Your feedback is requested
3 days ago
– Tue, Mar 31, 2026 at 03:12:59 PM
Hi all,
TLDR for this update:
- We request your feedback (survey here)
- We have a cash prize raffle for those who complete the feedback survey
- A note of appreciation
Survey request and link
By now, quite a few Nocturne units have been delivered, and we would love to get your feedback! Many have already sent us feedback (thank you!), but we would love to hear from as many people as possible.
Please fill out this survey after you have had a chance to use Nocturne. We kept the survey brief, but encourage you to add as much as you can in the final question, which is fully open ended.
Cash prize raffle
To encourage survey participation, we will randomly select 3 backers who complete the survey to receive a $200 cash prize. The selections will be made based on who has completed the survey by Wednesday April 8 at midnight, US pacific time. We will wire the money to the winners after that.
The survey will remain open after 4/8, and we welcome feedback at any time.
A note of appreciation
Nocturne (and most products on Kickstarter) is a like a kid going into his first job after school. He aspires to be great, but also has a lot to learn. You, as a backer, are like the young adult's first manager: you take a chance on him, and provide the feedback he needs to move closer to his potential. There has never been any other way.
For us, this is probably the top reason we are glad we did a Kickstarter. We lost money on the campaign itself, but we are gaining feedback and wisdom that can only be learned from such a supportive and encouraging group like this.
Based on anecdotal feedback so far, for some people we have hit a triple, for others a single, and for some we swung and missed the ball. Your feedback is the only way we get any better at this, and we want as much of it as possible.
All that to say: thank you!
Sincerely,
Russell
PS: This started feeling like a "final" update towards the end there, but it isn't! We will post again soon about the travel case, and assume there will be a couple other things to post about in the coming weeks.
Warehouse has started processing orders for shipment
14 days ago
– Fri, Mar 20, 2026 at 03:29:32 PM
Hi all,
Just a quick note to say that things are going as planned from the last update:
- Orders and addresses were locked, and cards were charged for shipping and add-ons.
- The warehouse received the address list and is currently processing orders. Units will start shipping on Monday.
- After units start shipping, I will upload tracking numbers into Backerkit (and notifications should be sent to your email).
Please note that your shipment is still pending if:
- You haven't completed your Backerkit shipping survey (you can recover it using this link), or
- You completed the survey but your card was declined. Backerkit will email you about updating your card if it failed.
We will continue to process orders on a rolling basis as we receive surveys and shipping payments.
Have a great weekend!
Russell
Shipping details!
17 days ago
– Tue, Mar 17, 2026 at 09:44:03 PM
Hi all,
Today we have details about shipping! In short, units should be out of the warehouse and on their way to you by next Tuesday, March 24. Depending on where you are, orders will take 3-8 business days to arrive.
This week we will be locking addresses and charging cards for shipping. Details follow below.
What we have been up to
This update took longer to put together than we expected, mainly due to an issue with our shipping box, of all things. Reflecting on the development of Nocturne, many of the areas I believed were high-risk for delays were right on time, while some of the seemingly simplest things introduced surprises. There is some sort of life metaphor to dig out here, but instead, let's talk about your order!
Shipping timeline
Here is what happens next for those who have completed the Backerkit survey (which is most people):
-
Wednesday March 18, 9pm PDT
- Your order will be locked.
- Since we only have one Nocturne SKU, this basically means you can add or remove the travel case to your order during this time.
- There are more details on the travel case below.
-
Thursday March 19, 9pm PDT
- Your card will be charged for shipping and any add-ons that you selected in Backerkit (you already paid for Nocturne!).
- Expected charges are detailed below.
- You can make changes to your payment details in Backerkit until 9pm PDT Thursday.
- If there are issues processing your card, that could lead to a delay in shipping your order.
- Your shipping address will also be locked at this time. You can change it in Backerkit until 9pm PDT Thursday.
- After locking, I will send the list of shipping addresses to the warehouse. The team there is aware of this and is starting to get things ready.
-
Friday March 20
- The warehouse will begin processing orders.
- I will check in with the warehouse and post a brief status update.
- Units should all be shipped by Tuesday March 24 (though we will push to get them out the door ASAP).
- US deliveries will take 3-5 business days to arrive.
- International deliveries will take 5-8 business days to arrive.
As you can see, this is a fairly tight timeline. I will post updates immediately if there are issues or delays. And as noted above, I plan to post an update on Friday to confirm whether things are going according to plan.
Note: for those who have not completed the Backerkit survey, your order will be processed after you do complete it, on a rolling basis. If needed, you can recover access to your survey here. Send a message any time if you need help with this.
Expected card charges
You paid for Nocturne already, but there are a few remaining charges that we delayed until now:
-
Shipping and tariffs
- Shipping costs per unit are $14 in the US, $21 for Canada, and $40 everywhere else.
- Tariff sharing costs per unit ended up at $16 at the time we shipped.
