RE: PFD's

coogzilla · Post by **coogzilla** » Wed May 21, 2008 6:20 am

Anyone want to school me? Coogs

Post by **jem** » Wed May 21, 2008 6:25 am

find one that's comfortable and wear it all the time you're on the water.

Teddy Madison · Post by **Teddy Madison** » Wed May 21, 2008 6:37 am

This will give you an idea of what the types are:

http://www.boat-ed.com/ri/course/p4-7_pfds.htm

Wayne[/url]

Hank · Post by **Hank** » Wed May 21, 2008 11:26 am

I would avoid vests intended for water-skiers. They tend to be a bit of floatation to keep you a bit more buoyant until the tow boat circles around.

Now I know that most of us here don't do the whitewater thing, but a Class V PFD is going to do the most for you in a situation where you really need help. Class V PFDs are designed to keep you face up in the water if you're unconscious. To that end they have the vast majority of floatation in the front and usually have something up around the back of the neck to keep your head up.

Some vests have lots of pockets, loops, etc on them. These are pretty handy until your boat goes bottom up and you get one of those handy loops snagged on something in the boat as it goes over. Can you get unsnagged in before you run out of breath?

Final thought: the PFD is meant to save your life, it is not a fashion statement. So, get something that can save your life and is comfortable enough that you will actually wear it.

hairymick · Post by **hairymick** » Wed May 21, 2008 5:02 pm

G'day Coogs,

All of the above is sound advice.
For general purpose canoe-ing, I like this one.

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templ ... hasJS=true

I rarely wear one however. The heat here mekes their wearing allmost as dangerous as not wearing one at all.

Something like this would suit my environment much better. I will be ordering a couple of these real soon. They are not available out here.

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templ ... hasJS=true

Oldsparkey · Post by **Oldsparkey** » Wed May 21, 2008 5:18 pm

Personally ......... I hate the Dang things , they are something devised and designed by folks that want to share misery when paddling.

The heat down here in the land of heat and humidity make them almost impossible to wear in comfort unless you are in a motor boat going 60 mph.

I do have to admit I have one and it is the one that is like a pair of suspenders ( Nice and thin , light weight ) which will inflate when in the water. When I'm in a situation that I'm not sure of , deep water and with wind or other worries then I have it on. In the smaller streams and backwaters it rides in the boat with me. Not the best idea but for the last 50 years of paddling I never had one since they were not known at that time.

Back then ......... all of the paddlers knew how to paddle a boat and to swim then the laws changed and things became more difficult when out having some fun.

Today it is a smart idea to wear one ( I have never been smart) plus the law only says I have to have one , which I do. Not where it has to be.

Most of the water I paddle if the boat goes over then I would just stand up and walk it to the bank , providing I haven't stepped out of it and am swimming/floating along the side of the boat.

For safety .... wear one ... just get one you are VERY comfortable with. If you don't wear it then it is of no use.

Chuck.

coogzilla · Post by **coogzilla** » Wed May 21, 2008 9:02 pm

Onya Hairy.
Coogs

Kayak Jack · Post by **Kayak Jack** » Thu May 22, 2008 12:31 pm

Safety should be a set of habits that lead us to take prudent precautions, and have us avoid unnecessary risk. Part of the situation here is for each of us to define for ourselves several concepts:
Habit
Prudent
Unnecessary

Since PFD's double your chances of survival, I consider them prudent. Throwing away my chances to survive I consider to be unnecessary. Habit is something I do every time pretty much without thinking about it.

In my opinion, only a damned fool goes on or near the water without a PFD. The foam ones are nice; they're also unnecessarily hot. I wear a SOSpenders that I inflate by yanking the rip cord. Much of the water I'm in is shallow, so an automatically inflating Mae West would be popping every time I got into the water - not reasonable.

I carry and emergency knife and emergency whistle on the vest. On me is a PLB/EPIRB to call in the cavalry in case I need it. After reading some reports of accidents, catastrophes, etc., I started noticing that dead folks don't have much fun anymore. I plan to stick around a while longer. You make your own choice.

Tor · Post by **Tor** » Fri May 23, 2008 6:07 am

Hairy,

As usual you've come up trumps, nice vests...

Great site too.

I've come across something similar to the manual/auto vest here in Aus for $160 ish but the back and straps are not a patch on the one in the link.

We all got type 1's which are bulky but we might need to use them for ocean sailing if plans go well and I don't expect to do much paddling over 2 hours yet. Plus it can get cold down here...

I'll get light weight ones later for me and the boy.

Tor

Kayak Jack · Post by **Kayak Jack** » Fri May 23, 2008 2:39 pm

Tor wrote:...I'll get light weight ones later for me and the boy.

Tor,

You hit upon a serious aspect of PFD's. We, as responsible adults, are models for kids. If we display a cavalier attitude towards safety gear, they will likely adopt that same behavior.

If, on the other hand, we act seriously about Life and living, again - they will likely adopt that behavior. It would be a heart breaker to lose a child, knowing that had they worn a PFD they would likely have lived.

Let us act childishly and foolishly in other ways.