Arguably, Pebble and its record-breaking Kickstarter project woke the slumbering giant that is the smartwatch device category. It should follow, then, that by this time next year we’ll be seeing Android-powered smart coolers from Samsung, LG and every OEM under the sun flooding the market, given that the Coolest Cooler has now knocked the Pebble from its vaunted pedestal, with over $10.35 million raised and a little over two days remaining in its campaign.
As we slouch towards Labor Day and confront kids going back to school, the weather turning cold and the stowing of outdoor gear in the garage or basement for next year, a ray of hope beckons. The prospect of the endless summer is only a Kickstarter pledge away! Such is the promise that has hoisted an unlikely product named the Coolist Cooler to be the most funded campaign on Kickstarter ever. And so you don’t forget call before midnight tonight… Ryan Grepper, the inventor of the Coolist, starts out sounding like a laid back guy from Portland, Oregon, but by the end of the pitch video it is clear that he is the direct descendant of Ron Popeil , the inventor of the Pocket Fisherman! Once you hear the list of features that Grepper has wedged into this 60 quart cooler you realize that this is a work of leisure genius. For $180 you get a brightly colored, drainable cooler with two inner compartments, a built-in 18V battery powered ice crushing blender, a wireless bluetooth speaker, waterproof internal LED lights, a USB charging station, built-in plates, cutting board, ceramic knife, bottle opener, extra-wide roller wheels and a heavy-duty bungee tie-down.