It is billed as giving an immediate adrenaline rush and the sensation of “flying” through water.
Strapped to a swimmer’s back, the CudaJet is the world’s first underwater jetpack and has quickly emerging as one of the hottest new water sports gadgets for those with deep pockets.
The device was designed by Archie O’Brien, who began work on the first prototype while still studying product design at Loughborough University.
O’Brien, 28, said that he spent more than 30,000 hours perfecting the jetpack, which works by sucking in water through the front and shooting it out of the back — allowing swimmers to travel at up to three metres per second.
Swimmers can use the jetpack up to 40m underwater
CUDAJET
“It honestly just feels like flying,” he said. “Except you are underwater. You can move in any direction by just tilting your body, whichever way you look, you can go. I honestly think our product is the closest thing that you can currently get to flying — you are effectively a jet fighter plane.”
The pack is battery powered, weighs 13.5kg and generates 40kg of thrust. O’Brien said that at top speed, the sensation was like travelling at 180mph.
“The water is 800 times more dense than air. So when you’re moving through at this speed, that drag acting on your body is the same as if you were going 180mph in air. It’s a really, really strong thing.”
So far, fewer than 100 units have been sold and there is a three-month waiting list for orders. The device, which costs £22,500, has proved popular with superyacht owners who are keen to get their hands on the newest maritime gadget.
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O’Brien said of the buyers: “They are unique individuals in their own right, who have often done pretty amazing things in life. We’ve had self-made entrepreneurs and big business people buying them. They’re typically quite sporty.
“Most of them will have supercars, maybe their own yacht and this is the newest experience that they haven’t tried before. We know of superyacht owners that have toy rooms and display the jetpacks on the wall.”
CudaJet customers face a three-month wait to get their hands on the jetpack
The latest model of the CudaJet can be used to a depth of 40m underwater by trained drivers, but is not compatible with oxygen, meaning you need to hold your breath. The battery life is about 90 minutes.
“I go to 20m but can be down there in just a few seconds,” O’Brien said. “After that it starts getting a bit dark.”
One of the biggest selling points, he said, is that unlike learning to dive you don’t need to spend time in the classroom before taking to the water.
“It doesn’t take too much thinking in the same way as if I were to say to you ‘walk over there’. You’re not going to think, ‘Right foot goes up, heels down first, I’ve got to bend my flex my toes now followed by the left foot.’
“There’s none of that with this, either. From the start I wanted people to be able to learn how to use it quickly. You don’t want to spend a whole day in a classroom, you just want to get out and have fun and start using it. Most people can ‘fly’ in under five minutes.”
O’Brien said he designed it in a similar way to how engineers think about a Formula One car. “Every single component has to be optimized for the design,” he said. “I really believe we are pushing boundaries in water sports.”