BackerLens
  • Discover
  • Trending
  • Sourcing
  • Features
  • Pricing
BackerLens
  • Discover
  • Trending
  • Sourcing
  • Features
  • Pricing
Discover›Footwear›These Shoes Were Gatekept at $500+ - We Broke That
Footwear🏁 Project EndedKickstarter

These Shoes Were Gatekept at $500+ - We Broke That

100% Leather, Hand Welted, Leather Sole, built to be resoled for life. $199. This is what dress shoes should always have been.

Created by Benchmade Shoes · Launched Apr 16, 2026 · Ended May 7, 2026
Source: public Kickstarter page · all funding figures & images via KickstarterView archived on Kickstarter →
Final Raised
$8K
Goal $2K
Backers
26
79 data points
Final Funded
412%
Goal hit ✓
Ended
May 7, 2026

BackerLens analysis

🟢 Outperforming the Footwear category average. This project has hit 412% of its goal, while the average live Footwear project on Kickstarter sits at 25% (16.6× the category median).

Lens Score: 77 / 100 — high potential. 24-hour funding growth of +58.3% suggests sustained momentum.

Compare against 12 other live Footwear projects →

Funding trend

79 snapshots since launch · refreshed every 8 hours

Apr 26, 2026May 7, 2026

Backer growth

View archived campaign on Kickstarter →

This campaign ended May 7, 2026. Pledging is closed; we keep the historical funding curve and final stats here for research.

Funding curve story

front loaded

Hit goal in week 2.

Front-loaded curve — most pledges came in the early days, typical of strong pre-launch lists.

day 1day 11

Most popular pledge tiers

20 backers across 6 tiers. Sourcing tip: the most-chosen tier reveals the price point this market accepts.

$199
Early Birds - 1X Handwelted Dress Shoes
7 backers23 of 30 leftShips 2026-06
35%
OF BACKERS
$369
Early Birds - 2X Handwelted Dress Shoes
6 backers14 of 20 leftShips 2026-06
30%
OF BACKERS
$249
1X - Made-to-Measure Special Dress Shoes
4 backers6 of 10 leftShips 2026-08
20%
OF BACKERS
$479
2X - Made-to-Measure Special Dress Shoes
3 backers7 of 10 leftShips 2026-08
15%
OF BACKERS

Reward data is refreshed daily. Tier-level backer counts may be slightly behind live pledging.

More breakouts in Footwear

01
KSBareBoots: Minimalist rubber boots
Footwear·US
$7K
5% of goal
+2.5%
24h
10
LENS
02
KSWearplay: Express your Sole
Footwear·US
$1K
7% of goal
0.0%
24h
6
LENS
03
KSNorix | All-Weather Waterproof Shoes by 16-Year Engineer
Footwear·CA
$4K
38% of goal
0.0%
24h
14
LENS
04
KSAugust Rendo - Designed for life in motion.
Footwear·NL
$2K
6% of goal
0.0%
24h
7
LENS
See all Footwear projects →
LENS SCORE
77/ 100
High potential

Based on funding velocity, backer momentum, target completion, and Kickstarter staff-pick status.

Target completion412%
Backers26
Days running20d
Staff pickNo
Want alerts on projects like this?

Sign up free — save favorites, see real-time funding curves, and get the breakout board.

Open BackerLens Free →

About this page. Project name, blurb, image, and funding figures are sourced from the public Kickstarter project page. The Lens Score, Early Momentum score, time-series funding curve, and category benchmarks are computed by BackerLens and are not part of Kickstarter’s published data.

BackerLens is an independent third-party analysis tool and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Kickstarter. Kickstarter is a trademark of its respective owner.

BackerLens

A focused crowdfunding sourcing radar — find breakout products early.

Product

  • Discover
  • Trending
  • Sourcing Ready
  • Open App

Resources

  • Breakouts this month
  • Sourcing pain points
  • Keyword search
  • Kicktraq alternative
  • KS Discover alternative
  • Contact Support

Legal

  • User Agreement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service

© 2026 BackerLens

[email protected]