Opinions on specific personal flotation devices

[SpokaneDude 0]

I am considering purchasing a PFD for fly fishing; after a lot of searching, I am considering one of these two:

• Extrasport Elevate Life Jacket, made by Extrasport
• Kiowa Creek Fishing Life Jacket, made by Stearns

Does anyone have any experience (good or bad) with either of these PFDs?

[heavynets 0]

Those with a bad experience may not be able to respond.

[Dave G. 0]

All I can say is that we have Stearns on our boat and they seem well made. When we kayak or canoe we wear one of those from the boat. They have been toying with the idea of mandatory wearing of PFDs in this state even on power boats, if that day comes I will invest in an inflatable life jacket, preferably water contact one.

[Poopdeck 0]

Is this for wading? If so do you really wade that deep in treacherous current where it would be of any benifit? If I fell I would scrape my arse good but a PFD wouldn't do a thing.

[mikechell 0]

Is this for wading? If so do you really wade that deep in treacherous current where it would be of any benifit? If I fell I would scrape my arse good but a PFD wouldn't do a thing.

Unless you slipped on the rocks, hit your head on another rock or something, and was unconscious. Then a PFD will keep you face up and breathing.

Full life jackets can get pretty hot during summer months. I wear a PFD all the time, so I prefer my inflatable to any other type.

[Lesg 0]

All I can say is that we have Stearns on our boat and they seem well made. When we kayak or canoe we wear one of those from the boat. They have been toying with the idea of mandatory wearing of PFDs in this state even on power boats, if that day comes I will invest in an inflatable life jacket, preferably water contact one.

Dave,

A friend works for a local tugboat company and all employees were issued water contact inflatable PFD's. They had a lot of issues with them inflating if they worked in the rain. Since they have gone to manual pull type to avoid this issue.

 

Les

[Dave G. 0]

 

All I can say is that we have Stearns on our boat and they seem well made. When we kayak or canoe we wear one of those from the boat. They have been toying with the idea of mandatory wearing of PFDs in this state even on power boats, if that day comes I will invest in an inflatable life jacket, preferably water contact one.

Dave,

A friend works for a local tugboat company and all employees were issued water contact inflatable PFD's. They had a lot of issues with them inflating if they worked in the rain. Since they have gone to manual pull type to avoid this issue.

 

Les

 

Good to know, Les. I guess in the boat it wouldn't matter so much if it was a pull type, since the boat we use mostly in open water.

[JSzymczyk 0]

Spend some time around a few EXPERIENCED kayak fishermen, or Coast Guardsmen.... Inflatables are better than nothing, barely. I'm entirely sick of hearing the "they get too hot to wear in the summer" line of bullsh*t.

 

It will be great consolation to your family and loved ones to know that you died an agonizingly horrible death by drowning because you thought you would be uncomfortablly hot.

 

A good PFD WILL save your dumb a$$ when the worst case scenario happens, and if you spend enough time on the water it WILL happen.

 

There are a LOT of very good quality, fishing specific, vest-type PFDs available now. Anything mechanical (...inflatable...) WILL fail eventually.

You may fish every day until you are 105 years old and never need your PFD to save you. You may drown tomorrow without it. Do what you want.

 

I'm currently wearing a Stohlquist Keeper PFD. Prior to that I was wearing a Stohlquist Fisherman PFD which my son now uses. It's not about brand loyalty, it's about fit and function.

Both of those have features I like, and both of them got personally tested. A month ago I turtled my kayak on a short piece of rapids with what turned out to be an entirely

deceiving current push and upwelling. I can not honestly say my PFD saved me, but I can with 100% certainty say I was ever so happy I was wearing it.

 

I don't agree there should be a law anywhere mandating you wear a PFD. I also will not lose a single wink of sleep if you die while not wearing one. Just like motorcycle helmets.

[rstaight 0]

Spend some time around a few EXPERIENCED kayak fishermen, or Coast Guardsmen.... Inflatables are better than nothing, barely. I'm entirely sick of hearing the "they get too hot to wear in the summer" line of bullsh*t.

 

It will be great consolation to your family and loved ones to know that you died an agonizingly horrible death by drowning because you thought you would be uncomfortablly hot.

 

A good PFD WILL save your dumb a$$ when the worst case scenario happens, and if you spend enough time on the water it WILL happen.

 

There are a LOT of very good quality, fishing specific, vest-type PFDs available now. Anything mechanical (...inflatable...) WILL fail eventually.

You may fish every day until you are 105 years old and never need your PFD to save you. You may drown tomorrow without it. Do what you want.

 

I'm currently wearing a Stohlquist Keeper PFD. Prior to that I was wearing a Stohlquist Fisherman PFD which my son now uses. It's not about brand loyalty, it's about fit and function.

Both of those have features I like, and both of them got personally tested. A month ago I turtled my kayak on a short piece of rapids with what turned out to be an entirely

deceiving current push and upwelling. I can not honestly say my PFD saved me, but I can with 100% certainty say I was ever so happy I was wearing it.

 

I don't agree there should be a law anywhere mandating you wear a PFD. I also will not lose a single wink of sleep if you die while not wearing one. Just like motorcycle helmets.

I agree with all that was said. Especially the analogy with motorcycle helmets.

 

I have had a motorcycle endorsement for 40 years. Always wear a helmet. A half helmet in town and a full face helmet when I know that I will be on the highway. I refer to the riders that don't wear one as organ donors.

