$1,238 raised out of $56,500
Overview
Platform
Kickstarter
Backers
7
Start date
Oct 30, 2020
Close date
Dec 25, 2020
Concept

Portable, Light, Modular, Dirt Tool Set for Trail-building, Wildland Firefighters, Restoration, Landscaping And Anyone That Moves Dirt.

Story

 We Are Dirt Movers Who Needed A Better Tool. 


Grip N Rip’s trail tool system is a lightweight, modular, compact, and portable dirt-moving system.  For trail builders, environmental restoration, and even wildland firefighters, the system is quickly deployable making it the ultimate tool for trail maintenance.


Why redesign the tool handle? If you think about it, almost everything we use in everyday life has been upgraded, made better, and has evolved as technology has.  Making things lighter and stronger with better materials is common practice.  Carbon can be found nearly everywhere where weight especially factors into performance so why not create tools that not only save pounds but space with our inventive telescoping handle? Because the handle that your grandpa has had around for years has two flaws: Wasted space and is heavy. The result is you can’t carry numerous tools into the field and be efficient doing so. We fixed that and made a lighter tool that doesn’t break your wrist from vibration. You’re welcome.


We spent 2 years redesigning handles from the dirt up to eliminate wasted space and maximize usability. 

But why stop at space-saving. We made a handle that can be deployed and compressed in seconds. The sleek simple design allows for easy use for professional quality, dependability, and performance.


We also took the old design of heavy cumbersome tool heads and threw them out the window. Our tool heads are strong, light, and hot-swappable. After a couple of hundred wacks, your arms will thank you. The Modular design of our tool heads makes it so you can have multiple tools in a backpack and move serious dirt in minutes. 

We built the GRIP N RIP Trail Tool System around the builder’s workflow. 

How? We are Mountain Bike Trail-builders.

Let’s dig deeper into the functionality of the GRIP N RIP Trail Tools System:

COMPACT

Heavy-Duty performance. Half the weight.

The compact handle takes up a quarter of the volume of a traditional shovel. Taking up 75% less space and weight.  


 We eliminated the hassle of cumbersome long handles. The results? Every pocket on your backpack is now a tool pocket, and you’re carrying a full-size handle with multiple head options. 


FAST DEPLOYMENT

Extend And Dig Faster.

This makes rolling bike trail maintenance possible. Step off your bike and build a berm in 5 minutes. 


The telescopic carbon fiber handle with metal cam levers combined with the quick swap head makes for fast deployment and efficient digging.

GRIP. RIP. DIG.


STRENGTH + VIBRATION DAMPENING

Can handle the harshest terrain and still want more.

Make no mistake the handle is compact but is ready for big jobs. High-performance materials and precision machined parts yield rigidity, and vibration dampening superior to standard trail tools. The telescopic thick-walled carbon fiber tube sections are held in place by strong aluminum clamps and offer a secure and rigid connection.  Have no fear this thing is strong! The handle dampens hard blows and reduces fatigue on your hands, so you can dig longer.

DEVELOPMENT

Dirty, Salty, Trail Diggers, and Designers.

After becoming tired of lugging cumbersome trail building tools around our team decided that we needed to combine past experience with the desire for a lighter more compact solution to trail building tools.


Utilizing 7 years of carbon fiber photo equipment design, development, and manufacturing we set out to make the best set of trail building tools possible.  With 2 years of testing over miles of new trail and breaking multiple generations of handles, connections, and heads we now have a bomber product that is ready for diggers around the world to build beautiful trails with.

MANUFACTURING + MATERIALS

Carbon Fiber Handle (2 lengths)

Thick 2.25mm to 4.25mm wall 3K weave 100% carbon fiber telescopic handle.

These telescopic carbon fiber tubes are very rigid, durable, lightweight, and bombproof. It’s much thicker than your average tube, stronger than aluminum, wood, or fiberglass. With an extended length of 52″ and 20″ compacted, the short handle can fit in most backpacks and wights just 2.08 lbs. Our longer handle comes in at 77″ extended and 27″ compacted, the longer handle gives you longer reach and a slightly more robust handle due to the ability of overlapping tubes.


Under intense impact, carbon fiber will flex and bounce back to shape, where other materials will either crack, bend, or break

  • Strong, providing great leverage.
     
