For those readers of PBR who may be contemplating the possibility of some serious adventuring, including offshore exploration, the need to give serious attention to lifesaving aids is paramount.

Of course, we are all familiar with the carrying of life rafts; indeed, legislation demands such in certain situations. But what about the matter of immersion suits? Enter White Glacier’s all-new Arctic 10+ – an immersion suit that its makers claim is the ‘warmest, most comfortable suit available on the market’ and a survival item that is said to far exceed regulation requirements and is UL-certified to comply with the USCG, MED and Transport Canada. The innovative design of the Arctic 10+ even allows the user/casualty to open the suit from within to access bare hands for eating, drinking and performing first aid. (Note: No mention of how to perform ‘other’ necessary bodily functions is made, so this remains unclear.) 

The innovative design of the Arctic 10+ even allows the user to open the suit from within to access bare hands for eating, drinking and performing first aid.

As a polar survival suit, the Arctic 10+ can be worn in different configurations – either fully dressed, partially open or hanging off the shoulder. The thinking behind this is to allow the wearer to be fully protected at a moment’s notice – ready to survive, if so required, the five days’ minimum rescue time mandated by the Polar Code. Extra buoyancy allows the wearer to float above the waterline and to stay fully dry and protected in an environment that is marketed as feeling more like a ‘comfy sleeping bag rather than the normal restricted neoprene immersion suit alternative’. Also, deploying the Arctic 10+’s unique extendable splash tent creates a personal habitat for eating, drinking and sleeping, while remaining protected from the wind, rain and waves. Its design also allows one to regulate the temperature inside, depending on the temperature of the sea and the weather/air temperature. NOAA Ponant Cruise Lines are listed as clients, and the Canadian navy has tested the Arctic 10+ for naval and coastguard applications. In effect, its makers state that it represents a personal life raft – one that has been tested in the Arctic with scientific lab testing in Norway at a water temperature of 0°C with a -32°C wind-chill for 10+ hours before any internal temperature drop was recorded. The National Research Labs for the Government of Canada have also fully tested the immersion qualities of the suit.
The Arctic 10+ is marketed as a ‘personal life raft’ should a vessel’s deployable life raft or lifeboat be inaccessible or inoperative for any reason. And certainly, the wisdom of possessing such an immersion suit in addition to a life raft is clear, as it prolongs a casualty’s rescue time considerably while they await the arrival of the SAR services. Applicable in all water situations and designed primarily to fight hypothermia, the suit is rated according to its CLO – an industrial means of measuring the thermal qualities of protective clothing. According to White Glacier, the best thermal ratings of other suits currently available vary between 2.0 and 2.5 CLO. An Inuit ensemble made of furs has a CLO factor of 4.0; the Arctic 10+, however, has a CLO factor of 4.87.

Check out www.whiteglacier.com, complete with USCG, CCG, MED and Polar Code accreditations, for further information.