INNOVATIONS: Buoy Wonder Makes Waves

Sailboarders, surfers and sailors know the sea can be dangerous, and yet they often sacrifice safety for style. After all, a bulky life preserver would ruin the look of a hang ten. In a new product called Aqua Buoy, which hides a flotation device in a wristband, function combines with form.

Made by Aqua Buoy of West Germany, the wristband contains a carbon-dioxide cartridge and a tightly folded nylon bag and 16-in. cord. When someone wearing it runs into trouble, he can flick a lever on the wristband, triggering the cartridge to inflate the pillow. Priced at $30, the 4-oz. device is selling briskly in sporting-goods stores.