Global warming prompts float suit

They are designed for polar treks, but Mr Ogle prefers the Dee

A Flintshire businessman claims to be helping polar explorers complete their expeditions safely, thanks to a gap in the market created by global warming.

Graham Ogle has developed an immersion suit at his Deeside-based business Brenig, which allows explorers to float in extremely cold water.

Mr Ogle said global warming meant travellers now needed to swim across areas where ice had melted.

Mr Ogle has tested his bright yellow suits in the Dee Estuary.

He admitted he has never been to any of the frozen regions his suits are designed for.

I couldn't afford the gear so I decided to make my own even though I couldn't sew and didn't know anything about it Graham Ogle, designer

He joked: "I've been to Iceland - down the road in Holywell."

He added: "But I just listen to what my customers tell me and then go away and design something that meets their needs.

"I don't need to jump into the Barents Sea to find out if an immersion suit is waterproof - the Dee is just as wet and as sea water is no lower than -2C then it isn't much warmer either."

Mr Ogle runs a team of machinists at the Greenfield Business Centre, where they produce specialist outdoor clothing.

The immersion suits are designed to help people float and keep them dry as they cross water.

Mr Ogle said: "The melting of the ice means that cracks appear, usually only a few yards wide but often miles long, and these have to be crossed and that means swimming.

Mr Ogle did not know how to sew when he started

"In temperatures of -50C to get wet can be to die so we are producing immersion suits that allow you to swim across these gaps in the ice.

"Once on the other side you take the suit off, pack it away in the sled you've hauled behind you and carry on.

"I'm a chemist by training and worked in business as an investment analyst before being made redundant.

"I love outdoor activities, walking, climbing, mountaineering, but I couldn't afford the gear so I decided to make my own even though I couldn't sew and didn't know anything about it.

"But I knew what I wanted from the jacket and when I had made it someone else saw it and asked me to make one for him and it went from there."

Mr Ogle claims to have supplied explorers including Pen Hadow, Ben Saunders, Rosie Stancer and Hannah McKeand, as well as members of the Royal Marines and the Indian navy.