Hey everyone! Sorry for the lapse in comms - it's been a frustrating few weeks.
We last reported that Blue Ridge Overland Gear (BROG) was prepping a pile of about 150 Deadmen for the two weeks that followed. Well, long story short: that didn't pan out. BROG had two machines die on them, which resulted in unplanned delays. They tell us that the machines were fixed yesterday and we're back up and running.
As of tomorrow's shipment, we've shipped through backer 168. Orders are shipping directly from BROG to minimize any additional delays in getting these things to you. BROG tells us that they have another 53 on-deck, ready for final assembly, boxing, and shipping over the next few days. They've got a few people working tomorrow morning (yes, Thanksgiving) as well, just to catch up a bit more. Of course, as soon as those go out, they'll be adding more to the queue.
Neither we nor BROG expected to see this process last into the holidays, but apparently that's one of the challenges of manufacturing something with quality, by hand. We could've gone to China and had these stamped out en masse on automated machines, but we wanted to keep things here in the US, to ensure quality and give our neighbors jobs. BROG is definitely crafting each Deadman with love & care, but we've experienced a number of setbacks along the way due to our boutique, hand-made approach. We feel terrible that you've all had to wait so long, yet we're surprised by regular encouragement from backers who have given us a virtual high-five instead of the finger. We're really grateful to our community of supporters and are working with BROG to do whatever we can to get these out to you ASAP.
This Thanksgiving season, we're grateful for each of you!
Daniel & Bryant
The Deadman Team