FAQ
How It Works
How do Unfold trip kits work?
Select a trip kit based on who is participating (such as solo, romantic, or with friends) and your intentions (such as exploration, connection, beauty, introspection, etc.).
We mail you the kit.
Check out the kit to see what you'll need and to plan a time to take your trip.
When you’re ready, you can start exploring the kit. Each is different and contains activities and unusual objects, as well as guidance for preparing your environment and holding an opening ceremony.
Enjoy your trip!
What exactly is in a trip kit?
Kits vary, but contain some combination of the following:
Beautiful and unusual packaging
Resources on best practices and harm reduction
Suggestions for setting up your space and other preparations
An opening ceremony to help travelers connect and start their trip facing in the same direction
Guides with creative activities and experiences around the trip’s theme
Surprising objects with which to interact and enjoy during your trip
What kinds of activities are in a trip kit?
Activities depend on the theme of the trip. They include creative social connection games, embodied explorations of unusual concepts, and mindfulness exercises for insight and delight, all with props and guidance that will be easy to follow on your trip.
Some specific examples are: making a children’s book with friends based on collective memories, temporarily exchanging personality traits, pairing sensory experiences with music, and creating a meditation labyrinth out of ribbons.
What kinds of objects are included?
Immersive art books, awe-inspiring works of glass art, unusual trip toys, lights, unique craft materials, mindfulness aids, experimental clothing, interactive games, and much more.
Do the trips involve taking psychedelic drugs?
That’s up to you! Our kits do not require psychedelics or any other substances in order to be enjoyed. Personally, we enjoy pairing some of the activities in the kits with psychedelics, just as some may enjoy pairing a meal with wine, and find that psychedelics can help unlock joy, exploration, growth, and connection. That being said, what you choose to ingest is not our call. If you do use psychedelics, please use them safely and responsibly.
Are Unfold trip kits reusable?
Yes, although for some trips you may have to replenish a few single-use items such as incense or paper.
Kits also include items that you may want to display, use elsewhere, share, or even regift.
Do trips require internet access?
Each kit is a physical object, and most do not require any electronics except for the optional component of playing music.
We think it’s important to regularly disconnect from our digital lives, and psychedelics are a much-appreciated opportunity to do so. We recommend that our fellow travelers silence their notifications, inform a loved one they'll be taking a trip, and place devices in a safe place to be returned to afterwards.
Are you going to send me a bunch of junk?
We are cautious of contributing to a culture of accumulation and waste, and pay careful attention to what to include in each kit. We hope that you will continue to use and enjoy many of the items in our kits after your trip. We also do our best to keep our packaging materials minimal and reusable or recyclable.
What is Unfold’s relationship to traditional entheogen practices?
We have enormous respect for the psychedelic traditions practiced by many cultures throughout history and across the world, and while we are grateful that our paths intersect, we do not wish to modify or replicate traditional practices.
Unfold’s formative philosophical and intellectual anchors include art, psychotherapy, clinical research, Buddhism, nonviolent communication, experience design, and various embodiment practices.
We encourage any fellow travelers choosing a traditional plant medicine to consider its ecological sustainability.
Do you make custom trips or other consulting?
Yes! We love this. Contact us at hello@unfoldtrips.com.
Safety
Psychedelics can have a huge impact on people. How do you know a trip kit will have a positive effect?
Psychedelic journeys are a serious responsibility, and we try to empower everyone to use care and respect when taking these journeys. As with many things in life there is no way to guarantee a particular outcome; ultimately we are sharing with the world what we have found helps create meaningful and positive experiences for ourselves, our friends, loved ones, and community. Through our trips, we aim to cultivate art, gratitude, presence, and connection.
We encourage everyone to view our resources for harm reduction and best practices in order to start your trip on a solid footing.
What about bad trips?
We wish to benefit the psychological and emotional well-being of everyone who participates in an Unfold trip, and make our best effort to set fellow travelers up with the ideal context for a positive experience. Trips that result in lasting harm are extremely rare for those taking a common dose of well-known psychedelics with loved ones in a comfortable setting with no medical contraindications. We conceive of these risks as similar to or less than the risks of making a journey by car, going on a hike, or playing a sport.
Ultimately it is each participant’s personal decision to consider risks and responsibilities before partaking in any activity. We encourage everyone to view our resources for harm reduction and best practices, which include suggestions for handling challenging trips as well as hotlines for trip sitting, psychedelic peer support, and mental health.
