Shane Dorian’s worst wipe-out of his life inspired this self inflating wetsuit with a ripcord for bigwave survival. After a year of mournful loses in the big-wave community, Dorian describes it as an “absolute game changer.”
Watch the evolution of XXL surf technology.
The Billabong V1 wetsuit inflates with a shoulder-mounted rip cord that uses a replaceable CO2 cartridge to instantly fill an air bladder at the back. Dorian used this device while paddling into his record breaking wave at Jaws last year. The V1 wetsuit helped Dorian make a quick an easy recovery form the enormous wave that eventually earned him both Monster Paddle and Monster Tube recognition at Billabong’s XXL Awards last April. At the time of his big ride, Dorian declined to comment to spectators and photographers about the peculiar lump on his back. However now that the patent is pending, Dorian and Billabong have made the official Press Release and are ready to equip the big wave community’s elite with this device.
What do you think this wetsuit means for the future of big wave surfing?
Let us know in the comments section below.
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