Skully, the California-based crowdfunded smart-helmet developer, has told BDN that deliveries of the delayed AR-1 will begin next month, December.
Deliveries had originally been slated for May and there had been growing criticism from investors, as we reported in our October issue (Skully fiasco shakes crowdfund confidence).
After that article appeared, Skully contacted BDN to ask for the opportunity to comment. Speaking from San Francisco, Bobby Penn, executive director of sales for Skully, said it had been revealed the previous night [2 November] that deliveries of the first batch of helmets would be despatched to the customers who had pre-ordered the helmet as part of the crowdfunding offering.
“We have encountered some unforeseen delays but we would not sacrifice the safety of our riders simply to meet a deadline. We are going to begin shipping in December and continue to ship pre-orders thereafter. Obviously there are quite a few pre-orders that we have to get through,” said Penn.
Asked whether the AR-1 would deliver on its promised specification and whether the problems were behind Skully, Penn said: “We think so.”
Penn concluded: “We are excited to near the official shipping date and we have no doubt that customers will find the AR-1 helmet worth the wait. From day one, safety has been our top priority at Skully.”
Full story in the December issue of BDN