Kickstart This: Recycled Fire Hose Mats

Kickstart This: Recycled Fire Hose Mats

Just in time to coincide with our “Danger” issue hitting the stands, our Maker-in-Chief Sherry Huss came across this wonderful Kickstarter for household mats made from recycled fire hoses. This is your chance to pick up a beautifully designed product that embraces reuse and honors the importance of firefighters:

The thing is – tons of fire hose winds up as land fill across the U.S. each month. Until now, most fire departments simply didn’t have an alternative. Hose fails at some point and becomes unsafe. And, what can’t be donated gets thrown out. (Which can also mean a hefty expense in disposal fees.)

So, we decided to try to do something about that. At Oxgut, we get decommissioned fire hose into the hands of great designers and artisans, where the hose is given new life. Our mats are a perfect example. They’re a wonderful way to display the fire hose and appreciate its history, in a utilitarian way.

Check out the project page here, and take a look at all the projects we’re interested on the MAKE curated Kickstarter page.

8 thoughts on “Kickstart This: Recycled Fire Hose Mats

  1. No says:

    I’m not trying to be negative, but the cost of these mats is near about the same cost of 50′ of brand new hose (actually, at their “suggested retail”, it really is). Your money would be better spent donated to your local fire department so they can afford to replace their worn out hose, as many struggle to get by. You could always ask for the old worn out piece that you replaced and make your own mat (This is MAKE, after all). Just my $0.02.

    1. Me says:

      I expect the prices of buying something through a Kickstarter campaign to be high because it’s really a donation to help a company get started, not a regular sale. It’s more like buying tee-shirts and coffee mugs by donating to PBS.

      At first I was going to defend them saying that the price is probably only high because it’s really just a donation premium then I saw those words ‘suggested retail’. You are right! That is a LOT of money for a mat! Arguably it’s a unique and attractive mat that will probably last several decades without wearing out but.. when I think of things I might invest that kind of money in today mats simply don’t even come to mind. I’d love to see anybody succede if they are going to rescue materials otherwise headed for the landfill but I don’t think I would buy one of those.

      I’m not so sure about your assumption we can just make them ourselves though, at least with the same quality. Among the things they intend to purchase are a machine to separate the inner/outer jackets of the hose and an actual machine meant for cleaning fire hoses. I wonder if one needs those or if it could be accomplished (in lower quantities) with tools a regular maker might have access to.

  2. Joe Fire says:

    Yes this hose is all donated, I agree the Price seemed very high.. sure they need to clean, sew etc but $150 ?????

  3. John Mustafa says:

    Good luck with the asbestos.

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Ken is the Grand Nagus of GeekDad.com. He's a husband and father from the SF Bay Area, and has written three books filled with projects for geeky parents and kids to share.

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