Shark Attack Mitigation Systems (SAMS) Wetsuits?

[WetSEAL]

The Wetsuit That Keeps Away Sharks

What ever happened to these? They had two wetsuit designs supposedly coming to market, a striped one to make you look like a Banded Sea Krait, and another that was designed to be be camouflaged in the shark visual spectrum, both of which apparently had good results in scientific studies.

Did it ever become possible to buy these, if so, where?

 

[davehicks]

Does it come with a Meteorite proof beanie? Two products that nobody needs.

 

[JohnN]

The Wetsuit That Keeps Away Sharks

What ever happened to these? They had two wetsuit designs supposedly coming to market, a striped one to make you look like a Banded Sea Krait, and another that was designed to be be camouflaged in the shark visual spectrum, both of which apparently had good results in scientific studies.

Did it ever become possible to buy these, if so, where?

Dive with a camera, you'll never see a shark

 

[WetSEAL]

Does it come with a Meteorite proof beanie? Two products that nobody needs.

Technically you don't need a dive computer, a backup second stage, or a SPG in order to dive...but these things reduce the chances of accidents happening.

Suit coloration can affect the chances of accidents happening too.
1) if your suit is not visible to dive buddies in low light conditions, you could get lost. Therefore it would be reckless to go night diving without any bright white, or reflective or light emitting gear.

2) your suit coloration can either provoke or subdue reactions from the wildlife. For example having shiny reflective parts may provoke some fish like barracuda and I would say it is reckless to wear shiny parts when swimming with barracuda. Now that we also know that wearing a suit which is painted to look like a Banded Sea Krait discourages sharks from biting, I would argue that it would be reckless to choose a suit that does not have such coloration if given the option. Octopus are intelligent enough to have figured out that by mimicking the Banded sea krait pattern, they can avoid being eaten...so why haven't humans figured it out?

The risk of shark attacks varies greatly by where you dive, but it's something I'm thinking about more now that I am moving to Hawaii and planning to go diving regularly in a shark infested area that has a rather high incidence rate of shark attacks.

 

[broncobowsher]

I think the inventor got attacked by a shark.

Doubt that is true but would be funny if it was.

 

[davehicks]

If you want to avoid attacks from wildlife you should walk around dressed up like a Vacuum Cleaner to ward off attacks from dogs. I looked it up and found a stat that showed there have been 137 shark attacks in Hawaii since 1837. Not deaths, just attacks. That is less than 1 a year over 180 year period. Dogs attack thousands of people every year.

 

[chillyinCanada]

If you want to avoid attacks from wildlife you should walk around dressed up like a Vacuum Cleaner to ward off attacks from dogs. I looked it up and found a stat that showed there have been 137 shark attacks in Hawaii since 1837. Not deaths, just attacks. That is less than 1 a year over 180 year period. Dogs attack thousands of people every year.

Yes, but even so, dogs don't usually get away with your whole arm.

OK, so myself, I'd consider a suit like this presuming it actually works, in order to be able to get a better look at sharks acting naturally.

Probably a couple of guys in Australia recently that might have had better outcomes if they'd been wearing the suit.

 

[Ukmc]

It probably did not work out to be a real thing. The same article you mention also has a quote from the director of the Florida Program for Shark Research who thought that striped pattern actually would give sharks an advantage to see prey better. It doesn’t sound like the company went through a rigorous research when they came out with the product...

 

[chris kippax]

These wetsuits were made/tested for surfing in Western Australia.
The sharks found there are some of the largest in the world and one bite can often be fatal.

 

[davehicks]

Yes, but even so, dogs don't usually get away with your whole arm.

OK, so myself, I'd consider a suit like this presuming it actually works, in order to be able to get a better look at sharks acting naturally.

Probably a couple of guys in Australia recently that might have had better outcomes if they'd been wearing the suit.

True, but dogs do average 33 fatal attacks a year in the US. Sharks average 1 fatality per two years. So you are 66 times more likely to be killed by a dog.

Anyone have some spare vacuum hoses?