Is battery-powered heat the future of surfing wetsuits?
Rip Curl’s groundbreaking H-Bomb wetsuit hit the market on November 1, 2008, after three years of development. With a retail price tag of $1,000 (3/2mm) in the United States, the verdict is still out on this first-generation power-heated suit.
A Japanese-made lithium-ion battery is the energy source behind a series of carbon-fiber coils in the back panel of the E3 neoprene suit (with FireSkin). By concentrating the heating unit on the back, the elements warm the core of the body without getting in the way of the action.
Three temperature levels (indicated by blue, purple, and red lights on the switch), allow the surfer to control how much heat the suit puts out. Depending on its setting, the batteries should last from 2.5 hours (max) to about 1.5 hours—pretty well within the range of a normal winter session. (more…)
