Marine safety products manufacturer TeamO took the top honors at the 2024 DAME Design Awards for its 150N Hi-Lift Lifejacket & Harness. The announcement was made at the breakfast briefing at the METSTRADE marine trade show Nov. 19 in Amsterdam.
The TeamO product won its category, Personal Equipment, and was then named the overall winner by the award program judges. The jury identified a total of eight category winners, nine special mentions and two environmental DAME Design Award winners.
What sets apart the 150N Hi-Lift lifejacket is its twisted bladder design. It moves most of the wasted buoyancy above the waterline of a conventional design to keep an inflated pillow on the user’s back. This lifts the wearer’s upper torso higher out of the water to keep his or her nose and mouth higher. The wider set front of the jacket provides stability in the water and controls the orientation of the face and body in line with ISO standards.
TeamO Marine, which is based in Southampton, U.K., says the 150N Hi-Lift outperforms the ISO standard for a 275N lifejacket. The redistribution of the bladder volume also lets the product be slimmer when packed, making it more comfortable and more likely to be worn.
The judges commended TeamO Marine for taking a “strong step forward in a vital longstanding element of leisure marine equipment.”
Andre Hoek, chair of the DAME Design Awards jury said in a statement, “It was an excellent new development in safety that was unanimously named outright winner of this year’s awards. A perfect reminder of how we can never stop improving product categories that have been an essential part of boating for decades.”
