Spokane inventor Steve Lach now knows what it takes to bring a new piece of cycling gear to market. “13 months, six patent applications, lots of measurements, two molds, eight caps, and two factory changes,” says Lach. His new gadget bottle is designed to securely hold a cell phone when riding. A phone adheres to a recess in the bottle by means of a “Live Strong”-style rubber band.
The idea came from the inventor’s experiences road riding on the palouse. “I know most people say they do not take their phones riding, but as a married parent I feel I should know if my kids or wife need me and I always look to see who it is,” say Lach. Now it’s easy to see who is calling me. I no longer have to unhook, unvelcro, unzip, unsnap a pocket.”
Lach also says it gives him an opportunity to listen to music without headphones, since his phone can play MP3s on external speakers.
The bottle is almost completely manufactured in the USA. The body is made in California and the rubber is made in Illinois. They are two styles of caps, one made in Michigan, and one made in China. The instructions are printed in Spokane and the bottles are assembled in Spokane. Lach is working on some sourcing arrangements that will allow him to lower the price from $8.25 to $7.50 beginning in December.
“The bottle’s body is made from LDPE #4, not known to leach any chemicals that are suspected of causing cancer or disrupting hormones,” says Lach. I chose to not to use PETE or other hard plastics that have a reputation for leaching.”
According to Lach the Gadget Bottle can handle almost any phone from the last three years except the Treo 650. His site has only been up a couple weeks but he has already fielded a bunch of orders from cell-phone crazy Scandinavia.
For more info go to www.gadgetbottle.com, or info@bevytech.com.
