Helping More People Hit the Trails with the Huckleberry Hiker
Many people take getting outside and exploring nature for granted. However, rough trails and uneven terrain can make hiking extremely challenging for people with mobility issues. That’s why LJ, the creator of the Huckleberry Hiker, designed a unique solution to help his daughter: a one-wheel hiking machine to make outdoor adventures more accessible.
The design is simple but clever: instead of carrying a person in a traditional backpack-style carrier, the Huckleberry Hiker shifts most of the weight to a single back wheel, making maneuvering it much easier for the person in front (the “Sherpa”). It’s a game-changer for families and friends who want to explore together.
The problem? LJ couldn’t keep up with demand. Hand-building each unit took too much time, so he partnered with Zack Nelson, also known as the YouTuber JerryRigEverything. He is also a co-founder of Not a Wheelchair, a company that produces off-road wheelchairs. For the past few months, Zack and his wife, Cambry, have been expanding their wheelchair factory to create even more accessibility products, aiming to make accessibility affordable for everyone. This makes their factory an ideal location to increase production of the Huckleberry Hiker.
From YouTube Repairs to Factory Production
If you’ve ever searched for a phone repair tutorial, you’ve probably encountered JerryRigEverything. Zack Nelson has built the most-watched cell phone repair channel on YouTube, known for his clear, no-nonsense explanations and durability tests. But outside of tech repairs, Zack has taken his straight-to-the-point engineering style into making all kinds of things – including designing and building adaptive mobility equipment in his own factory.
The manufacturing process for the Huckleberry Hiker begins with laser cutting steel tubing into precise shapes. Rather than cutting and bending pieces separately, kirigami is employed. This technique involves cutting slits into the metal, allowing it to fold naturally into place. This method is faster, cleaner, and reduces the needed parts.
Next, a CNC tube bender gives the frame its structure before everything moves to the welding stage. This is where Sparky the cobot comes in. Unlike traditional industrial robots, “cobots” are designed to work alongside humans. Sparky doesn’t think for himself, but once programmed, he can weld frame after frame with perfect consistency.
Of course, even a welding robot needs a little help. The key to making Sparky efficient is precision—if a piece moves even a fraction of a millimeter, the weld could be off. That’s why Zack’s team used SOLIDWORKS to design custom welding fixtures that hold everything in place.
The best part? Once the design was finalized in CAD, they could test it virtually before making anything in the real world.
If you’re interested in exploring how CAD can help your own DIY projects, it’s SOLIDWORKS for Makers is just $48 a year, giving you access to the same professional tools used in this project.
Finishing Touches and Hitting the Trails
Once the welding is done, the frames go through bead blasting (which smooths out the surface) before getting a powder-coated finish. If you’ve ever wondered how companies get that durable, high-quality color on metal frames, this is it. The powder sticks to the frame using static electricity (like when your hair stands up after rubbing a balloon on it) before getting baked at 400°F.
It all comes together in the final assembly—seats, branding, brake lines, and accessories. The hiking sticks for the Huckleberry Hiker even have built-in brakes to help control speed on downhill trails, making it safer and easier to use.
Engineering for a More Accessible Outdoors
The Huckleberry Hiker is an awesome example of how engineering can solve real-world problems. What started as a DIY project is now manufactured using robotics, CAD, and smart manufacturing techniques, helping more people get outside and enjoy the trails.
If you want to see the full build process (and watch a robot weld stuff), check out JerryRigEverything’s video. And if you’ve got a project in mind, SOLIDWORKS for Makers is an affordable way to bring your ideas to life. To get SOLIDWORKS for Makers and take advantage of Zack’s discount (20% off $48 /year!), go here: http://solidworks.com/jerryrigeverything
