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‘Think outside the bucket’ is the mantra for MAS Bully’s latest product to help water sports fans clean up their wetsuits in the best possible fashion.
Replacing the traditional dunk in a bathtub, sink or beachside bucket, with the help of design consultants IDC, Bully has created a strengthened hangar with attached shower head that cleans the neoprene suits when attached to an outside hose.
With the goal of performing efficiently while using only a minimal amount of water, with the hangar speeding up the drying process and removing any crumples that impact the function and aesthetics of the wetsuit.
From design and engineering to prototyping and manufacturing, IDC’s team worked together to develop a new product in only five months, which balanced functionality and aesthetics.
IDC’s Director, Ryan Fenton, explains, “This was an exciting product to develop, as it came straight from the heads of the users. Our clients at M.A.S. Bully are professional surfers who wanted to invent a better way of cleaning wetsuits. The traditional method is to submerge the wetsuit in a bucket of water, but this is inconvenient, often cold and messy and wastes a lot of water.
“There were no such products on the market and they saw this as an opportunity to develop a unique solution that would benefit them and the watersports industry as a whole.”
The team initially spent time researching and exploring methods of water distribution in parallel products which provided manufacturing insights and inspiration.
Anthropometric data of shoulder width and sizes of existing wetsuits was also examined to help develop the final dimensions of the Bully product. Particular attention was paid to the collar, which was important in allowing the wetsuit to maintain its shape when hanging.
A combination of aluminium and high quality plastic, with impact and UV resistant properties, provides the weight-bearing performance and helps add aesthetic appeal.
The main shower head is manufactured from an aluminium plate, pierced prior to forming to ensure the water jets spray in all directions to effectively clean the wetsuit.
The pipework contains custom forms and couplings to ensure correct water distribution, with a unique hook for the product with a 90 degree rotation and indexing plunger to give a satisfying click at the two outer positions.
In-house prototyping throughout the design process was used to test different water distribution systems to find the most effective solution. Once the core technology and aesthetic design were finalised, a pre-production prototype was manufactured and shipped to Portugal.
The campaign has launched on crowdfunding site Indiegogo, here.
