2022 Top 10 Wearable Tech Picks: Best Kickstarter Smart Wearables

Kickstarter wearables in 2022 moved beyond wrist trackers. Backers funded smart rings, powered shoes, AR glasses, health watches, protective suits, sports helmets, emotion bracelets, mouthguards, and swim goggles that made body-worn technology feel specific rather than generic.

This list covers Kickstarter campaigns whose funding periods began in 2022. Rankings use Kickstarter-reported U.S.-dollar funding, while each section preserves the original campaign currency, backer count, official campaign dates, and a dated status note.

Quick Comparison: Top Kickstarter Wearable Products Launched in 2022

What the Numbers Say About 2022 Wearable Tech

Health, movement, and display led funding

The three largest raises each made a different promise: quantify metabolism, speed up walking, or put a private screen in front of the wearer. Together, those campaigns accounted for more than half of the Top 10's U.S.-dollar funding.

Wearable identity was broader than smartwatches

Only one ranked campaign was a conventional watch. The list also includes rings, shoes, glasses, goggles, helmets, suits, bracelets, and a mouthguard, suggesting that backers were ready to fund body-worn technology when the form factor matched the job.

Protection and performance mattered as much as convenience

Shark Stop, RELEE M1, ORB Smartguard, and Holoswim 2 show that 2022 wearable demand was not only about notifications or wellness dashboards. Backers also responded to safer water sports, cycling visibility, impact data, and swim training feedback.

BackerRock takeaway

Wearable crowdfunding works best when the device explains why it belongs on the body, not just why it contains sensors.

Top 10 Wearable Tech Picks on Kickstarter in 2022

1. Ultrahuman Ring: Metabolic health smart ring

Why backers responded: Ultrahuman connected a familiar smart-ring form factor to sleep, movement, recovery, and metabolic-health context, making the product feel like a quieter alternative to screen-heavy health tracking.

Creator lesson: A wellness wearable needs a clear interpretation layer. Sensors matter more when the campaign explains what the wearer can do with the resulting signals.

Buyer check: Review sizing, subscription terms, app compatibility, warranty language, delivery updates, and how ring metrics differ from medical or clinical measurements.

Funding snapshot: GBP 473,581 from 2,113 backers.

Campaign dates: Sep 27 - Oct 27, 2022.

Where it stands now: Evidence checked August 17, 2026: Kickstarter showed a May 16, 2024 update and linked Ultrahuman's newer Ring AIR campaign, while the Ultrahuman brand remained publicly active.

View the official Ultrahuman Ring Kickstarter campaign

2. Moonwalkers: AI-powered mobility shoes

Why backers responded: Moonwalkers made personal mobility highly visual: powered wheels, gait adaptation, braking, and sidewalk use all pointed to a simple promise of walking faster without switching into a vehicle.

Creator lesson: Novel hardware earns attention when the demonstration answers safety and behavior questions before the viewer asks them.

Buyer check: Review weight, training requirements, brake behavior, surface limits, battery service, local use rules, warranty, and whether the latest product differs from campaign rewards.

Funding snapshot: US$329,409 from 570 backers.

Campaign dates: Oct 25 - Nov 24, 2022.

Where it stands now: Evidence checked August 17, 2026: Kickstarter showed a September 26, 2024 update, and Shift Robotics' campaign page linked to an active company website.

View the official Moonwalkers Kickstarter campaign

3. TQSKY T1: Audio-visual AR glasses

Why backers responded: TQSKY T1 turned smart glasses into a private entertainment screen for phones, consoles, drones, and remote-play setups, with the campaign emphasizing display size, sound, compatibility, and comfort.

Creator lesson: Smart glasses are easier to understand when the campaign sells concrete viewing moments instead of abstract AR language.

Buyer check: Confirm device compatibility, prescription needs, cable requirements, brightness, comfort, warranty, and whether post-campaign retail units match the Kickstarter version.

Funding snapshot: S$448,574 from 699 backers.

Campaign dates: Jul 7 - Aug 7, 2022.

Where it stands now: Evidence checked August 17, 2026: Kickstarter showed a June 19, 2025 update; a December 5, 2022 public report said the TQSKY T1 crowdfunding orders had completed delivery.

View the official TQSKY T1 Kickstarter campaign

4. NORM 1: Hybrid minimalist smartwatch

Why backers responded: NORM 1 blended an analog-watch look with a hidden OLED display, notifications, heart-rate tracking, sleep tracking, and activity metrics, creating a calmer pitch than most smartwatch campaigns.

Creator lesson: A wearable can differentiate by reducing attention demands, not only by adding more features.

Buyer check: Review app support, platform compatibility, water resistance, battery expectations, notification behavior, service availability, and whether current NORM products are the same generation.

Funding snapshot: EUR 289,134 from 1,672 backers.

Campaign dates: Apr 28 - Jun 12, 2022.

Where it stands now: Evidence checked August 17, 2026: Kickstarter showed an April 4, 2025 update, and NORM's public site described NORM 1 and a later NORM 2 as supported by backer communities.

View the official NORM 1 Kickstarter campaign

5. Shark Stop Wetsuits: Bite-resistant protective wetsuits

Why backers responded: Shark Stop gave ocean athletes a direct safety proposition: wetsuits built with bite-resistant fabric, supported by testing claims and a clear use case for surfers, divers, and water users.

Creator lesson: Protection products need evidence, not fear. The campaign worked because the value proposition was concrete and test-oriented.

Buyer check: Read the scientific-test language, sizing, activity limitations, care rules, warranty, shipping region, and any disclaimers about what bite resistance can and cannot guarantee.

Funding snapshot: AU$234,947 from 273 backers.

