On large keelboat racing I wear an inflatable. But on my dinghy I wear a foam floatation PFD. The reason is the inflatable makes swimming and movement of arms difficult where the foam PFD does not. If I capsize in the dinghy, I need to be able to swim and use my arms to reboard the dinghy. If I go overboard on a keel boat I cannot reboard without help, so the primary concern is floatation to keep my head above water until help (hopefully) arrives.
I found the Zhik USCG approved life vest meets my needs very well. It is comfortable and allows arm freedom of movement. Plus it does not have 18 pockets to snag on things and get in the way like many of the fisherman oriented vests do.
I like the padding for leaning against the gun'l, the the additional warmth. I keep a hocky puck compass, whistle, hand-held Garmin, and odds n ends in pockets.
We wear foam type for sailing our 9' & 12' dinghies, with pockets for knife & whistle. We use inflatable type aboard our keelboat, more comfortable, less chance of accidental inflation, harness/lanyard D-rings, and no need for pockets since the cockpit bag has everything. (I always wear a knife on a lanyard, and all our PFDs have whistles: phones are in their own waterproof pouches)
I have both but tend to prefer the one that comes with a pocket or two for iPhone, whistle, etc.— the flotation version. Also, since I’m often sailing solo, I’m nervous with the inflatable version (because I don’t have the auto-inflation feature). With others on board, yes — sometimes I will happily wear the inflatable one but, again, miss those pockets. But that’s just me.
It must have a crotch strap. A life jacket without one is useless as if the life jacket is used to pull a person back on board, the person will just slip out of the jacket and drop back into the sea
My choice, for everything from paddling my kayak and paddle board to sailing my full-cabin trailer-sailer, is a foam “life jacket”, that is, with a large foam collar around the back of the neck/head. I know of just one other who has the same rationale. Everyone else thinks it’s absurd overkill and embarrassingly daggy.
On the water, (by choice, for the serenity) I am almost always alone, frequently in very isolated places, so I can’t rely on immediate assistance, if any at all. On the paddle board, I could lose my balance and knock myself out on a mangrove branch or a slightly submerged rock. On the sailing boat I could be clocked unconscious by the boom or smash my head on the gunnel on the way into the drink. I’ve tested every other kind of PFD over decades and mine is the only type which promises to turn me face-up, with my head clear of the water, every time, so I have time to come to before drowning. I’ve heard of too many inflation failures to trust that type.
It’s a modern design, not the cheap, blocky things they use on charter boats. I can use a technically correct high or low aspect paddling stroke without any arm impedence. The type never comes with pockets but I’ve jury-rigged it to strap on a strobe, knife, PLB and VHF radio. Having no foam at the back, I fit better into the kayak seat or against the big boat’s cockpit combing. Only downside is it’s perhaps warmer than most other types, but that’s nothing a cap full of water over the head can’t fix, and it’s an advantage in winter.
Long story short, I’d rather be a live dag than a smartly clad drowning victim.
My go to for rowing and sailing is a hybrid vest, the Khimera by Mustang. Enough foam to support you actively swimming with inflatable bladders when you need more. Bladders are contained in the vest so nothing to catch on things. It has a single pocket for phone or signaling device like my laser flare. Whistle is cowhitched to one shoulder strap. I can clip a radio on the other side with a lanyard around that shoulder strap. For kayaking I go for full foam with pockets as I want to carry more stuff.
It has minimal foam to keep you up, and is low profile and easy to board with. If conditions are bad, you can pull the ciord or inflate by moth to increase boyancy. Best of both worlds.
Fits everyone. More comfortable means I'll wear it more.
Foam for me, with lots of pockets. Automatic knife on a dummy cord, phone in waterproof case, mirror, whistle, multi-tool, also dummy corded, two energy bars (which probably should be changed out every year or so), and an 8 oz. bottle of water, a strobe, and a couple of chemical hand warmers.
Having made an unplanned swim into cold water that lasted longer than I liked, I learned that a watch cap or ball cap is of some value for retaining body heat, and part of my outfit. It is also worth thinking about how you're going to get back on the boat before you fall off.
I always carry a fixed serrated dive knife + strobe light on my foam white water/ high flotation vest….I have witnessed a couple of inflatable failures with friends!!…..I figure if my “Karma” is rotten enough to need a PFD, I will remove just one more variable……And most importantly….I ALWAYS wear it!!!
