Under the Weather, the Linwood-based maker of pop-up tents and portable pods, has had to make a couple of interesting pivots over the last year in order to keep sales afloat during the Covid-19 pandemic. Its latest shift? The recent launch of a product marketed specifically to protecting its users from the sudden onslaught of staggering cicadas.
Brood X, a group of periodical cicadas that appear only once every 17 years, is now swarming Greater Cincinnati, and select parts of the U.S., in droves, and billions of the insects will emerge over the course of the next few weeks. In anticipation of this event, Under the Weather in April announced the launch of a limited-edition product called the WalkingPod Mesh.
In the time since, it’s become the company’s second-best selling product, behind its flagship product, a pop-up tent called Mega. The company expects to sell out before the cidadas eventually wane and disappear.
While the pod is not named specifically for the insect from which it aims to protect, Under the Weather targeted this season for its release, Jeff Geiser, Under the Weather’s marketing manager, said. The design has been in the works for some time; he remembers seeing the first prototypes last summer.
“We’re all well-versed here and experienced in how crazy the cicadas get and how popular they are,” Geiser told me. “Everyone in the community is talking about them, and there’s been so much anticipation about them. Whether you’re terrified of them or you’re indifferent, it’s always a big topic of conversation.”
Under the Weather, which launched in 2010, won big with investor Mark Cuban on ABC’s “Shark Tank” in 2017. Cuban offered an initial $600,000 for a 15% stake in the company and an option for another $600,000 for another 10% in a year.
Rick Pescovitz, Under the Weather founder and CEO, said he wanted a more comfortable way to watch his kid’s soccer and baseball games, and so he invented a line of personal pop-up tents. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the company pivoted — with the cancelation of outdoor events and a plummet in sales — with the IntubationPod, created to protect frontline health care workers. It later modified that style to accommodate kids in school or daycare settings.
The WalkingPod Mesh, in its own right, is an adaptation of other Under the Weather “walking pods.” It weighs about three pounds and features a wearable mesh-screen bubble, instead of clear plastic, that pops open and slips over the upper body to provide a breathable, fully-enclosed cover.
In addition to cicadas, the pod offers protection from a variety of insects and pests, Pescovitz said in a release. It can be used for hiking in mosquito-prone areas, tending flower gardens or doing yard work.
Cicadas in particular, Geiser said, are attracted to the sound of power tools and may swarm around power lawnmowers, trimmers, leaf blowers and weed whackers.
“There are a lot of different ways to use it,” he said.
WalkingPod Mesh is still available in limited quantities. Geiser said the company will evaluate any future runs if the product sells out, or whether or not to add it to the lineup on a more permanent basis.
“We didn’t know what the response was going to be,” he said. “It’s kind of a specific use, but people understood it right away. The sales have been very consistent, and we’re very happy with where they’re at.”
The WalkingPod Mesh retails for $89.99 and is available with safety yellow or dark gray trim. Under the Weather is offering free local pickup for Tri-State residents.
