Plastic or cork: which front cover should a walking pad have?

TL;DR:

• The color survey is coming soon. Photos first, then the survey (probably together with the shipping address collection)
• I'd love your feedback on the protective covers (frosted plastic vs. cork, photos below)
• Slats are finally on the road, arriving mid-September

First Things First: Color Survey & Your Feedback

I know many of you are waiting for the color selection. It's one of the most frequent questions, and I've promised it a few times now. Here's the current status: before I can send the survey, I need to select and set up a pledge manager, figure out how surveys work there, and check whether the color question can be handled separately from the shipping address and everything else. With all the production and packaging issues of the past weeks, that setup work was simply effort I didn't have time for. The plan is to take proper photos of the color options soon, share them with you, and then send out the survey, most likely together with the shipping address collection. It will follow shortly.

Protective Covers: Which Do You Prefer?

I finally found a good attachment mechanism for the front protective cover. It uses existing holes in the frame and attaches with two screws. Very secure, but still easy to remove when needed.

We now have two versions to show you:

• The standard version with a frosted plastic surface
• A test version covered with a cork fabric

One caveat on the cork version: the color doesn't quite match yet, so we might need to experiment a bit more there, possibly moving toward a black or gray fabric instead.

Here are a few photos from different angles so you can compare both options.

Backers voted on the two covers in the Kickstarter update. Want a say in the next poll? Pre-order on Kickstarter.

Slats: Finally on the Road

The slats have finally shipped! For some reason this took much longer than it should have. The pallets were stuck at the freight forwarder for a long time. So they'll now arrive mid-September. As far as I know, the truck is currently making its way through China toward Kazakhstan. This overland route worked well last time with the crossbars, so I'm optimistic.

Side Panels: A Tolerance Puzzle

We've started preparing the side panels as far as we can. The first pallet is already done. Here you can see some of them.

In the process, we discovered we might run into some tolerance issues which is a bit surprising, because we'd actually planned in enough clearance.

The main culprit is a foam rubber component that turned out to be a tick too thick. I've ordered a thinner version, and we'll test whether that solves it. If not, we can fall back on an older material that worked well in the past. That said, the current foam rubber has some real advantages, so I'd prefer to make it work.

Where the Timeline Stands

Pulling the threads together: the blue belt arrives in early September, the slats mid-September, the black and beige belts by the end of September, and the new feet within roughly four more weeks (hopefully sooner). We'll use the time in between to prepare and pre-assemble everything we possibly can, so that final assembly can move fast once all parts are in.

On the shipping dates themselves, I want to be honest: I simply don't have enough solid information yet to give you a proper update. Everything still looks possible, but too many pieces are in motion to name a date I can actually stand behind. As soon as the picture firms up, you'll hear it from me first.

Update, 4 September 2026: where I've landed on the covers

First of all, thank you! I was honestly surprised by how many of you liked the cork.

At the same time, many of you raised valid concerns: dirt and pets potentially treating it as a scratching post. On my end, two more things came up. The cork colors just don't match the frame well enough yet, and because the cork fabric is essentially glued onto the plastic cover I noticed that it might peel off over time causing noise when touching the passing slats. We'd need to test that properly, and right now that's more effort than I can justify.

So my current tendency is to go with the plastic covers, at least for the start. I don't want the covers to become another source of delays. The cork idea isn't dead but if it happens, it happens later after we tested it properly.

Update, 4 September 2026: things are rolling in

• Side panels: A new delivery arrived. We now have around 160 sets in total, enough for roughly 160 Office Walkers.
• Belts: The first belt delivery is here! These are the blue ones, which means we can start completing side panels.
• Slats: They've reached Germany and are currently going through customs. If all goes well, they'll arrive next week. That's actually a bit earlier than expected, which is a very welcome surprise.

We also used this week to test a lot and to properly tidy up the workshop and warehouse: clearing space, organizing the pallet spots, and generally replacing the chaos that reigned so far with a setup we can work cleanly in once everything arrives.

The packaging is scheduled to be completed on September 9th, and then it needs to make its way to us in Berlin. If everything goes according to plan, we'd be ready to ship the first Office Walkers in mid-September. As always: that's the plan, and plans have been known to meet reality. But the pieces are genuinely coming together now.

Johannes

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