I got my life jack in part with the Everglades Challenge in mind, thinking that whatever they required would be good for general sail camping. Then Alan of B&B did a video about his life jacket, which the EC Tribe posted, so I sort of followed suit. That also led me to buy the same jacket Alan was wearing, which is a Kokatat model with lots of pockets. EC requires the l.j. to have a knife, mirror, whistle, compass, PLB, etc., etc., so that's what the pockets are for. I also find that my Garmin GPS fits nicely in one of the front pockets. And I can slip my phone in its waterproof bag either in a pocket or inside the jacket. (Alan even keeps a spork in one of his pockets so he's all set to eat whatever comes off the jetboil underway.) And I just generally prefer the feel of a jacket vs inflatable. All that said, some of my sailing friends find the front pockets to be annoying or even dangerous in that they can catch on the gunnels in trying to come back in the boat in a capsize. Howard Rice preaches that evil. But it works for me. Finally, I have found the shoulder straps a good place to tie a ditch-bag type emergency pack full of fire starter, space blanket, emergency poncho, energy bars, waterproof matches, etc., that I wear in remote areas in case of a capsize or sinking when I would have to swim to an uninhabited shore.
PSA — your phone’s screen can do double duty as a signal mirror to both aircraft and shore. Hold out at arms length with 2 hands for best pointing. “Walk up” the reflection from the water in front of you towards target.
Knife, strobe, signal mirror, whistle, button compass. Yes, storage pocket(s) is a must. The spare horseshoe vests all have whistles with clips. Everything has a lanyard to the vest. Current knife is a Gerber River Shorty, but often have a Byrd Warncliffe blade folder as well. Always have a small flashlight on my person.
My friend Joe Glickman was a competitive long distance surf ski racer. He hated anything which added even a gram to his onboard weight. All of the races demanded some sort of PFD. Despite complaining loudly, he forced himself to wear an inflatable as he believed it restricted his movement less than a foam type.
Must have Pockets, PLB (ACR), Whistle & Knife (Spyderco).
All that has been with me on daily sailings as well as up and down the Florida West Coast. Add in a couple of Texas 200 and I still feel those are minimum safety gear.
On large keelboat racing I wear an inflatable. But on my dinghy I wear a foam floatation PFD. The reason is the inflatable makes swimming and movement of arms difficult where the foam PFD does not. If I capsize in the dinghy, I need to be able to swim and use my arms to reboard the dinghy. If I go overboard on a keel boat I cannot reboard without help, so the primary concern is floatation to keep my head above water until help (hopefully) arrives.
I found the Zhik USCG approved life vest meets my needs very well. It is comfortable and allows arm freedom of movement. Plus it does not have 18 pockets to snag on things and get in the way like many of the fisherman oriented vests do.
https://zhik.com/us/uscg-approved-pfd-red.html
I like the padding for leaning against the gun'l, the the additional warmth. I keep a hocky puck compass, whistle, hand-held Garmin, and odds n ends in pockets.
Agreed. The warmth factor is a big one for me too.
We wear foam type for sailing our 9' & 12' dinghies, with pockets for knife & whistle. We use inflatable type aboard our keelboat, more comfortable, less chance of accidental inflation, harness/lanyard D-rings, and no need for pockets since the cockpit bag has everything. (I always wear a knife on a lanyard, and all our PFDs have whistles: phones are in their own waterproof pouches)
I have both but tend to prefer the one that comes with a pocket or two for iPhone, whistle, etc.— the flotation version. Also, since I’m often sailing solo, I’m nervous with the inflatable version (because I don’t have the auto-inflation feature). With others on board, yes — sometimes I will happily wear the inflatable one but, again, miss those pockets. But that’s just me.
It must have a crotch strap. A life jacket without one is useless as if the life jacket is used to pull a person back on board, the person will just slip out of the jacket and drop back into the sea
My choice, for everything from paddling my kayak and paddle board to sailing my full-cabin trailer-sailer, is a foam “life jacket”, that is, with a large foam collar around the back of the neck/head. I know of just one other who has the same rationale. Everyone else thinks it’s absurd overkill and embarrassingly daggy.
On the water, (by choice, for the serenity) I am almost always alone, frequently in very isolated places, so I can’t rely on immediate assistance, if any at all. On the paddle board, I could lose my balance and knock myself out on a mangrove branch or a slightly submerged rock. On the sailing boat I could be clocked unconscious by the boom or smash my head on the gunnel on the way into the drink. I’ve tested every other kind of PFD over decades and mine is the only type which promises to turn me face-up, with my head clear of the water, every time, so I have time to come to before drowning. I’ve heard of too many inflation failures to trust that type.
