Wear a science experiment: Vollebak creates world's first jacket made from graphene

Graphene has been hailed as a wonder material that will revolutionise life for humans in a similar fashion to bronze, iron and silicon. But try as they might, scientists and engineers have found it difficult to apply the lightest, strongest, most conductive material ever discovered to everyday products.

Step forth Vollebak, a British firm run by twins Nick and Steve Tidball. They have followed in the footsteps of the scientists who first discovered graphene through speculative experiments by releasing graphene-coated jackets as experimental prototypes.

The company states on its website: "Our aim is to open up our R&D and accelerate discovery by getting graphene out of the lab and into the field so that we can harness the collective power of early adopters as a test group."

The list of features this experimental jacket will provide are certainly intriguing. The Volleback top will:

- Conduct electricity (but only at low level!).

- Help equalise your skin temperature by sending heat from the hot parts of your body, such as your head, to the cold areas, for example your hands.

- Act like a radiator after it has been exposed to the heat source.

- Create less humidity next to your body than a normal membrane. The 'how' remains unknown.

- Remain impermeable to nearly all gases and liquids, except water. This makes the jacket both breathable and waterproof (the latter quality is thanks to an extra polyurethane membrane).

- Resist nearly all abrasion and puncture tests, without adding a single gram of weight. BUT it's not bulletproof! Yet.

Vollebak adds: "Theoretically you need 10 layers of graphene to stop a bullet and the tech isn't there yet. When it is, we'll be the first trying to make a lightweight suit of extreme sports armour."

Convinced? Now all you need is £525 to buy this truly cutting edge coat!