If you haven’t been fortunate enough to get away for that winter surf trip to sunnier climes this year then you have probably been thinking about upgrading your winter wetsuit.
The Rip Curl H-Bomb Wetsuit has been on the scene for a while now but is still only one of a handful of heated wetsuits out there in the market place.
Hot Suits of Australia are reported to have been the first on the scene with a “heated kidney belt style” concept that used a gel filled heat pack that sprang into life when the chemical reaction was initiated.
Since then the manufacturers have looked at other methods of generating extra warmth for wetsuit wearers - with the novel approach of using Lithium Polymer Batteries to power a heating element sewn into the suit.
The Rip Curl H-Bomb is a wetsuit that uses the Li-on battery approach and is designed to keep you super-warm by positioning a source of heat on your upper back. The heat, generated by two coated fibre elements, heats your inner core allowing warm blood to circulate to your extremities.
The elements are made of fibre so there is no metal involved, or chance of corrosion when it is exposed to water.
The H-Bomb has two temperature settings, Low: 50-55C (120-130F) and High: 60-65C (140-150F). And because the batteries weigh only 0.12kg each and are positioned on your lower back where they are cushioned against your body by a layer of neoprene you can’t feel them.
The first test pilot was 2005 World Championship Tour number 7 Nathan Hedge, who commented “It’s one out of the box, it feels sooo good! You keep really warm, even on the low setting and it just keeps you feeling warm all over throughout. I didn’t want to give it back after the R&D session”.
In waters as cold as 5 degrees Celsius, the H-Bomb is receiving incredible feedback by providing surfers with plenty of heat, extended surf time and reducing the thickness of suit being worn.
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- Rip Curl Thermal Imagery
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- Rip Curl H-Bomb Li-on Batteries
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- Rip Curl H-Bomb Heated Wetsuit
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- Rip Curl H-Bomb Technical Spec
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- Rip Curl H-Bomb Wetsuit - the Ultimate Wetsuit for Extreme Cold
So if you are considering buying a new winter wetsuit this season why not try the ultimate Rip Curl H-Bomb Wetsuit - available from Sorted Surshop.
Source: ripcurl
February 16th, 2009 at 12:30 pm
Wow, saw a guy in the other week with one of these on in a 3/2 and he said it was amazing. The day I was out it was freezing so the future looks bright. Wish I had the money to buy one!!!
March 27th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
Spoke to a couple of people that I know who have the 3/2 version and has worn it all winter, he was raving about it saying it was that good that on a few occasions he didn’t bother with gloves. Now that is amazing. I have heard that it’s going to be on the Gadget show on Channel five on 20th April, will be watching that.