I know it's been ages since I last posted an update. It was a very busy end to 2016 and an intense start to 2017 behind the scenes here at Hibermate HQ.

Frankly, the 2016 Gen 4 Hibermate I released late last year wasn't well received by customers at all.

Look, some customers thought it was a great improvement but a good proportion were a bit 'iffy' about the new direction using a wide band with single slot ear cups.

Our return-rates leaped and our reviews suffered a bit on Amazon and Facebook.

We've taken a bath on revenue and reputation!

The wide single band that I thought would be a great step forward, turned out to be a step in the wrong direction.

All drama aside...

The last 3 months I've been working with the team to bring back the Generation 3 model with 2 straps - but with minor...

It's been a while since I last blogged, but I've been saving it up to announce the launch of a new product, the all-new Hibermate Headband with ear muffs for sleep.

We've had so many emails over the years from people asking, "Hey, love the concept, but don't need the sleep mask..." .

The issue with the 2015 model was that it used 2 elastic straps to attach the ear cups to the mask. This made it virtually impossible for me to release a headband version.

It's one of the main reasons we decided to re-engineer this year to use a wider single band.

As you may know, we also switched cup materials from silicone to PU foam - but the PU foam created issues, in that we had to make the cups quite...

No doubt about it, good quality ear plugs are awesome for reducing noise!

But if ear plugs aren't the best option for you, perhaps due to infection or discomfort, then what are the best alternatives?

Clearly, external ear muffs are an alternative option which you can use instead of ear plugs. They can be worn in nearly any situation, and are widely used by most professionals in dangerously noisy situations.

Of course earmuffs are often worn for recreational use too, for example when you're using power-tools, your lawnmower or shooting.

When ear plugs are used with ear muffs the resultant reduction in noise is almost scary!

One thing to note though is that even when you wear ear plugs, or ear muffs, or both together, sound can still travel through to your ears through what's known as bone conduction.

Well!

It's been a crazy few weeks on so many fronts.

We have fully migrated to Floship for the first time for all fulfillment world-wide. It's been a bit of a learning curve as we have dealt with almost a thousand pre-orders and regular orders travelling all over the world.

For some customers its been smooth sailing but of course, like anything new, there have been a few headaches caused by various carriers we use to ship to certain countries.

We're changing carriers weekly to try and find the best ones to use for each country. Hang in there with us...  

While all this was going on, my amazing assistant Paula had a serious health scare which saw her rushed to hospital for a week or so. I was so worried about her but she's making an excellent recovery and has been hassling me to come back to work! 

Not...

At last!

So sorry about the delays getting these products ready for shipping. A lot of you have emailed me lately asking what's going on - its definitely time for an update.

Unfortunately we have been beset by unforeseen production issues which have created delays for a few weeks at a time and causing me a lot of stress and financial headaches.

We have had quality issues for nearly all of the new components - but the main problem has been with the new 2016 masks.

We decided on a high-quality satin for each colour, but when they were being sewn together, the satin wasn't stitching properly - meaning there were threads of fabric being 'pulled' and making the final product very unattractive.

My team asked the factory to remake all the masks with a new even higher-quality 'coated satin' but they flat-out refused, saying they would lose money.

We...

It's been a while since I posted an update - it's been super busy here at my end as we push hard to release 3 new products, with a 4th just around the corner!

Speaking of which, after a lot of messing about, we're closing in on a new Hibermate Headband model!

One of the most commonly asked questions we receive in email communications is,

"...can I wear the ear muffs without the sleep mask?"

Well, I hope that in about 6 weeks you'll be able to.

In a recent video I mentioned that we had been testing out lots of headband types and that we'd settled on a really awesome, stretchy band. It is a great headband, but the MOQ (Minimum Order Quantity) the factory needed was 10,000 units.

Unfortunately that's far too many for this little business to order in its life-cycle and the factory wouldn't be swayed.

I'm absolutely thrilled to announce that after almost 12 months of development, I'm now taking pre-orders for the all-new 2016 Hibermate (Generation 4).

On Monday this week (30th May 2016) I took delivery of the final prototypes and was so happy with how they look and function!

I told the team to 'get going' - start production!

There will be only 4 colors for this production run of 2,000 units (Pitch Black, Dark Navy, Hot Pink and Kickstarter green). 1,000 will be shipped to Amazon when they're ready and 1,000 will be shipped to our new fulfillment house in Hong Kong (www.floship.com).

Speaking of fulfillment, Floship will be taking over all logistics for us in the coming months which means for the first time, I'll be able to offer you 5 day tracked shipping to just about anywhere in the world for the same price.

Anyway, I filmed...

Hey guys!

I've just got back from a 10 day trip to Hong Kong and China, meeting with Linda (my key supplier) and going to lots of trade-shows, including HKTDC and Global Sources (my favourite!).

Now that I'm back, I thought I'd take about 5 minutes to show you where I'm up to with the release of various products I'm working on, starting with an update on the all new 2016 Generation 4 Hibermate Sleep Mask with removable ear muffs for sleeping...

Enjoy.

PS. I also show off the the new sleeping headphones in the video and if you like you can pre-order them at a steep discount here before they go on sale. (update July 2016: they're fully released, sorry pre-order discounts are over...)

I'm back in Hong King this week.

Yay!

I'm catching up with some friends, visiting some trade shows and doing some banking (boring!).

But the the main reason I'm here is to catch up with Linda (one of my suppliers) to hopefully finalize the prototypes of the Generation 4, 2016 Hibermate.

It's been a little frustrating getting the prototypes of the ear cups to work as I want them too - changing from Silicone to a soft foam has caused some issues which need to be resolved before I can press the "Big Red Button" and commence production in earnest.

While I'm here I try and shoot some footage of the prototypes to show you where we're up to. Its frustrating to have reached out to my customers last year for feedback on what improvements could be made to the Generation 3, 2015 model and then take so long to...

Really proud and happy to share a couple of brand new products I've been secretly working on for the last 8 months...

They should be released around Mid-year - coinciding with the relaunch of the new 2016 Hibermate...!

Can't wait!

Anyway, enough waffle. Let's get on with it.

Here's product number 1.

1. The all New Hibermate Sleeping Mask with Headphones:

This has been a labour of love!

1. It features a contoured single band eye mask with super adjustability. The contouring helps takes pressure from your eyes for REM and also helps to recess the speakers inside the band for side sleeping comfort.
2. The speakers are removable for washing (please, please, please don't wash the speakers) and there's a half inch of super-soft memory foam to provide additional padding and cushioning for your ears.   
3. The...