inflatable life jacket, whats your favorite

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riverbud55

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Well been thinking of getting one after getting 1548 g3 jon for fish n the Colorado River,, Do a lot of flathead catfishing at night by myself, always have fished out of a big high sided boat before and never really felt the need to have one on all the time, now with the little tiller jon just think on the safe side,,,, need something cool and comfortable, think n I want a light color when I'm out a sunny 115 degree Arizona day, like to keep the cost around 150 er less not going to kill if it a tad more,,,,,thanks
 

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I have never used an inflatable in a real emergency, but I suspect most of the major brands and private labels at your price point will do just fine. All of mine are Onyx; the materials are sturdy and they have a handy carry sack. Pay attention buoyancy rating and whether you want auto or manual inflation. I have both, and make sure to take rearming kits when I go out.
 
I have no experience with them, but I have done some research. I think you should stay away from the manual inflatable ones. If something happens and you get knocked out and fall in, then what? keep us informed of what you buy. All my friends cant swim so I always make them wear a PFD no matter what. They lose a few extra pounds during the summer wearing them all day. :lol:
 
my neighbor got one from Bass Pro (don't know the brand) for his
70 year old mother. At the boat ramp, she slipped and fell into the
water and the PFD exploded open with violent force, like a car airbag,
as it is designed to do. It was so startling to his mother that they cancelled
that day out and went back to the foam jackets. He sold the CO2 vest on C/L
I hope there is something on the market that will float a non-swimmer quickly
but not be bulky and hot. I too am looking for the same.
I would prefer the quick psssssssssst to inflate vs the explosive airbag type.
 
I purchased a Mustang M.I.T. manual inflate PFD a couple of years ago and I really like it so far. I did a bit of research before buying mine and I'm happy with my choice. I hate to disagree with anyone, but the last thing I'd do is buy one of the auto inflates after reading about the many failures I've read about so far. Mostly the part where they auto inflate because they got a little wet from rain or sitting in the bottom of the boat. But also because they recommend replacing the arming kit every year (which isn't exactly cheap, but I guess I am, if you know what I mean). Mine is so comfortable to wear, I forget I have it on some times. I haven't tested it in the water, but I feel pretty confident that they wouldn't still be in business or get a Coast Guard approval if they didn't inflate. And I look at the whole "knocked unconscious" thing about like everyone use to be about wearing seat belts, "What if you're knocked unconscious and upside down in a ditch full of water, you'll drown". I mean when you get right down to it, you're most likely to end up in the water as a result of losing your footing/balance and falling overboard. And in most of those cases, you're going to be hitting the water, not a slab of concrete. How many stories can you find on the net where someone fell overboard and in how many of those stories was someone knocked out? How many times have you been knocked out in your entire lifetime doing "anything"? If you're prone to being knocked out, then maybe you should look at an auto, otherwise, I'd stick with the manual as there is less to possibly go wrong. Just my $.02 on the subject.
 
Johnny said:
Mike, good point of view - - - -

with the manual inflate, is there a way, or would you recommend a way,
to attach like a safety lanyard to pop the CO2 if you fall overboard ?????
Just a thought.
Well it's got a short handle/lanyard attached to the C0² inflation mechanism, so I'm sure you could rig it to a longer lanyard and attach it to the boat somewhere similar to what they do with the kill switch setups, if that's what you wanted.
 
JMichael said:
I hate to disagree with anyone, but the last thing I'd do is buy one of the auto inflates after reading about the many failures I've read about so far. Mostly the part where they auto inflate because they got a little wet from rain or sitting in the bottom of the boat.

I wrote a big post on my experience with the auto inflate models and from my EXTENSIVE experience I will never, ever, ever use anything but the manual inflates from now on. I'll try and find my post to link back here, but there is a reason the pros and professionals who use them every day do not use auto inflates. Buy a manual inflate or if you are truly worried about a sudden pass out or black out or knock to the head rendering you unconscious, wear a traditional PFD or a float jacket.
 

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