- You may recall that tariffs were a huge wild card around the time when we launched our Kickstarter. Given the uncertainty, our tariff policy was to split that cost 50/50 with you up to a max of $20 (as detailed on our Kickstarter page).
- More recently, those tariffs were actually deemed illegal. This seems to have raised as many questions as it answered, but if we ever get a refund we will do our best to return your $16 to you (or a prorated amount based on the percent refunded). The only reason I don't write that more definitively is that I have a feeling the refund process could be complicated. But the point is: we will try to figure it out if we are lucky enough to get some money back.
- In summary, each unit will be charged the following for shipping + tariffs:
- $30 for US shipments
- $37 for Canada shipments
- $56 for everywhere else
-
Travel case
- If you opted for the travel case you will be charged for that on Thursday.
- If you want to add a travel case you can still do so on Backerkit.
- Travel case production is scheduled to complete by May. The cases would arrive at the warehouse for shipping in July or August.
- We will sell these on our website later too if you prefer to buy one then. The price could end up slightly higher there but probably not by much.
- Shipping charges for the travel case are the same as for Nocturne, since the box size is essentially the same.
- $14 in the US, $21 for Canada, and $40 everywhere else.
- We are not charging for tariffs on the case since we never explicitly set up a policy for it.
- So each travel case ordered would be charged $35 for the case plus shipping. All in, that looks like:
- $49 for US shipments
- $56 for Canada shipments
- $75 for everywhere else
Thank you again!
Thank you for your patience as we have ironed out shipping. I'll be in touch again later this week with a status update.
Sincerely,
Russell
Production complete; shipping soon!
about 2 months ago
– Fri, Feb 13, 2026 at 02:37:55 PM
Production is done and we are about to ship!
We have some exciting updates today: production is complete, and units will be shipping earlier than previously planned! Units have a February 20 ETA in the US. They will then need to go through customs and transit to our warehouse, and will ship to you after that. We will add details to this timeline as we receive them.
If you haven't already done so, complete your Backerkit survey so we know where to ship your unit.
More detail on all of the above follows below.
Production is complete
Production wrapped up last week. All units are now assembled, tested, and packaged.
We visited the factory during the build. Here are a few photos:
Power cable
Overall, production was smooth and the units are working great. The only thing we saw that we didn't love is that the power cable can be a little difficult to insert. That said, we did not feel it was the kind of thing that merited a complete re-work, which could take months. The positive take is that the cable definitely can be inserted (each unit was plugged in for testing), and the cable is nice and secure once it's in.
We are putting together a few tips for anyone who finds it hard to plug in. There will be a card in the box with a QR code you can scan to access the tips.
Shipping update
Units will arrive in the US on February 20.
From there they need to get through customs and to the warehouse, which will take a little more time. We are working with experienced partners, but this is our first time importing goods like this, and it would not be surprising if something gets briefly hung up somewhere. Regardless, we will share details as we receive them, and we should handily beat our prior shipping target of late March.
The units are arriving earlier than previously planned because we opted for air freight. Even though this costs us more, we wanted to reduce the delay from our original ship target. We are also eager to hear what you think of Nocturne! The increased cost of expedited freight is not being passed on to you.
There are still fulfillment and tariff sharing charges, and we will share those details when they are finalized. If you need a refresher on our approach to those you can revisit the Shipping section on our campaign page and/or our FAQs.
Shipping survey requirement
Most backers have completed the backer survey, but if you have not, please do!
The survey is where we collect your shipping information so that we know where to send your unit. It comes from Backerkit (so if you need to find it, you can search your email for messages from them). If you are still having trouble, message us and we will re-send it to you via Backerkit.
Next steps
- Complete your Backerkit survey if you haven't already
- We will provide more details on A) shipping timing and B) shipping costs as those are finalized
Thank you for being a Nocturne backer!
Sincerely,
Russell
Final assembly is underway
3 months ago
– Fri, Jan 16, 2026 at 12:55:47 PM
Nocturne final assembly is happening as we speak!
Final assembly is pretty much what it sounds like: Nocturne units are being built to completion. Prior to this we completed SMT for the electronic components (as covered in our last update). Throughout the assembly process there are also various test processes that ensure that the product looks and functions as intended. Each unit that passes all of the tests is put into the product packaging and prepared for shipment.
So far no major issues have come up with the assembly process. This could change of course, but it is encouraging to have a smooth start. We will update ASAP if any notable issues arise.
Next steps:
- We expect to complete assembly and test for all units by the end of January.
- In parallel, we are booking freight to get the units to the US. We should soon have a better idea of when exactly the units will arrive, and will share an update when we have more details. We have been told to expect about 8 weeks to get units to the US.
We will be back in touch in the next few weeks after we have more details on freight timing.
Thank you for getting us to this point
You have played an important role in getting us to mass production. It feels inaccurate to describe what we are doing as "mass" production, given that more established companies make this quantity (or more) every hour. But it is absolutely huge for us, and we are so grateful for your willingness to back us well before we reached this point. We are not done of course, but we do appreciate this moment and the role you have played in getting us here.
Russell
