Wetsuits

Before the invention of wetsuits in the early 1950s, divers and water sports enthusiasts would take to the water wearing outfits that today would seem absurd. Long underwear or wool sweaters soaked in oil to make them more resistant to water absorption were all that surfers and scuba enthusiasts had to keep them warm. So who came up with the brilliant idea of wetsuits?

The origin of wetsuits
Four men claim responsibility for the origin of wetsuits: twins Bob and Bill Meistrell, founders of Body Glove; Jack O'Neill, founder of O'Neill; and Hugh Bradner, a UC Berkeley physicist assisting the U.S. Navy.

The timeline supports Bradner's case. The Meistrells began experimenting with neoprene in 1953. O'Neill didn't begin experimenting with plastic foam and neoprene until he moved to San Francisco in 1952. But Bradner's interest in wetsuits dates back to 1951, when he began testing ways to improve the equipment of navy "frogmen."

Material testing for wetsuits began in the autumn of 1951, conducted by Bradner and colleagues from the Berkeley Radiation Laboratory. But Bradner had already hit upon the way wetsuits would work months before that. In June of 1951, Bradner wrote Berkeley physicist Larry Marshall and said that the suits would not have to be watertight because thermal insulation would be provided by water trapped within the suit. Thus the name "wetsuit."

O'Neill's wetsuit history
Bradner's story shouldn't discount O'Neill's. In fact, O'Neill's independent discovery of the benefits of neoprene is a great example of invention rooted in experience.

Swimming in the cold waters of Ocean Beach, O'Neill used foam sandwiched between thin plastic sheets to keep his swim trunks warm. After he stumbled upon neoprene, O'Neill opened a surf shop and began selling neoprene vests, and eventually, shortie and long john style wetsuits. Today, O'Neill is one of the leading brands for wetsuits, surfboards, and clothing.