What's handy if you find yourself alone and stranded in a large body of water? A life jacket. What's even better if those waters happen to be subzero temperatures? A full-on immersion suit.

Created by Stearns, a life jacket manufacturer, the I950 Thermashield 24+ Immersion Suit claims to allow users to survive in freezing water for up to 24 hours without exposing the wearer to the elements — or its nasty byproducts, like hypothermia, which can be fatal if not treated in time. 

To work, the suit remains buoyant in the water (according to the specs listed on the Stearns website, the standard size suit can hold up to 330 pounds in the water, while the oversize model can float up to 375 pounds), and its bright red color and patches of reflective material makes it easier for a search-and-rescue team to spot. 

So how does the suit float? The Thermashield contains a patented air-circulating warming system which is powered by a mouthpiece; when the user breathes into the mouthpiece, the exhaled heat generated by the warmth of our lungs is then dispersed throughout the suit, all the way to a hand-warming cuff.  The suit also has a dual purpose: it insulates the user with the neoprene material its made out of and a face shield which staves away additional spray, keeping the internal heat in and the external cold out.

Other handy accessories the suit comes with are a pillow-like head support to keep a user's head afloat, a handy rescue light pocket and a harness which both lets the wearer aid in their own rescue and attach themselves to a stationary object — if one is around, of course.

Check out the Thermashield ice immersion suit in action in the video clip below.

 

Via: Popular Science

Source: Popular Science