According to WHO, drowning is the third leading cause of unintentional injury death worldwide with some 372,000 recorded deaths. Sadly, Tom Agapiades’s good friend was among that statistic which prompted Tom to invent Kingii, a wrist-worn inflatable device that aims to prevent such tragedy from happening to anyone. Unlike life vest which could be cumbersome, thus resulting in people shunning it, Kingii is designed to worn at all time while not obstructing your activity, or should we say, not covering up your awesome six-pack abs. Basically, what Kingii does is equipping you with a floatation device, ready to be activated when you meet with trouble in the water.
The wristband packs a replaceable carbon dioxide cartridge, a pull lever, plus extras like compass for getting your bearing and a whistle for signalling help. When the lever is activated, it fires off the CO2 cartridge, inflating the orange bag that will pull you back up to the surface. The wristband is reusable after activation; all you have to do is to replace the spent cartridge for a fresh one and fold the bag back into its pouch as per the instruction on the bag itself. Blown-up bag is about the size of a small pillow and kinda reminds us of water wings, except that it does have a hole in the middle, and the orange hue will aid in attracting attention to you.
Kingii is designed for users of all ages, including kids and senior citizens. If Kingii sounds like something you need, then may want to consider pre-ordering one off Indiegogo. And the price? 79 bucks is all it want from you and it comes with two CO2 cartridges. While the price may seem reasonable, it is the shipping that’s going to kill, going as high as $110 per unit, due to CO2 cylinders being classified as ‘Dangerous Goods’. But that’s for international shipping. If you are residing in Stateside, then all’s good cos’ shipping within the U.S.A. is free.