  • Smooth on the hands preventing blisters.
     
  • Vibration dampening to reducing fatigue.
     
  •  Lightweight
     
  •  Sexy
     

The clamp collar that holds the carbon fiber tubes together is machined from 6061 aircraft-grade aluminum and are replaceable.


 The cam lock levers are also aluminum and are bicycle seat post clamp technology that is tried and true.

HEADS

The Triangle Tool

The Triangle tool is the one attachment that does it all.  Made from 0.13” thick stainless steel, weighing in at 1.7 lbs it was developed as the one-tool quiver for any project. 


 Digging, raking, grading, chopping, this is the one you bring with limited space in your pack.  With a 10” grade edge, 10” rake, and small and large hoes on either corner, it’s the workhorse of our fleet and the one for breaking new ground in trail building.  


The 14.75” Rake

The 14.75” Rake is a four-sided tool constructed of 6061 Aluminum and is 0.25” thick weighing in at 1.5 lbs.  The 9 tooth rake is blunt compared to other manufacturers that have sharp teeth avoiding snags on small roots and grass. 


The backside is smooth for grading and tamping.  The beveled side allows for chopping grass and small roots.  This is a big time dirt mover and one of our most prized tools.


The 8” Mcleod

The 8” Mcleod is a two-sided tool that can get through tough terrain. Made out of  0.13” thick stainless steel and weighing in at 1.9 lbs, it is very capable of taking hard hits over and over in the rockiest soil.  


The 4 teeth can pull up big roots and thick grass. The beveled edge is great for chopping or grading and with the backside for tamping, this is a great all-around tool.


Ultralight Hoe

Constructed from our 6061 Aluminum, the Ultralight Hoe was designed as our lightweight option for trail digging in less rockbound dirt.  


Measuring it at 4”x 9” with .25” thickness and weighing in just under 1 lb, it can easily be carried with less weight in your pack than the HD while offering toughness, and durability.


The HD Hoe

The HD Hoe is our heavy-duty option for digging in more resilient dirt developed with a  beefier and more robust blade.  


Measuring in at 4 ½ ”x 8 ¼  and 2.1 lbs, it is ready to be deployed in any conditions where the need for more strength and power is called upon.  This grub hoe design can easily carve up bush, shrub, root, and is incredible for benching trail through any vegetation.


The Squared Shovel

Painted Carbon Steel.  9’”x 12” blade weighing 2.1 lbs.  It’s a shovel.  It moves dirt for building jumps, transitions, and berms. 


Wanna build something progressive that needs a big mound of dirt.  Get one of our two shovel attachment blades.



The Pointed Shovel

Painted Carbon Steel. 9”x11 ½ “ blade weighing 2.2 lbs. It’s a personal preference.  You want to dig deeper, you probably need our Pointed Shovel.  


Build bigger and more advanced features anywhere, anytime with one of the two shovel attachments offered by Grip N Rip.



The Pulaski Axe

This tool combines an axe blade on one side and a blade similar to the mattock on the other.  Forged steel for balanced weight and durability in chopping wood and digging soil.  Tough and sharp to cut any root and or smaller tree with a variety of uses for many people on the trail.

The Mattock

The best chopper available in the Grip N Rip Tool System.  Cast Steel.  14” tapering from 4” to 1 ¾ “.  2.25 lbs. Dig, Pry, Chop, and rip through anything in your way.



*Final designs and specifications could change slightly during manufacturing.

Grip N Rip Head Add-ons

Why We Need Your Help.

We have done the hard part of designing, testing, and prototyping several versions of the product.  We need your help in order to fund our first production batch and to get the manufacturing cost down by placing bulk orders.  Without this initial bulk order, we are unable to produce the product at a reasonable cost. If our campaign is unsuccessful in raising funds it’s unlikely this project will get off the ground.  We need your help to recruit people who might benefit from this innovative product. Seriously if you want to see this come to life as bad as we do, please share it with everyone you know.  

Why We are Qualified?

