prepared, ...have a camp stove, have a vehicle with a window, you need this. It needs you. Let the Fire Escape join your adventure. Be prepared for anything, escape when necessary.
And for all you brave men and women risking your lives to help the rest of us on a daily basis, we think you will love the functionality and ease of use of this small, lightweight multitool that you can carry with you anywhere and everywhere.
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We love our National Parks and are a proud sponsor of the PLA. If you happen to be running in a park with Vacation Races, you very well might see Mike, his wife or his daughters on the trail or on the "podium". Help us support our public lands.
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For you technical folks out there, check out all this fun stuff: It's always a process...it all starts with an idea, a conversation, a scratch in a notebook, 2D drawings, 3D models then prototypes...it evolves. We love this process.
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Stretch Goals
We met a couple stretch goals along the way and have unlocked a ferro rod holder to be included at no extra charge in the Maintenance Kit.
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We also unlocked 2 new colors that were chosen by our backers to be Aurora and Red, in addition to the Black and Silver initially offered.
We have some additional fun stretch goals. We surpassed the first two and are approaching the last one.
- 1,000 backers Mojica will wax his legs (why? it was his wife's idea)
- 1,500 backers: OE will make a donation of Fire Escapes to a local fire station
- 2,000 backers: Mojica will take a polar plunge (with some added twists)
Mike did wax his legs (poor guy). We are making a donation to a local fire station. Now, let's get Mike in the frigid water and then watch as he uses the Fire Escape to make a fire to warm himself up before he freezes. If he starts turning blue we will rescue him.
Spread Some Love
We need your help to get the word out. Make some noise and introduce everyone to a great little gadget that could end up saving their life, in more ways than one. Use the Indiegogo share tools that are available - nice and easy.
Media
Here are some recent write-ups on the Fire Escape:
- Dyrt: "a highly functional resource for emergency and survival situations"
- Meanderthals: "It appeals to everyone..."
- New Atlas: "The Fire Escape carabiner is indeed made with [first responders] in mind, although it's also designed for use by civilians"
- Hunting Insider: "being prepared is important and brings peace of mind"
- Geeky Gadgets: "specifically designed to help you be prepared"
- Trend Hunter: "a seven-in-one device for those who are looking for a better way to stay prepared"
- Best News
- Gear Junkie: "the newest model has even more cool features"
- Solid Smack: "really friggin handy" - read about halfway down
We stopped adding to the list because we kept getting more and more media attention which was great.
Timeline
Our factory was willing to start the tooling process to help us meet our timing needs. Tooling is already in process. Now we need your help for the initial PO. Here are some of our expected milestones with dates:
- Oct 20 tooling completed & production materials secured
- Oct 31 testing and evaluation completed
- Nov 1 production started
- Dec 4 initial production completed and packaging started
- Dec 7 packaging completed and ready to air-ship
- Dec 15 receive shipment and begin shipping out from our "warehouse" (US early-bird orders first, to arrive before Christmas)
We are in constant communication with the factory to ensure all their preparations are in order for a smooth and seamless production. Even with the best planning and backup plans, there are always possibilities for delays. We are doing all we can to minimize those chances and to get the product into your hands before the holidays.
We have experience. We learned from the firebiner®. We listen to our community. We made improvements, dialed it in, and are ready to deliver a great product. We are working with the same factory that produces the firebiner®, so the learning curve will be short and we can get a quality product into your hands as soon as possible.
Production
Production is underway, making great progress and on schedule. Here are some pictures of the Fire Escape bodies after being molded and before entering the heat and pressure treating machine.
Meet the Team
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Michael Mojica (aka Mojica) is the founder and chief innovator. He is an accomplished engineer with lots of experience in medical and aerospace, and several patents under his belt. With his passion for the outdoors and for business, he embarked on a new adventure in life, quit his day job a couple years ago and is focusing all his attention on Outdoor Element, despite several offers to bring him back into corporate life. His wife and four girls keep him young and active. His native American name is Bodaway, which means "fire maker", which turns out to be pretty appropriate here.
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Joe is the operations chief. He has over 25 years experience successfully running operations for small consumer product companies. After the last company he was with sold, Joe was semi-retired (aka being lazy and driving his wife crazy) when a mutual friend introduced him to Michael. Joe agreed to buy dinner at their first meeting but conveniently forgot his wallet and stuck Michael with the bill. True story, and forgetting his wallet really was an accident (or so he says).
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This is where the logistic magic happens, in Joe's basement. Yes, our pick & staging station is really a covered pool table. The storage table in the back is the air-hockey table. And that is Michael's beautiful bride in the picture with us. It is a good thing Joe's kids are mostly out of the house, with only his daughter, his wife and him left at home, so the pool table and air-hockey only get used a couple times a year. Otherwise, this is what it basically looks like in our "warehouse". The commute is crazy. :)
Explore with confidence.
Risks and Challenges
Our partner-factory making the Fire Escape has been great. We have worked with them for a few years now. They get us. They get the product. The learning curve will be minimal. However, we still have to wait until the body mold is finished before we can make the blade mold and the silicon cap mold, so that adds to lead time. We do plan to air-ship the initial orders to save time. This will be right before the holidays, but should be after the main rush to get product to retail. We have the current tariff wars going on which adds some cost pressure, but we have already factored that into our pricing. If the tariffs go up, then we will need to reevaluate prior to the close of the campaign.
As for the product, we learned a lot with the Firebiner, having delivered tens of thousands to the marketplace already, and are incorporating those lessons into the Fire Escape.