Peak Design’s first tripod raised $1 million in just the first two hours of its Kickstarter campaign — so how much can the company raise by dedicating the first four days of retail sales to COVID-19 relief? On Tuesday, April 7, Peak Design launched the Travel Tripod, making the compact tripod that earned $12.1 million from Kickstarter last year available without the crowdfunding risk.
Peak Design says that 100 percent of the profits from the first four days, April 7 through April 10, will be donated to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Foundation and Climate Neutral, and designated to support the organizations’ current response to the coronavirus and climate change.
“Now more than ever is the time for us to act on our core values and ensure that our employees, contractors, and retail partners can find economic shelter in a product we’ve spent years developing,” Peak Design CEO Peter Dering said in a press release. “Peak Design is also in a unique position to offer financial support to those that are solving the problem. To be able to donate in a time of need speaks volumes to the company we’ve built over the last 10 years. I couldn’t be more proud.”
The Peak Design reimagined tripod design with the first model, which, much like the company’s bags, sold quickly on Kickstarter. The Travel Tripod uses triangular legs so that, when folded, the tripod takes up less space than more traditional travel tripods with rounded legs. The tripod head is also streamlined for travel, with one dial built into the head and a single knob for the center column that barely protrudes when folded. A universal phone mount is also built into the counterweight hook.
The profit from the first four days of sales will go in part to the CDC Foundation. The organization is supporting coronavirus relief through several projects, including purchasing personal protective equipment for health care workers, sending care packages and sanitizer to first responders, and working with Microsoft to develop a bot that can asses symptoms and risk factors.
Along with donating towards the fight against the coronavirus, Peak Design is also donating to Climate Neutral. “Unfortunately, we haven’t swapped one global disaster for the other. Climate change is still a very real threat amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and we fear that many businesses will be forced to consider the economic viability of their sustainability commitments. We can’t afford to relinquish the progress we’ve made in combating climate change,” Dering said.
The Peak Design Travel Tripod is available beginning today retailing for $600, for the carbon fiber and $350 for the aluminum alloy version.
