To get to the working prototype phase has been a long time consuming process. At times you feel like you are just spinning your wheels but once we got the proof of concept prototype done I felt we had something tangible, although it was very raw.
Josh, owner of Jolly Innovations, & I have had multiple phone conversations since the proof of concept prototype was in my hands & I felt like we just needed some tweaks but really we needed a complete re-design. Josh went back to some original concepts I had written down from the very beginning of this entire process. He sent me some screen shots of the re-design & I was honestly skeptical because I felt like we were going backwards, but this entire process isn’t about my feelings; it’s about building the best hunting bipod.
Several weeks went by & Josh messaged me with images of the finished working prototype based on the re-design. From the pictures it looked badass, but then again so did the intial proof of concept images. A few days later Josh & I met up in the little town of Congress, AZ. It was my first time physically touching the working prototype & I knew instantly we had made HUGE progress!
After our meet up, I took the working prototype out into the field for some real testing. You see, Josh is the engineer & machinist that bridges the gap for me in this process, but I am the hunter/guide that wants this bipod to function in ways that the industry has failed to bring to market. It’s a fun relationship & we both have the same goal; it’s just we are trying to get there from opposite directions.
We are getting so close to the bipod being finished but this is the phase that you have to slow down. Paying attention to the details & making incremental adjustments are very annoying, but they are critical. Rok-Stedi Hunting Gear is about building quality functional light weight hunting gear & this bipod will obviously set the tone for that.
Yes, we are a little behind schedule, but when we release this bipod it will be the best hunting bipod on the market.