Carapace has developed a way to create custom wetsuits at a reasonable price, by creating digital patterns that are specific to your body.
Wetsuits are a key piece of gear in the surfing world. Alex Wang and Andrew Park, co-founders of Carapace, have been working on a way of getting the perfect wetsuit for your body measurements.
Frustrated with being unable to find wetsuits that fit well, they've decided to set out on a two-year journey to solve this problem and ultimately developed an efficient way to produce custom-fit wetsuits.
"Using our online-video guided measuring portal, we use 15 different measurements that you submit. Our computer-aided design (CAD) software then uses those measurements to create digital patterns that are specific to your body", the developers explain.
"From there, we cut the neoprene panels for your suit. Last, we blindstitch, glue, and tape every seam to create a wetsuit unique to you. This saves us hours of labor, eliminates human error, and enables us to deliver a wetsuit at an affordable price", Wang and Park add.
The start-up has successfully raised its funding for the manufacturing process. Carapace will be delivering the first 3/2 ($350) and 4/3 ($400) custom-fitted wetsuits by the end of the year 2013.
Learn what makes a good wetsuit, how to make your wetsuit last longer, and check our wetsuit size chart.