A wetsuit designed to drastically reduce the impact of a shark bite is about to hit the market.
The Shark Stop suit is the brainchild of Haydon Burford, an inventor from Lennox Head on the far north coast of New South Wales.
He came up with the idea about five years ago, while discussing a spate of attacks that had rocked the region.
"We were sitting around the kitchen table and talking about a mate of mine who runs a company in Melbourne that makes jeans that are kevlar-lined, so if you come off your motorbike you don't lose a lot of skin," Mr Burford said.
So began a testing and design process that saw the kevlar idea discarded and replaced with a polymer fabric called UHWMPE, or ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene.
"They were using it in the American prison system for protection because apparently this fabric is cut-proof and stab-proof," Mr Burford said.
Put to the test
Professor Charlie Huveneers, from the Flinders University College of Science and Engineering, agreed to put the polymer fabric to the test in the mouths of great white sharks off the Neptune Islands in South Australia.
"We were able to compare the damage between standard neoprene [the material used in traditional wetsuits] and the new fabric," Professor Huveneers said.
"Obviously we are aware that it's not going to be stopping bone breakages or internal injuries, but we do know that the main cause of death from a shark bite is the loss of blood or the shock linked to the loss of blood.
"Being able to reduce that loss of blood would help the emergency services to get to the victim in time."
Price of protection
But the prospect of increased protection will come at a price.
The first batch of Shark Stop suits are being offered for sale at $795 but the recommended retail price will be $995.
A traditional top-of-the-range surfing wetsuit is about $650 and is marketed as much on its flexibility as its warmth.
"We're not building wetsuits for the pros," Mr Burford said.
"They want a super-flexible suit and we can't offer that."
Mr Burford said his design offered the sort of flexibility enjoyed, or endured, by surfers in the 1980s or '90s.
An online Kickstarter campaign designed to raise $100,000 has exceeded its target less than a week after being launched.
