Constantly turning your head to breath while doing the backstroke slows you down and can strain the muscles in your neck. The Powerbreather takes a design cue from our cetacean cousins by letting you breath out the back of your head.
Essentially a fully enclosed snorkle, the Powerbreather wraps securely around the swimmer’s head. Inhaling draws air from the valve on the back of the head, while exhaling expels it through a second valve in the mouthpiece. This allows the swimmer to keep his head down and focus on technique without worrying about gulping water, sore shoulders, or sucking down stale air. It’s also supposed to help simplify the act of swimming and make it more relaxing and enjoyable, especially for kids.
There’s obviously no way that you’ll be seeing these in London this summer (there was enough of an uproar over those LZR Racer swimsuits) but they could be a useful addition to an amateur’s training arsenal. There’s currently no word on a release date or pricing. [Powerbreather via Gizmag] [imgclear]