Founder Canyon Florey has over 7 years of experience in lightweight product design, development, manufacturing, assembly, and order fulfillment. Primarily with carbon fiber and machined aluminum parts for camera equipment and robotics. Our parent company LiteProGear.com has been delivering camera cranes and robotic imaging systems to thousands of customers worldwide.  This list of clients includes Autotrader and Manheim car auctions, Apple, Tesla, Verizon, Adobe, US Airforce, Teton Gravity Research, Camp 4 Collective, Novus Select, and many more filmmakers around the globe.  Over the years we have established relationships with several manufacturers enabling us to produce quality products.  Assembly, Inspection, and Shipping are all done in house. We are already set up to deliver this product.  We are always looking for new manufacturers to work with, any introductions to new vendors are greatly appreciated.

Contribute to your local Non-Profit Trail building or restoration organization.

If you wish to purchase tools for your local non-profit organization this could be considered a charitable donation and tax-deductible.  We will happily arrange shipment directly to the organization of your choice.

Where are the parts manufactured?

When possible we try to manufacture everything in the USA. However, sometimes this is just not possible to do at a cost the consumer will pay. CNC Aluminum parts will be machined in the USA.  Laser Cut steel tool heads are manufactured in the USA. Additional tool heads will be sourced overseas and in the USA. The carbon fiber tubing is manufactured in China.  Nuts and bolts are also sourced from the USA.  Design, assembly, inspection, and shipping are done in house at our USA location.

3 Year Warranty

Grip N Rip products are warrantied to perform under typical trail work conditions for three years.  They are designed to last much longer with proper maintenance and use.  Products are not meant for prying large objects (that’s what a rock bar is for.) After all, these are trail tools that get a lot of abuse, they will hold up to almost everything you can throw at it within the tools job. Tools do wear out and teeth do bend.  Sometimes stuff bends or breaks and we have always done our best to replace parts in the favor of the customer within reason.

Replacement Parts

Every single part in the Grip N Rip tool system is replaceable.  So if something breaks and not under warranty it’s simple to order the replacement part. Also, all screws can be tightened with a mountain bike tool. 

What makes the system different?

Yes, a couple of other similar products exist on the market and we think the Trail Boss does have an amazing design and is a great product. However, our design is much different resulting in another tool option. This is the only telescopic carbon fiber tool handle on the market. This saves weight, space and it deploys much faster than other tools available. The hot-swappable tool head is amazingly fast, bombproof, and grips the head adequately. It utilizes a standard seat post clamp that’s proven itself on bikes for years.

Who is this product for?

We built this product for anyone who moves dirt. Trailbuilders, wildland firefighters, environmental restoration crews, the military, landscapers, and even your grandmas gardening club can benefit from this product.   If used for wildland firefighting it has been a concern that the carbon fiber will melt, we would like to point out that the epoxy used in heat-formed carbon fiber will start to break down around 300 degrees Celsius. (that’s really hot) We plan to continue extensive research into this when we have time.  

What other tool heads are you going to make?

We are launching with this set, however, we will continue to add to the line. Snow shovels, snow rake, saws, larger firefighting tools. Let us know what you want, we listen.

Who Shot Your Videos?

We did. We are also freelance videographers and photographers. Want us to shoot your videos contact us.  

Shipping and Taxes

Please be aware that shipping and taxes are not included in the pledge levels. Shortly before GRIP N RIP tool system ships, we will email you a link to our “pledge manager.” In the pledge manager, you can:

  • Enter your latest address
  • Pay Shipping and Tax

Shipping charges vary based on your country and items – $20 U.S. and $30 International. There are additional shipping charges for add-ons as seen above.

Taxes will vary based on where your rewards are shipped (Sorry, we don’t make the rules). For the following countries, we’re collecting taxes before shipping, so you won’t have to worry about paying them at the time of delivery, extra fees, or being held up in customs.

  •  United States: State sales taxes apply in most states.
  •  Other Countries: We will not charge any taxes in the pledge manager. However, you may be responsible for sales tax, VAT/GST taxes, duties, import fees, or other taxes/fees when your reward is delivered.

International shipments will take 6 to 14-day. Your country’s customs department could delay delivery if the package is held up. 

LOCAL PICK UP IS AVAILABLE- include a comment in the order.

CONTACT

GripNRipTools@gmail.com  If you wish to talk with us on the phone, drop us an email and we will gladly set up a call.

GripNRiptools.com

Trailbuildingtools.com

Instagram @GripNRipTools, @LiteProGear @CanyonFlorey

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