Campaign dates: Jan 25 - Feb 24, 2022.

Where it stands now: Evidence checked August 17, 2026: Kickstarter showed a February 2, 2023 update, and Shark Stop's public store and company pages continued to present bite-resistant wetsuit products.

View the official Shark Stop Kickstarter campaign

6. Nyx IN16 Nixie Tube Watch: Retro-futurist wearable watch

Why backers responded: Nyx turned the scarcity and glow of IN16 nixie tubes into a wearable object, pairing retro electronics with a wrist-raise activation story and a compact watch form.

Creator lesson: Niche nostalgia can fund when the campaign explains both the emotional pull and the engineering constraint.

Buyer check: Confirm tube durability, serviceability, charging, battery life, spare parts, shipping status, and whether any post-campaign ordering page reflects fulfilled production rather than only intent.

Funding snapshot: CA$175,852 from 372 backers.

Campaign dates: May 11 - Jun 10, 2022.

Where it stands now: Evidence checked August 17, 2026: Kickstarter showed a September 17, 2022 update and a post-campaign ordering link, but current fulfillment and retail availability were not fully clear from accessible public pages.

View the official Nyx Kickstarter campaign

7. RELEE M1: AI sports helmet

Why backers responded: RELEE M1 combined helmet protection with a built-in action camera, lighting, voice command, and riding-safety features, giving cyclists and action-sport users a multi-function wearable pitch.

Creator lesson: Multi-feature wearables need one dominant scenario. RELEE's clearest story was hands-free recording and visibility during outdoor movement.

Buyer check: Verify helmet certifications, camera quality, replacement parts, battery life, app behavior, visibility claims, and how any Indiegogo or retail version compares with Kickstarter rewards.

Funding snapshot: HK$957,363 from 729 backers.

Campaign dates: Mar 15 - Apr 29, 2022.

Where it stands now: Evidence checked August 17, 2026: Kickstarter showed a July 12, 2023 update and linked to an Indiegogo follow-on page; current retail availability was not fully clear from accessible public pages.

View the official RELEE M1 Kickstarter campaign

8. Tully: Emotion-awareness smart bracelet

Why backers responded: Tully framed its bracelet around children learning to recognize and regulate emotions, combining biometric sensing, vibration, LED cues, and parent or therapist context.

Creator lesson: Sensitive wellness claims need careful boundaries. The strongest pitch is support and awareness, not a promise to treat a condition.

Buyer check: Review privacy, child data handling, subscription terms, clinical-language boundaries, therapist sharing, delivery updates, and whether current support channels remain active.

Funding snapshot: US$59,232 from 335 backers.

Campaign dates: Jun 28 - Aug 4, 2022.

Where it stands now: Evidence checked August 17, 2026: Kickstarter showed a December 6, 2023 update; public coverage in 2023 described first-batch assembly, while current consumer availability remained unclear from accessible public pages.

View the official Tully Kickstarter campaign

9. ORB Smartguard: Sensor-equipped smart mouthguard

Why backers responded: ORB Smartguard put wearable tracking where contact-sport athletes could actually use it: a mouthguard measuring heart-rate and impact-related training data without a wrist device or chest strap.

Creator lesson: A sports wearable is strongest when the form factor solves a sport-specific limitation, not just when it adds another tracking surface.

Buyer check: Confirm certification status, custom fitting, sport compatibility, impact-data limits, app support, battery runtime, and how beta status affects delivery expectations.

Funding snapshot: GBP 45,196 from 489 backers.

Campaign dates: Nov 2 - Dec 2, 2022.

Where it stands now: Evidence checked August 17, 2026: Kickstarter showed beta testing status, a January 4, 2024 custom-certification milestone, and a January 30, 2025 latest update.

View the official ORB Smartguard Kickstarter campaign

10. Holoswim 2: AR swim goggles

Why backers responded: Holoswim 2 made swim tracking visible in the water, promising real-time distance, time, pace, lap, and workout feedback through AR swim goggles.

Creator lesson: Specialized wearables can beat general-purpose trackers when the campaign explains why the environment demands a different interface.

Buyer check: Review waterproofing, display visibility, fit, battery life, supported metrics, app support, warranty, and whether the product has been updated since the Kickstarter version.

Funding snapshot: HK$405,024 from 360 backers.

Campaign dates: Aug 2 - Sep 6, 2022.

Where it stands now: Evidence checked August 17, 2026: Kickstarter showed a September 16, 2023 update; project-specific public reports confirmed the campaign launch and funding milestone, but current retail availability was not fully clear from accessible public pages.

View the official Holoswim 2 Kickstarter campaign

How Buyers and Creators Should Use This List

For buyers

Use the ranking as a demand signal, then inspect each official campaign page for reward terms, updates, warranty language, app support, certifications, shipping, and current availability. Funding attention does not prove finished-product performance.

For creators

Study how the strongest campaigns made the body-worn reason obvious. For more launch-planning context, read BackerRock's crowdfunding page testing guide and explore Kickstarter promotion services.

Final Take

The 2022 wearable-tech list shows a practical lesson for hardware teams: backers respond when the product's place on the body solves a real workflow problem. Rings, shoes, glasses, suits, bracelets, mouthguards, helmets, and goggles all won attention when the campaign made the benefit immediate and testable.

BackerRock helps crowdfunding teams turn wearable, hardware, and technology launches into structured campaign visibility, from positioning to live-campaign promotion.

Editorial disclaimer: This BackerRock list is independent editorial analysis based on public Kickstarter campaign information and project-specific public sources. It is not investment advice, a product endorsement, or a guarantee that any campaign will deliver exactly as described. Always review the official campaign page before backing.