It’s a modern design, not the cheap, blocky things they use on charter boats. I can use a technically correct high or low aspect paddling stroke without any arm impedence. The type never comes with pockets but I’ve jury-rigged it to strap on a strobe, knife, PLB and VHF radio. Having no foam at the back, I fit better into the kayak seat or against the big boat’s cockpit combing. Only downside is it’s perhaps warmer than most other types, but that’s nothing a cap full of water over the head can’t fix, and it’s an advantage in winter.
Long story short, I’d rather be a live dag than a smartly clad drowning victim.
Could you indicate the make and model that you use. Thanks.
My go to for rowing and sailing is a hybrid vest, the Khimera by Mustang. Enough foam to support you actively swimming with inflatable bladders when you need more. Bladders are contained in the vest so nothing to catch on things. It has a single pocket for phone or signaling device like my laser flare. Whistle is cowhitched to one shoulder strap. I can clip a radio on the other side with a lanyard around that shoulder strap. For kayaking I go for full foam with pockets as I want to carry more stuff.
I like this pfd.
https://mustangsurvival.com/collections/inflatable-pfds/products/khimera-dual-flotation-pfd-md7183
It has minimal foam to keep you up, and is low profile and easy to board with. If conditions are bad, you can pull the ciord or inflate by moth to increase boyancy. Best of both worlds.
Fits everyone. More comfortable means I'll wear it more.
Foam for me, with lots of pockets. Automatic knife on a dummy cord, phone in waterproof case, mirror, whistle, multi-tool, also dummy corded, two energy bars (which probably should be changed out every year or so), and an 8 oz. bottle of water, a strobe, and a couple of chemical hand warmers.
Having made an unplanned swim into cold water that lasted longer than I liked, I learned that a watch cap or ball cap is of some value for retaining body heat, and part of my outfit. It is also worth thinking about how you're going to get back on the boat before you fall off.
I always carry a fixed serrated dive knife + strobe light on my foam white water/ high flotation vest….I have witnessed a couple of inflatable failures with friends!!…..I figure if my “Karma” is rotten enough to need a PFD, I will remove just one more variable……And most importantly….I ALWAYS wear it!!!
I got my life jack in part with the Everglades Challenge in mind, thinking that whatever they required would be good for general sail camping. Then Alan of B&B did a video about his life jacket, which the EC Tribe posted, so I sort of followed suit. That also led me to buy the same jacket Alan was wearing, which is a Kokatat model with lots of pockets. EC requires the l.j. to have a knife, mirror, whistle, compass, PLB, etc., etc., so that's what the pockets are for. I also find that my Garmin GPS fits nicely in one of the front pockets. And I can slip my phone in its waterproof bag either in a pocket or inside the jacket. (Alan even keeps a spork in one of his pockets so he's all set to eat whatever comes off the jetboil underway.) And I just generally prefer the feel of a jacket vs inflatable. All that said, some of my sailing friends find the front pockets to be annoying or even dangerous in that they can catch on the gunnels in trying to come back in the boat in a capsize. Howard Rice preaches that evil. But it works for me. Finally, I have found the shoulder straps a good place to tie a ditch-bag type emergency pack full of fire starter, space blanket, emergency poncho, energy bars, waterproof matches, etc., that I wear in remote areas in case of a capsize or sinking when I would have to swim to an uninhabited shore.
PSA — your phone’s screen can do double duty as a signal mirror to both aircraft and shore. Hold out at arms length with 2 hands for best pointing. “Walk up” the reflection from the water in front of you towards target.
Knife, strobe, signal mirror, whistle, button compass. Yes, storage pocket(s) is a must. The spare horseshoe vests all have whistles with clips. Everything has a lanyard to the vest. Current knife is a Gerber River Shorty, but often have a Byrd Warncliffe blade folder as well. Always have a small flashlight on my person.
My friend Joe Glickman was a competitive long distance surf ski racer. He hated anything which added even a gram to his onboard weight. All of the races demanded some sort of PFD. Despite complaining loudly, he forced himself to wear an inflatable as he believed it restricted his movement less than a foam type.
This is a leading question. Clearly many of us wear the type that is apropriate to the situation. We don't really prefer one over the other.
Must have Pockets, PLB (ACR), Whistle & Knife (Spyderco).
All that has been with me on daily sailings as well as up and down the Florida West Coast. Add in a couple of Texas 200 and I still feel those are minimum safety gear.