This Hipster Hoodie That Hides a Pillow Is a Sleeper Hit on Kickstarter Hypnos's inflatable sweatshirt is a napper's dream -- if you're cool with snoozing in public, that is.
Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.
Soft, cozy and cinchable, hoodies are the epitome of laid back. As if they couldn't get more chill, a startup is seeking funding for a hoodie that let's you lay all the way back -- any time, anywhere.
It's called the Hypnos Hoodie, a sweatshirt that has a hood that inflates into a pillow so you can sleep on the go. The tweaked fleece is zipping up a tidy sum on Kickstarter, pulling in some $128,000 toward its $30,000 goal as of this publication, with six days to go.
Related: Mattress Startup Casper Is Bringing Its One-Model-Fits-All Approach to Pillows and Sheets
Think of the modded hoodie as a wearable mini mattress, a portable cushion upon which to rest your noggin whenever the urge to nap strikes.
At least that's how Hypnos founder and Hollywood actor-producer Josh Woodle wants you to view his quirky invention. "It's giving the gift of sleep to people," he says in the product's pitch video on Kickstarter, in his first crowdfunding bid. "This is a product that a lot of people need in their daily lives because of how busy things get and how work takes our time away. But we all have spare moments during the day where we can get a little bit of sleep in. We can rest ourselves."
Related: Surprising Tricks: How to Sleep on a Plane
And Hypnos looks like it makes resting yourself embarrassingly easy -- whenever and wherever. Hopefully not at work, in class or on a date, though, OK?
The sweatshirt's plastic inflatable headrest, reminiscent of your typical blow-up bathtub head cushion, is concealed within the hood so that "no one can tell that there's something inside," Woodle and his Los Angeles-based startup teammates claim. Still, by the looks of it (when inflated), passersby might think Hypnos wearers have disproportionately large heads. Not to mention that they could appear a touch weird purposely snoozing in public, maybe with the exception of crashing out in one on a plane, a train or a bus. Even in those environments, the goofy garment might raise a few judgey eyebrows.
Related: How This Couple Created the All-In-One Travel Jacket That Is Nearing $2 Million on Kickstarter
Two years in the making, Woodle says he created the ballooning hoodie -- which takes three seconds to inflate by mouth -- as part of a quest to "elevate the small aspects of life," your weary brainpan included. Designed to "increase the efficiency" of our ever more scarce downtime, the kangaroo pocket-equipped sweatshirt comes in pullover and zippered versions, and in three colors (black, charcoal grey and speckled gray). At the moment, the cheapest you can pre-purchase one for is $59 on Kickstarter.
Shipment of the product is slated for March of this year, but you know how things sometimes go on Kickstarter. That said, you might want to sleep on the decision to buy one before parting with your money.
