This is the coolest stash in the world

Those who love cannabis usually keep it in a glass jar, a tin or perhaps a C-Vault. But what would you say about a floating stash box that lights up your weed with four LEDs and features three magnifying lenses? Derrick Bergman was one of the first in Europe to test the HoverStash and tell the inspiring and dramatic story behind the coolest stash in the world.

Text: Derrick Bergman / G0NZ0 Media, photography: Derrick Bergman, HoverStash

More than three years ago, in June 2017, I received an email from Anne Kimmel from Asheville, North Carolina. She would come to Amsterdam for a few days the following month to talk about the product she was developing with her son David. She understood that I had many contacts in the cannabis world and asked if I might give some tips. On the phone, she told more about that product: a super deluxe, floating stash box to store and - especially - present your cannabis.

So the HoverStash; "Hovering" means to float. We had a few nice conversations via Skype and telephone, in which I gave her as many tips and contacts as possible for her visit to Amsterdam. Once the time came, I sadly had to cancel our scheduled dinner appointment, but we kept in touch. It looked like for a long time that the HoverStash would have its European premiere on Cannabis Liberation Day 2018.

However, the process from prototype to salable product turned out to take more time than anticipated. In a way, Anne and her son David were amateurs, but the enthusiasm and dedication were fine. The HoverStash would only be on the market if everything worked flawlessly and stoner proof. That did not work in 2018. And in the spring of 2019 disaster struck mercilessly.

On March 2, 2019, David Hynes, Anne's son, business partner and creator of the HoverStash, was killed by a drunk driver in New Orleans, where he was attending a friend's wedding. David was cycling through town with a group of friends after a Mardi Gras parade, when the car pulled onto the bike path. Two people were killed and seven seriously injured. Literally a few days later, Anne and David had an appointment with a producer in New York, who wanted to put the HoverStash into production.

"We are fighting to make David's dream a reality," Anne emailed me at the end of February this year, just before the outbreak of the corona crisis. "The HoverStash is currently in production and we are finalizing our website. When we receive the first shipment, I'd like to send you one. "After months of silence, I begin to wonder for the first time whether the HoverStash would become a pipe dream after all, a great idea that will never become reality. This would certainly not be the first time in the cannabis world.

But my hesitations turned out to be unjustified. In mid-August, Anne emailed: "As you know, everything takes longer than expected! We'll be sending you a HoverStash this week. "A few days later, the DHL man handed me a square box from Asheville with a red" Security Checked "sticker. I opened the box, rubbing my hands, thinking about the three years since my first contact with Anne Kimmel and the sad fate of her son.

Anne and David

Immediately a few strong points: a short, but clear instruction manual, with pictures. Floating your cannabis requires some skill. The HoverStash consists of a square base unit that you connect to the power grid, a strong magnet with a plexiglass base attached to it, and two plexiglass cubes with magnifying lenses, where you put the cannabis. In order for the magnet to float above the base, you have to hold the thing right above it.

Fortunately, you get a handy piece of paper that you can place on the base unit to place the magnet correctly. Once the magnet floats, it's a piece of cake: you can easily place the cube with cannabis on it. And you only need to give the cube a little tap to make the thing turn. With the four LED lights on, the result is amazing. Anne had told me much earlier that literally everyone who saw a working prototype shouted "wow!"

The HoverStash is of course a gimmick: it's not something you need. If you mainly want to store your cannabis well, light and airtight, it is better to use something else. But that's not the point. It's about the wow factor. Not to preserve, but to present. HoverStash's two slogans tie in with this: Highlight your Highlife and especially: 'If it's legal, why hide it?' The HoverStash is a celebration of legalization, so you no longer have to hide your weed anxiously, but steal the show with it.

The price is not tender, $ 174.99 (€ 147) for the US market. But the HoverStash is then

also intended for people who spend a lot of money on good cannabis or, for example, a

premium portable vaporizer. And now that I've been using the HoverStash for a few days, read my conclusion: never seen such a cool stash. David would be proud of his mother.

More information: support@hoverstash.com

Author: Derrick Bergman

September 25,2020 print edition of HighLife Magazine, NL