Clothing System for Water Sports

Abstract

A garment for use in a wide variety of aquatic activities is described. The garment includes an elastomeric torso element running from a user's shoulders to the lower thigh area with tubular portions for the user's upper legs, and may include elastomeric leg coverings designed to cover the rest of the user's legs and to be detachably coupled to the torso element with a fastening mechanism. The top portion of the torso element and the tubular leg portions of the torso element can be folded over and fastened in a compacted position, easing movement in the garment when full coverage is not needed. The garment may include insulative boots for the user's feet, and the leg coverings may have built-in gravel guards that overlap the boots, preventing debris from entering into the boots.

Description

[0001]This application claims priority to Provisional Application No. 62 / 173,221, filed Jun. 9, 2015, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention relates generally apparel for use in aquatic environments. More specifically, the invention relates to a clothing system for use in aquatic sports that is designed for safety and comfort in most aquatic environments.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]Various types of apparel for use in water are well known in the prior art. Such types run the range from bathing suits, which are merely cloth or other materials that are intended to provide coverage of certain body parts for modest but do not provide thermal insulation, to deep sea diving suits, which are dry suits that prevent any water from contacting the user, and which do provide thermal insulation as well as protection against the increased pressure found at significant sea depths and containment of the air needed by the diver...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention is a garment that can be used for various aquatic activities. It is made up of an elastic torso element with front and back parts that cover the torso. It also has tubular extensions that cover the upper legs. The garment has a fastening mechanism that connects the front and back parts at the shoulder area. This versatility makes it easy for users to wear the garment for different water activities.

Problems solved by technology

Such waders have a number of features and issues.

However, they are generally not adaptable to either changing conditions or varying environments, as they are intended for use only in water, and make no allowance for variations in either air or water temperature.

Safety can be an issue with waders, as they may become dangerous in certain conditions.

This will cause the user to be held down in the stream or river with the added weight of water inside the wader.

If the stream or river is deep enough, this added weight may cause the user to sink and drown.

In addition, waders are typically not designed or intended for use when the user is not in the water.

In some instances the wader material, while waterproof, may be lightweight and not particularly durable.

Thus, waders are often prone to leaks and / or tears, which can also allow water to flow inside the wader with the consequent safety issue described above.

Due to the rubber material, they tend to be heavy and bulky.

However, as nylon is not breathable, they are typically not comfortable as the user's perspiration will build up inside, and as the nylon does not provide any thermal insulation they are not well suited for cold water immersion.

However, they are not breathable and generally uncomfortable in hot weather, again due to the inability to allow the user's perspiration to escape.

Further, neoprene waders are typically not fitted to the user's body, and thus provide no insulation if water gets inside the wader.

However, they generally do not provide any thermal insulation, and thus may not be desirable in cold weather or cold water.

In the case that a wader, such as someone fishing, loses his or her footing, the chest high waders can easily fill with water and become a weight which may pull the user downstream, possibly resulting in serious consequences, including drowning.

Also as above, some wader materials typically provides no thermal insulation, and one's body heat can quickly be lost due to convection by the water, leaving a fisherman cold for the majority of the day or worse, suffering from hypothermia.

However, while preventing heat loss to the water, this style often causes excessive retention of the user's body heat, leading to discomfort during periods out of the water in warm weather.

Finally, some fishermen will typically wear their gear to the stream or river, often because of the difficulty of donning the gear along the bank once they have arrived.

As above, since waders made of some materials do not allow for adequate release of the user's perspiration and body heat, a fisherman may often overheat in a shoulder or chest high wader system while walking or hiking to a desired location.

Even if the wader is made of breathable material, this, along with the opening at the user's chest, may be insufficient to prevent overheating.

Wetsuits, which as above allow a thin layer of water to circulate between the user's skin and the wetsuit material, typically neoprene, have different issues.

They provide some insulation against the temperature of the water, although this is limited by the fact that the thin layer of water circulates and is replaced by new water as the user moves.

However, such shorty wetsuits (even converted ones) are generally all one piece, as easily seen in the '213 patent, and even though there is typically a sealing mechanism, such as a zipper or Velcro strip, which partially opens the wetsuit for the user to get in or out, this still limits the user's ability to regulate his or her temperature when out of the water as most of the user's body is still covered.

It is also often acknowledged that wetsuits are uncomfortable to walk in when the user is not in the water, and thus many users typically don them immediately before entering the water and remove them immediately after exiting the water.

Images