The Yazbeck Camo Thermoflex wetsuit was not only the world’s first 3D wetsuit Camo, but it was also the world’s first Camo on a Lycra based fabric. The only Lycra laminated neoprene wetsuits at that time were a single color, mostly solid black. And even these were very rare and very expensive then.
The introduction of the 3D Camo design and printing was a game changer 10 years ago. And when the Yazbeck Camo Thermoflex model wetsuit was released in 2006, it took the freedive hunting and spearfishing world by storm. When it was exhibited at DEMA 2008 in Las Vegas, the most famous diving brand names in Europe and the rest of the world, tried to copy its patterns, materials and techniques. But they all failed.
Even today, 10 years later, never has anyone been able to duplicate it or come up with anything even close. The main reason for that is simple: its cost. See, no one in the industry is willing to spend the resources it takes to come up with such a material, since “the spearfishing wetsuit” as they like to call it, is a really small niche item. Its mass production is almost impossible when the whole world market for it does not even represent 1% of the wetsuits in general. Also being very complex to create, if this product was worth patenting for any company, it would actually involve investing on several patents and not just one. This isn’t just one novelty, but a combination of novelties that resulted in such a revolution. Therefore, only an entrepreneur with enough experience, creativity, passion and dedication to this sport could pull this one off. Profit had to come last on the priority list, which is, as we all know, an absolute no-no for big companies.