JEM Watercraft

I purchased one fo the inflatable ones last year from Cabelas. It weighs nothing and when you go over the thing inflates and keeps you floating.

It has a little gassey kayak Jack , "O"ooops , sorry about that , Kayak Jack told me about them ( to use ) for the trip we took. Yep..I do listen to what he tells me at times , not all of them , just sometimes.
It has a small compressed gas canaster that inflates it with normal gasses. If it fails then you can manually inflate it.

It is like wearning suspenders , light weight , does not make you a ball of sweat in the summer and is something really nice , even though I hate wearing one.

Play it safe , wear a PFD when on the water , the life it saves is yours.

Chuck.

I thought about getting one of those self inflating life preservers, However, since the air temp is cool in the summertime and cold in the winter, I went for the other one. I like the fleece collar in the cold wind.

If I was paddling in the midwest or down south in the summertime like Chuck, I would definitely buy the self inflating type.

Craig

I thought about getting the self inflated and may get one later. I recently spent some time wading in some VERY fast rivers in Colorado and clearly remember the feeling of thinking I was about to get knocked down. I decided I wanted at least one PFD that when I was in a boat or wading in risky situations I would have one that was already ready since I am not sure I would have time to pull the cord while I was trying to hold on to my rod as I braced myself against the rocks I was falling on. I know there is the automatic ones but I just like the idea of knowing it would already be ready to help me.

Personal choice I guess. I will probably get the SOSpender type once I spend anytime in the Texas heat with a regular vest on. I bought a good fisherman one from Sportsman Warehouse that I think will allow me to keep a lot of my stuff with me as I do my Fly vest. We shall see.

I also like the pockets for offshore. My vhf marine radio fits inside. Its submersible, so as long as the life jacket and I am floating, the radio will be with me just in case I get seperated from the boat in a strong current. Also, I like the straps that go down under your butt and back up the the front. Pretty much ensures the vest won't come off, unless a big fish bites you in half. But thats an entirely different problem. The radio was about $100, but that is cheap life insurance IMHO.

Them straps are a good idea. Keeps it from riding up over the top
of ya. Their not too bad after ya get used to them. All those pockets
are nice to have. I can never have too many pockets.

That red one looks good on ya. Cute kid.

The thing that bothers me about the inflatables is they look like they would float up over your head as there is nothing to catch under the armpits until the strap has moved up a long way. I know some have a crutch strap but if you're trying to get out of trouble (ie swimming after the yak or trying to climb back in) you really don't need anything that could get snagged and apply pressure to the family jewels.(I'm wincing as I type )

I'd have thought that a light weight fabric back/side panels or even a second side strap would be a better option. Has anyone here had to use one in an emergency and if so were there any problems with falling out of it?

Bob,

You can unwince. As you're crawling back up onto a boat, the crotch strap won't have pressure on it. It will be pulled down - not up, thereby relieving any pressure.

Were I wading fast water and fishing - and I would never be found doing neither - I would definitely want a styrofoam PFD that is already buoyant. I've seen memorials along the river bank for guys that didn't. I also like the thick ones when paddling in cold WX.

The inflatable PFD's are a godsend in hot, muggy WX. Not as welcome as a cold beer, but very close.

hairymick wrote:
The reason I choose not to wear one is the heat and dangers of dehydration. In a sea kayak, there is only so much water one can carry above the deck or in the cockpit. More water is just to hard - near impossible to reach in the hatches from the cockpit. In tmes past, I was up to 3 hours from shore and that is a very bad place to be dehydrated or heat stressed.

When I was running across the bay to the islands, I allways had a PFD within reach on the decks and wore it if things looked like getting a bit ugly.

I've been thinking about that very delemia Mick. I'm considering installing a 1/4" (6mm) hole through the top of the rear bulkhead to accomodate a drinking tube from a water bladder in the rear storage area of my "Freedom".

That way I can cop a drink as needed, and not rely on a water bottle that rolls around in the cockpit. Plus I could put the bloody thing in a cooler to keep everything civilized.

Lee

PS It also leaves more room for you to stash the vest in the cockpit

Lee, I like your thinking. An extension of the camel back idea. My seat is held in w/ bungees, and they make a handy place to stash a Nalgene bottle or a 1 pint thermos of tea.

There are PFDs out now days that have a built in pouch on the back for a camel back bladder or the grommets and straps to attach one.

DM