As a freelance product developer, Niki Singlaub takes a lot of regional flights, where space is often at a premium. Because of that, he started yearning for a collapsible water bottle that could fit easily into a carry-on bag and expand for use past Transportation Security Administration screening, keeping the user from having to buy expensive and wasteful bottles of water.

From there, Hydaway, Singlaub’s line of collapsible silicone water bottles, was born.

“It was just one of those no-brainer moments,” Singlaub said.

The products come in two sizes, 21 ounces and 12 ounces. Unlike other collapsible bottles, which typically collapse part of the way, Hydaway bottles can collapse down to a 1¼ -inch-tall circle with a push.

Singlaub said the food-grade silicone that comprises most of the bottle gives Hydaway an edge over plastic products.

“It has an almost infinite cycle life,” Singlaub said. “Plastics will (warp) and fail after a while. The fatigue resistance is higher.”

However, building the Hydaway bottles themselves, which have 11 separate parts, is a labor-intensive process, which leads to high startup costs. For that reason, Singlaub turned to Kickstarter to raise money for production.

His first campaign on the crowdfunding website, which ended in September, failed to raise the $40,000 he sought.

“Probably the main problem was that everybody’s outside and so they’re not on their computers,” Singlaub said. “The media aren’t responding; the backers aren’t there, and there are a lot of other products on there at the same time.”

While the process failed to raise the money that Singlaub was looking for, it did provide exposure, while also teaching Singlaub about the preparation necessary to make a Kickstarter campaign work. He retooled for a second Kickstarter campaign, improving the product photos on his website, increasing his social media presence and doing a beta test with about 40 people.

Perhaps most importantly, he timed it so the campaign began in April, when people are just starting to think about summer outdoor activities.

“Timing and luck are huge things,” Singlaub said.

The second time proved to be the charm. Hydaway exceeded its funding goal of $20,000 in the first 27 hours of the campaign, and kept going from there. As of Monday afternoon, 3,651 backers had pledged $166,486 to the project.

In the process, Hydaway has become one of the most successful products in Kickstarter history. According to Kickstarter’s website, of the 229,513 projects that have been launched since the website began, just 2,038 — less than 1 percent — have exceeded $100,000 in funding. The campaign ends Friday.

Hydaway bottles weren’t in production when the Kickstarter process began, but meeting his funding goals quickly allowed Singlaub to accelerate his timetable. He said he’s been in contact with several outdoors stores and is looking to contact travel-oriented stores to appeal to other fliers looking to save space.

“The Kickstarter is one data point, and it’s great to see the success,” Singlaub said. “Now it’s just getting it out there to the world.”

—Reporter: 541-617-7818, shamway@bendbulletin.com

Q: Where do you see the business in five to 10 years?

A: I definitely see this thriving like other local businesses — like Silipint, Hydroflask. So, hiring people to start working on customer service and shipping and marketing and all those things that have to happen.

Q: Do you have any advice for people looking to set up a Kickstarter campaign?

A: You really have to have an audience starting out, I think. And sometimes it is putting out a campaign, getting an audience, failing and doing it again.