 

When I am on the water in a canoe or an inflatable pontoon I have on a PFD. The one I wear is from Bass Pro. It has a few pockets and can double as a fishing vest.

[mikechell 0]

Yeah ... I am not arguing, since I know I won't change anyone's mind ... But when it's 90 to 100 degrees with humidity in the 90's, having a regular PFD wrapped around your torso is too hot. Sitting on the front of my jon boat, I am very aware of how much heat I lose to sweat evaporation.

I wear my inflatable. I wouldn't wear a full coverage vest. I'm good with my choice.

[Capt Bob LeMay 0]

I've been working on or around the water for a few years (my first job as a mate on a charter boat was in 1973...) and treated water safety pretty casually (understatement). In my younger years I took quite a few risks on the water that I'd shy away from now.... A few years back my son went into the Coast Guard and after a bit of badgering he brought me around to operating a bit more safely (I was always very safety conscious about my anglers but was still pretty casual about my own safety) -particularly when running into the backcountry solo doing a long day of exploring where few if any other boats will ever be found... In short I now have a Mustang inflatable (manual model) in conjunction with a personal epirb on my person always when on the water solo (and that same PFD is on any passenger on my skiff that isn't a swimmer when I'm chartering. I consider Mustang survival gear to be a pretty good standard on the water for inflatable wear (and see more than a few pros using them as well). I long ago decided not to use any auto-inflating gear since they'll inflate if you're wet... instead preferring a manually deployed unit... That epirb is an ACR and it's a manual as well...

 

Now that we're on the issue of water safety I'm going to bend your ear a bit about basic pfds (the kind you find on the vast majority of recreational boats anywhere you go..). At best they're only the bare minimum of protection (there's a reason why commercial operators aren't allowed to use them....). If I have a choice, on any vessel I'm on (whether working or not...) I want to have Type 1 pfds aboard (preferably to SOLAS standards). For those not familiar with SOLAS it stands for "safety of life at sea" and it's the standard that ocean going vessels are required to meet... Yes, they're more money, bulky, and no fun at all to wear - but the day or night you have to go into the water praying you live long enough to be rescued, SOLAS gear is what you want.... One other thing while I'm up on my soapbox - the vast majority of flares sold in every outdoor store are close to worthless (if a flare is what you're hoping will actually be seen when you're in a mayday situation....). The only flares worth anything at all are SOLAS flares, period.... Yes, they're a lot more money (roughly $10 per handheld flare and a parachute flare is nearly $60 for one flare..) but they'll really be seen in the worst kind of weather (and they'll fire up in near hurricane conditions .

 

I'll get down off of my soapbox now....

[BuzFly 0]

Bob. Wish I could get on a soapbox and not break it. I agree 100%. I ran a 25 GW offshore for years and a lot of times by myself. The one piece of safety gear also I insisted people in my boat ware was a cheep plastic whistle that also had a mirro on it. I would have a dozen of them hanging in up in the head and alway let one or two having at the helm. One would be on ever of my PFD's and Throwables. I would alos keep a throwbag in the cockpit. Thankfully myself and friends have never needed them but they help. Even if my friends go for a swim off the boat, they were told to ware one.

[Capt Bob LeMay 0]

I've long had a good plastic whistle lanyarded to every PFD on my skiff (that last scene in the movie Titanic said it all about being able to be heard on the water - when you're in it....). Wasn't very clear about the epirb as well - the correct name for what I have is called a PLB (personal locator beacon) and it is lanyarded to my person as well every day I'm on the water (it's small enough to fit in my pants pocket while being tethered to my belt so I don't even notice it during a session on the water).

 

Here's a solid life saving tip for anyone on a boat that's in trouble - remember even if you're in the water never leave the boat if it's still floating since the boat (even half sunk or rolled over...) is a lot more visible than you are... If the vessel goes down the next best thing is a cooler since they'll not only float forever, but might contain water, food, and once again a cooler is a heck of lot more visible than the top of your head (which is all the Guard in a helicopter will see when a man is in the water...). One last tip from a Guardsman years ago - one of the most important pieces of gear for folks in the water is a piece of rope (being able to tie your group together and also tie that cooler to you greatly increases the odds of all your party being found and rescued...). Up north where the water is cold that's not much time - down here in paradise you can stay alive in the water for hours and hours...

[Poopdeck 0]

This is all good advice. I don't wear a PFD as a matter of routine. Pretty much I only wear one one its cold out and the law says I have to wear one. One time I wore one because it was freakishly cold out and I wore it for added warmth. Otherwise I would never wear one. Just being real. Should I wear one? I guess but I don't feel the need when I'm in a boat. I have never fallen out of a boat. I guess I Could fall out of a boat someday but I have never came close to falling out of a boat.

 

When I'm out on the water (mostly fresh water rivers) which is somewhat often, I never see anybody wearing a PFD outside of a few kayakers and the PWC crowd. When I'm out salt water I rarely if ever see anybody wearing a PFD. It seems people like to talk about wearing PFD but in practice I just don't see it. Not saying anybody here is telling lies I'm just saying I don't see five people a year wearing a PFD.

 

I agree with everybody else, weigh the risks and wear them if you want.

[mikechell 0]

Not lying ...

From 2011

 

 

and 2015

 

 

I am perfectly alright with people not wearing PFDs ... cuts down on the population a little, perhaps.