Enjoy 3D luminous wooden world map by Enjoy the Wood

I’m jealous of some of my social media friends. They seem to be able to travel wherever they want. They have all the time and money to spare. On the contrary, when I put travelling as a hobby on Tinder, I meant that I only travelled to my grandparents’ houses but I would like to travel when I have money and time.

Even though it is likely some time in the distant future, I’m still positive. This explains my love for maps. I like to check out places I could potentially travel to while waiting for this future to come. (No, my boyfriend is not called Future. His name is the past.)

And for those of you who still think it’s cool to use the “map leading to your heart” pickup line. I hate to break it to you but people use Tinder instead of maps nowadays.

I’d admit the first thing to catch my attention of this 3D luminous wooden map on Kickstarter was the name of the family business that create the campaign, Enjoy the Wood. The juvenile in mind guffawed at the name before the product got my attention.

So, let me tell you more about enjoying wood.

What is it

I’m not sure if Enjoy the Wood is a wholesome name for a family business, but the fact is that the company is a Ukrainian family business that make handcrafted wooden products. Regular readers know what we think about brands that think of the environment.

Their products are made with sustainable wood and eco-friendly material. So you get to enjoy your wood without feeling guilty. I meant guilt from thinking that you’re contributing to deforestation.

The 3D luminous wooden world map comes with 18 colours so you can find the right colour to match your room’s interiors. It holds magnets so you can mark out locations with magnets or even place your photos on it to personalise your map. It glows in the dark too!

Not happy with how it glows in the dark? You can stick LED backlight that you can control with your phone.

Who is it for

Anyone who doesn’t hate maps would love this wooden world map. On one end of the spectrum, we have people who love to travel and geography aficionados. And on the other, we have people who need to have some general knowledge when it comes to world geography. It would serve as an educational tool for Americans your kids.

Installing the map is a learning process itself. Think of it as a jigsaw puzzle. It’s fun and meaningful, as long as you follow instructions and don’t place India at the other side of the Atlantic.

What problems does it solve

If you like to look at maps as a way to help you imagine your travels, this wooden world map is for you. Looking at Paris might help you ease the pain of not being able to go there.

It does, however, create a problem that all maps face. It doesn’t give an accurate representation of scale and distances. Certain countries might seem smaller or bigger than they actually are. I’m not sure which map projection Enjoy the Wood uses.

The inaccuracy of maps is unavoidable. Transposing a spherical map onto a flat surfaces requires us to take some concessions. You can’t just turn something three-dimensional into two dimensions. That said, if you really want to have an accurate map representation, you are probably better off getting a globe.

Is it innovative

Enjoy the Wood already stated that this is an update of their existing 3D wooden world map. They added more creative ways for you to customise and interact with your world map, but they aren’t what I would consider innovations.

Turning an existing 3D wooden world map luminous isn’t going to be a big enough selling point, so they also added options such as the choice of 18 colours, LED backlight, and a magnetic version.

Despite the lack of innovation, they attracted over 3,400 backers during the Kickstarter campaign.

Is it worth it

The product retails for $221 on their website. You can get the medium size world map from their Amazon store at $68 for the blank version and $138 for the one with the country and city names. That is more than double the price just for having the names printed, and this is only what they call a basic print. A better quality print would cost another $36.

The large, extra large and the largest version with basic print costs $247, $317, and $587. The largest size with the luminous and magnetic combo costs $847 on their website.

As you can see, the prices are pretty high for a wooden map. The company is more forthright with their pricing on Amazon. On their website, they “mark up” the retail price of the basic medium version by stating the original price as $441.90, leading you to believe that you are getting a 50% discount off the retail price.

There’s no such discount on their Amazon store where the basic medium version of the map is priced at $247. So, the $221 price on the website is actually a 10% discount off if the Amazon pricing is the actual retail price.

I’m not sure about you but this price engineering leaves a bad taste in my mouth. This doesn’t let me enjoy the wood.

Are there any alternatives

There are many world maps on Amazon that you can use to decorate your walls. This world map by Picture Sensations glows in the dark too.. The wall decor world maps I see on Amazon range between $59 to $119. At that price range, they don’t have as many features as the 3D luminous world map from Enjoy the Wood.

If you are looking for novel wall decor, check out this Vosarea world map. At $51.99, it is a very reasonable alternative worth considering.

Alternatives are what you can settle for. If you can’t settle, then there are no alternatives for you.

Conclusion

I was excited about this map, then the pricing vaporised all my enthusiasm. However, you might have enough dough to protect you from losing your excitement for this wooden world map. If that’s the case, you might have a great Christmas gift for that family or friend who loves geography or needs to brush up their knowledge of the world map.

The price is out of my budget, and maybe of most sane people. The brand probably knows that, which explains why they decided to make it seem like you’re getting a 50% discount on their website.

Leave a comment below to let us know what do you think of the price engineering Enjoy the Wood tried to do with this 3D luminous world map.

Hi, I’m Rainee.

I’m a reindeer that identifies as a bear. I’m the Critical Bear that does standup comedy.