Verging two products into one

During our creative thinking process, we came up with a number of good ideas for our project. We thought about making a magnetic workbench wall for holding tools, a caulk gun that was drill powered, and a paint brush that automatically dispensed paint through a tube system. Although most of the ideas were good ones, we found out many of these were already on the market.

Ben came up with an idea for hiking boots that have waterproof compartments in each heel to hold a small survival kit and other essential items. At first, this seemed like something for Maxwell Smart or Inspector Gadget, but after thinking about some of the challenges hikers can face, it started to sound more sensible. Hikers can get lost, separated from their group, or even lose their backpack/equipment in a freak accident, but they’ll always have their shoes.

By having a hollow heel that can hold small items like matches, a needle with some thread, fishing line and a few hooks, a small compass, and a mirror or whistle for signaling, the hiker can feel confident that they have a few essential items that may save their life.

The heel could be totally removable or have a compartment that merely opens from the side, but when attached or closed it would be sealed in order to make it waterproof. Having one in each boot would allow for more items like important medication, first aide items, etc.

Our team thinks this is a great idea and after researching the web for any and all items that related to hiking boots or shoes, and survival kits, we could not find anything similar on the market.