Who invented the wetsuit

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From our Obsession. But the sewing resulted in punched holes and the sea water flushed through the seams of the wetsuit.

To avoid this, the seams became the focus of development and resulted in better techniques in seam binding, including seam taping and seam gluing.

With the invention of spandex mainly Lycra , thermoplastic materials, moulded rubber and even the use of titanium for insulation, wetsuits have vastly improved.

Seals and seams are also more secure, with computer-based precision cutting guaranteeing the quality and leaving little room for manufacturing errors in wetsuits.

Rash vests are used when diving and swimming in warmer waters and are the ultimate protection against jellyfish stings, sunburn and abrasion. Rashies can also be worn under a wetsuit to prevent irritation caused by neoprene. However, this proved unsuccessful, as the material was not strong enough to endure the fierce waves and movements that surfing and diving require, and most suits tended to rip.

The suits were later improved, with the Neoprene squeezed in between Nylon and later, Lycra and Spandex , allowing for a tougher wearing suit.

Some suits are even complete with a heating function — running off batteries — allowing surfers to explore the depths of even colder waters. With such a large amount of movement required of the surfer, it is important that they are able to have free use of their legs and arms, which is why the wetsuit is designed to provide the surfer with enough freedom to move their arms, shoulders and knees easily.

The design of the wetsuit allows a small amount of water to enter into the suit, creating a layer of water between the skin and wetsuit. An oversized wetsuit will not keep the surfer warm enough and therefore, the surfer will waste energy trying to maintain a comfortable body temperature. Wasting energy is something surfers must avoid; otherwise they will not be perform to their fullest potential. There are various types of wetsuits, designed for specific types of climate, skill level and comfort preference.

The full suit covers the entirety of the surfer. With long arms and legs, encasing the whole of the body asides from the head, feet and hands these particular suits are best for the coldest of temperatures. The rash vest is a thin, stretchy material with long or short sleeves that covers the top of the body only. However, the debate over who was responsible has been a controversial topic for decades. A number of inventors were involved in its development, but no one person can take full credit.

The original diving suit was developed for deep-sea divers. It was vastly different from today's "second skin" wetsuits. As the forerunner to today's modern design, the Mark V suit was first used by the United States Navy in Its development began as long ago as the 18th century. The hard, atmospheric-pressure diving suits were armoured to keep the diver safe at the correct pressure at any depth. It often incorporated a breathing gas supply. One pitfall of the hard diving suit was its buoyancy - a problem often countered by using a weighting system.

As a result of military research into various rubbers and plastics, neoprene fabric was discovered as an ideal choice for lightweight wetsuits just after the war. The wetsuit as we know it today evolved in the midth century, which is when the debate began about who invented it. One of the most important people involved in its development was Hugh Bradner, who was working to further improve the equipment used by US Navy frogmen. In , the first neoprene wetsuit was created.

It was reported that Bradner decided to spend more time improving the Navy's equipment. He sent his wetsuit ideas to physicist Lauriston Marshall, who was involved in a study of underwater swimmers being undertaken by the US Navy and the National Research Council Panel.

Bradner was joined by colleagues at the Berkeley Radiation Lab to test various materials.