Just musing …
What I was thinking is a different model of hardware. Maybe strip out the battery and charging, add external antenna, and change the form factor.
Another direction to go in would be a remote stationary relay model, which comes with small solar panel, charge controller, and maybe larger battery, mounting brackets, external antenna, and again with a form factor that matches the use case (and obviously outdoor rating).
I get though that having just one model keeps the manufacturing and design cost down.
However
To me this makes it relatively uninteresting for people who are backing the Librem 5. It’s chalk and cheese.
On the other hand, given that the success or failure of mesh depends on density, I suggest that Purism can’t go it alone with an open LoRa mesh product. It really needs a Google or an Apple or an Intel to define standards, build and market a device, and then Purism can create the non-spyware version for those who care. 