Here's the word from the Akimbo designer, Jaime Merritt:
My name is Jaime. I am an arborist, climber, and compulsive tinkerer. The Akimbo has been a passion project of mine for the last year and a half or so. I have been making prototypes out of my woodshop evenings after work, and financing everything myself.
I have finally reached a point with the design that I am ready to have a proof run manufactured and I need your help. I am looking at about $5000 to pay for hardware and to have the parts CNC machined. Add to that $2000 for destructive testing and incidentals and we are well out of range of my personal budget. If I am able to reach my goal I am hoping to be able to produce 100 first generation Akimbo!
My sincere hope is that the Akimbo will be a unique and valuable addition to the range of mechanical rope climbing tools available to climbers the world over!
Click here if you can help Jaime get underway with this project.