Experiences that are difficult in the moment can also be a source of insight and personal growth, and this can be an integral part of a psychedelic trip. This may come in the form of Type II fun, or in the form of an emotional challenge that involves the untying of difficult knots.
Does a trip kit replace a psychedelic guide?
No. A guide requires personal rapport and presence that an inanimate kit cannot provide.
A guide can be an incredibly important part of the psychedelic experience, and we recommend a sober guide or sitter for anyone who is new to psychedelics, planning a particularly deep trip, or would feel more comfortable with a guide for any reason.
For those who choose to go on a trip without a dedicated guide, an Unfold trip is a way to add intentionality to the experience. We recommend reading our harm reduction and best practices guide to help you take such journeys safely and responsibly.
Are trip kits useful for psychedelic guides?
A trip kit is no replacement for a guide’s own experience or preparation, but a guide may wish to incorporate an Unfold kit to add structure, inspiration, and interactivity to a journey. Such a guide could join in the activities of the trip as both participant and facilitator, or could guide the trip without partaking.
Legality
Are there drugs in Unfold trip kits?
No.
Is this legal?
Yes. Drugs or psychoactive substances of any kind are not included in our kits. Unfold trip kits consist entirely of activity guides and various objects of art and curiosity.
Discussion of drug use is protected by free speech and explicitly allowed by carve-outs for advocacy and harm reduction in the United States’ Controlled Substances Act.
We have thoroughly consulted with legal counsel in the process of creating Unfold.
Do Unfold kits count as drug paraphanelia?
Drug paraphernalia (such as needles and pipes for administering drugs, or scales and bags for dealing them) are federally restricted in the United States.
Our kits do not constitute drug paraphernalia, which is defined by the United States as “any equipment, product, or material of any kind which is primarily intended or designed for use in manufacturing, compounding, converting, concealing, producing, processing, preparing, injecting, ingesting, inhaling, or otherwise introducing into the human body a controlled substance.”
Is it legally safe for me to purchase and own Unfold trip kits?
Our kits neither contain drugs nor are they drug paraphernalia, and so everything included is legal to purchase, transport, and own in the United States.
If you are outside the United States, we encourage you to do your own research on laws in your area.
Please see our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy for legal details on your relationship with Unfold.
Where can I get psychedelic drugs?
We can’t help you with that, but we look forward to the day when safe and well-regulated psychedelic substances are legal for medical and recreational use.
Check out progress on psychedelic legalization in the US as well as clinical trials for therapeutic use of psychedelics. You may also be able to participate in clinical trials.
Shipping & Returns
How long will it take for me to receive my order?
We process and ship orders within 2 business days, and then shipping times will vary based on shipping method. Our free economy shipping takes 5-8 business days within the US, but express, overnight, and international options are also available.
Next-day pickup in Oakland, CA is also available, simply select that option during checkout and let us know your desired pickup date and time in the order note.
Where do you ship?
We are based in the United States but do ship internationally!
Please note that customs duties and/or taxes may be due on receipt for orders outside the US.
Do you accept returns and refunds?
We want you to have a wonderful experience and if you’re dissatisfied for any reason we will gladly accept exchanges or returns within 60 days of receipt, even if your item has been used, and we’ll cover return shipping within the US. Just email us at hello@unfoldtrips.com, or check out our full Refund Policy for more details.
Do you do gift receipts and gift notes?
Yes! Just include your gift message in the order notes on the cart page and we will include a lovely note.
Please email us with any questions or special requests at hello@unfoldtrips.com.
Is the packaging anonymous? How will purchases show up on my credit card statement?
Our outer shipping packages include our company name (“Unfold”) and logo, but do not mention psychedelics, trips, or link to our website. Likewise only our company name will appear on your credit card statement.
The contents of our kits, on the other hand, do explicitly discuss psychedelic trips.
Work With Us
Can I tell you about my ideas for a trip kit?
Yes! We’d love so much to hear from you: hello@unfoldtrips.com.
I’m an artist. Can we collaborate on a trip?
Definitely yes! We’re excited to work with artists, designers, and makers for the design of kits as well as the art and objects included in them. We’d love to hear from you: hello@unfoldtrips.com.
Are you hiring?
We are not actively hiring for any particular position, but if you’re interested in working with us we’d love to hear what you have in mind: hello@unfoldtrips.com.
About Us
Who are you?
Read about us here.
