Exclusive Screening: The Untold History Of Inflatable Vests
Come to a premiere of our new film ‘Inflation Point’ at Patagonia’s Out The Back tour.
“As I was testing the prototype of that first Billabong inflatable suit, there was a Jaws swell on the way,” Shane Dorian told me a few weeks ago.
“I remember thinking, ‘Okay, I need to go out and eat shit,’ which is a really weird thought to have,” he chuckled.
Over the past eight months, I’ve bounced through three countries, interviewed 12 of big-wave surfing’s most qualified lunatics, and scrolled through eons of grainy archival footage, all in an effort to figure out how chasing giant waves became slightly less likely to kill you.
The answer, unsurprisingly, is complicated.
“The development of inflatable vests is just like the evolution of anything,” Nathan Fletcher told me. “Did it make it better? Yeah, it made it better. Did it take the magic out of it? Definitely by a percentage.”
“Big-wave surfing has most certainly gotten more crowded and more popular in the last decade,” said Greg Long. “And you can absolutely attribute a lot of that to the fact that we’ve developed incredible safety equipment.”
Shane Dorian sees the other side of it.
“Yeah, it’s more crowded, but look at guys like Billy Kemper, the stuff that he’s achieved in the last 10 years. It’s insane. You’re seeing performances that would never have happened without an inflatable vest, for sure. Guys would not be behind the peak on 35-foot-back waves at Jaws without inflation.”
“I don’t care how hard you charge. If you feel like you’re for sure coming back to the surface, you’re going to put yourself in a much more committed position,” finished Shane.
That tension sits at the center of ‘Inflation Point’ a film about the accidents, inventions, arguments and near-death experiences that turned the inflatable vest from a mad experiment into one of the defining pieces of equipment in modern big-wave surfing.
The film will be live on Stab Premium in late October — but you can watch a few early screenings over the next few weeks during Patagonia’s Out The Back tour.
Along with a happy hour and a talk with some of their surfers, Patagonia will be premiering ‘Inflation Point’ and hosting raffles for free wetsuit and surfboards. Stab Premium members get 2x entries into the raffle.
The second event is tomorrow… and we’re scrambling in the editing bay to get this thing finalized to watch.
Come hang.
OUT THE BACK Tour 2026 Schedule
– Cardiff Patagonia (Sept. 10-13) with Greg Long, Paige Alms, Ian Walsh
– Ventura Patagonia (Sept. 17-19) with Greg Long, Paige Alms, Ramón Navarro, Pato Mekis & Dave Rastovich
– Farias, New Jersey (Sept. 25-26) with Greg Long and Annie Reickert
– Patagonia Santa Monica (Oct. 9) with Gerry Lopez
– Patagonia Haleiwa & The Eddie (Dec. 3-6) with the Full Team
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