Man submerges in tank of icy water for hours in test of survival suit
New suit could take cold water survival from hours to days
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Clint Homestead is spending his Tuesday in an unusual position — floating in a tank of 32-degree water outside Humpy’s Ale House in downtown Anchorage, claiming to be toasty warm despite buckets of ice added regularly to the tank.
Homestead is testing out a new-to-Alaska cold water immersion suit called the Arctic 10-Plus. An innovative design allows him to open the suit from within to access his hands for eating, drinking, applying first aid, even using his cell phone.
Homestead was able to capture a video from inside his suit.
Brian Horner, director of Learn To Return, an emergency training and rescue response school that has teamed up with manufacturer White Glacier to distribute the suits in Alaska, said they can save lives by allowing people to survive in cold water for days instead of hours.
It’s an innovation Horner said that could revolutionize water safety in Alaska.
“What we are looking at is a suit that by all data, by all testing so far, it would double [or] triple the life expectancy that we would normally see in a gumby,” Horner said, referring to typical neoprene survival suits.
The suit is on display at the Governor’s Health and Safety Conference in Anchorage where on Wednesday, Learn to Return will receive an Innovation in Safety Award for working with the developer to bring the suit to Alaska and creating an educational program so that people can learn how to use it.
People can also stop by Tuesday and see Homestead floating in the cold water tank behind Humpy’s. Homestead entered the tank at 9 a.m. Tuesday morning and said he planned to stay in until 7 p.m.
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