We throw our wetsuits on every day without even thinking about it, but where did they come from, and what on earth did we all do before them?
Surfing first became a thing in the sunny climes that bless Tahiti and Hawaii, and swimmers needed very little help staying warm in the balmy waters of the Pacific. Soon the sport grew in popularity and, as it spread to cooler coastlines, so did the need for extra protection.
Originally, cold-water surfers could only go out for 15 minutes, catching four or five waves and then heading back to shore to warm up.
However, it wasn’t a surfer who invented the wetsuit. Instead, it was Berkeley physicist Hugh Bradner. In 1952 he created the first wetsuit, working out that a diver did not need to stay dry at all: the gas trapped inside neoprene rubber is what insulates, so a suit could let in a thin layer of water and still keep the wearer warm. At the time he was working with the US Navy to design a diving suit for the military.
But without a patent in place, his work was left open for others to work on. The founders of O’Neill and Body Glove (those oh-so-successful brands we know today) built on the idea and, motivated by the core aim of surfing longer, developed the wetsuit by using a more flexible foam rubber.
Wetsuits became more widely available after a few years, but they continued to evolve. Soon the fragile neoprene was sandwiched between layers of a tougher material, which at first was nylon and then later became Lycra. This not only made the suit easier to get on and off, but also helped to prevent tears.
Needle holes were still an issue, as small amounts of water were able to penetrate the suit. Soon seams were taped and glued to prevent leakage, until finally the blindstitch method was developed.
By the time the 1970s came around, Body Glove had designed the first non-zip wetsuit, and improvements have kept coming ever since. As new machinery, materials and ideas are developed, so the technology behind the wetsuit moves on, and material cutting and contoured panels have allowed fit and comfort to play a bigger part. But boundaries are constantly being pushed and in 2008 Rip Curl even made the world’s first heated wetsuit!
The advances in wetsuit production have allowed surfing to become what it is today – a sport enjoyed all around the world. So next time you’re sat on your board waiting for a cold-water swell to come in, just remember the patience of those chilly surfers back in the fifties!
However, it wasn’t a surfer who invented the wetsuit. Instead, it was Berkeley physicist Hugh Bradner. In 1952 he created the first wetsuit, working out that a diver did not need to stay dry at all: the gas trapped inside neoprene rubber is what insulates, so a suit could let in a thin layer of water and still keep the wearer warm. At the time he was working with the US Navy to design a diving suit for the military.
