best/most comfortable life jacket

to be honest i hardly ever wear one unless conditions are wacky but i want to get a pair for me an my female crew. ease and comfort while trapezing, lots of arm movement/ freedom, short so sitting is comfortable, lightweight and compact are considerations. i also plan to use them while kayaking. any suggestions?

I sail with a Kokatat. They are made for paddling so it is cut high and very comfortable. it also has good pockets for gear for gear and emergency items.

www.kokatat.com

Suggestion?

Wear your life vest.

So, you need to get one that is comfortable and wear it.

You NEVER know when something will go wrong. I was sailing in light air single-handed years ago in San Felipe Mexico. I was out maybe 1 1/2 to 2 miles from shore or so. Tacked because I was getting "out there"... When I went back on the wire and leaned in to sheet the jib, my trap hook broke. The main sheeted out and the boat sailed itself back to the beach without me... I was lucky. The water was warm and I am a good swimmer.

I sail with a Lotus Designs jacket. It is also a paddling jacket, and very comfortable. I loved it so much, I now own 4 so that I have one for whoever goes sailing with me.
Trey

Matt,
When you got separated from the boat, were you wearing your life jacket? If so, did you swim all the way to shore with the life jacket on?

mmiller, I had a similar but opposite situation. I was on the beach, preparing to sit my 4 years old daughter on the trampoline and then jump myself. I forgot to uncleat the sheets and in the same second I was turning to look back to the beach, the cat started sailing real quick. I was lucky my daughter wasn´t on the cat and to be able to run fast over the water to catch it just in time, then do some freestyle waterskiing and manage to jump over. Funny situation, but could have been bad...
Sorry, offtopic, but a contribution for safety...

Mary,

I had my life vest on... but get this. I took it off... so I could swim faster and try to catch the boat as it rounded up (I thought it would, but never happened). In the panic, I didn't go back for the vest, so I swam. I watched my boat drift all the way to the beach. One of the kids in our fleet found it a couple hundred yards down the beach and sailed it back to our camp site. The people on the beach saw the boat sail up. It has a really steep beach, so when the kid said I was missing, they said, no... we just saw him sail in (they could only see the top of the sail). He explained that he sailed it over. So, I see about 6 boats leave the beach and sail out into the bay and fan out. It is a huge bay... they never found me. Finally when I was about a quarter mile off the beach I was able to flag down another boat and get a ride in. After that and then going through the Chubasco storm that hit our Midwinters event down there a few years later, I have a deeper respect for safety gear... including wetsuits. Maybe smoke too? That would have helped a ton.

Comfy life jackets cost $$$ but are well worth it.

I have an MTI side-zip that is very nice. Mainly we have used Extrasport kayak vests in the past. The more pockets the better. The higher it sits, the better for having a harness and sitting on the deck.

When I lived on St. Johns I had a couple deep water experiances. If the water isn't rough, I would not swim with a jacket on. However I would keep it with me. It is always a good idea to keep a few feet of thin rope in a pocket so you can make a leash for the jacket and tow it behind you as you swim.

In fresh water, it is a different story...

Matt, that is sort of what I envisioned you doing. And I have thought about this kind of scenario -- needing to be able to swim, but not wanting to abandon the life jacket. So I have thought about the possibility of having a long string with me that I can attach to the life jacket and trail it behind me while I swim?

It seems to me that not enough effort has gone into life jacket designs. We have the permanent-flotation jackets and the inflatables. We need a hybrid -- something that is not bulky and is comfortable to sail in, but will keep you afloat and keep your face out of the water if you get knocked unconscious, and that is easy to swim in as is, but that also has manually inflatable compartments if it is not possible to swim to safety.

Is there such a thing?

P.S. Whoops, I see Flounder beat me to it with the idea about trailing it with a string.

Wearit, all the time, no matter what. You never know whats going to happen.
I own a Lotus paddling jacket and couldnt be any happier. Very comfy, and doesnt chafe. If its comfy, you will wear it. I have a couple of Extrasport, but they tend to be too long and interfere with my harness. Make sure you can get to your hook. Take your harness to the paddling store and try them on. I think Hobie makes a jacket in the $80 rabge that looks like a short paddling jacket. It would be blasphemy to wear a big "H" n my NACRA though!

David Mosley

I've been wearing a Lotus Designs Sherman for about a year. It sits way up high, and has a big lump across the shoulders. I wear a rashie over it to reduce windage and keep it from snagging on stuff:


Yeah, it looks funny, but here's why I chose that particular brand / model:

When I was at the 16 Worlds in Mexico, we went into the pool with full gear on after our last race to chlorinate everything (it would stink really bad and never dry out otherwise). That's when I found out that the trap harness has enough flotation in the butt to turn you face down if you were unconcious. I was wearing a 2 year old Extrasport PFD. The Lotus PFD keeps you from rolling over.

Life vests are like shoes - they must fit! The ones that fit me the best are from Magic Marine, they are a little more leight weight than what you get in most stores and don´t bother you while sailing. Don´t think about cheap vests, have you thought about how many years you will use your vest? Mine usually last around 8 years and it is worth the money to take a better one.
And - I don´t like the view of a drowned body, as a Navy guy I have seen too many of those, so wear your vests even in "No Wind" conditions...

Fritz

Greetings to all,

I need to purchase several PFDs for myself and family members to be used primarily at fresh water lakes in the Southeast. What are your recommendations on the Sospenders (e.g. Sport and Scout models) inflatable vests? I have tried PFDs from Lotus, MTI, Stearns and found them to be bulky, stiff, hot and uncomforable to wear. Are the Extrasport Crusin and Contour vests more comfortable to wear? Do cat sailors wear these vests during the hot summer months? I would be much more inclined to wear an inflatable vest.

When you sail off the beach, are you allowed to wear type III PFDs or should you have Type II vests? What type of vests do the sailors of the Tybee races wear?

Inflatable vests are heavy and get uncomfortable quickly. They also require you to be conscious when you hit the water to inflate them - unless you get the automatic models and they will inflate if you get hit with a big wave, making them useless on catamarans or any open boat. I wear a Stohlquist brand life vest and love it, but as someone else in this thread pointed out, it's an individual choice. Pick a good-quality vest (don't cheap out - it may have to save your life) that fits well and allows a full range of motion and you'll be happy.

I wore a lotus the whole time and to be honest, almost forgot it was there half the time. Definitely my recommendation. Trey and I both had Lotus' of different designs. Never had a problem with them, and I think we went swimming more than any other team this year.

http://www.velocitysailing.com/100_0016.JPG (linked due to picture size)

Here is your chance to create the perfect life jacket and win $5,000. In case you haven't heard about it, here is the information from BoatU.S.:

To encourage innovative ideas and new technology to design a life jacket that the majority of boaters might wear, the BoatU.S. Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water and the Personal Flotation Device Manufacturers Association (PFDMA) are sponsoring an "Innovation in Life Jacket Design Competition," which seeks entries that embrace new technologies and out-of-the-box thinking to solve the age-old problem of why certain boaters won't routinely wear life jackets.

Entries are being encouraged from armchair inventors to high school science clubs and collegiate design programs. The winning designer will receive a $5,000 award.

"We believe that out-of-the-box thinking may lead to the next generation of life saving devices," said BoatU.S. Foundation President Ruth Wood. "By opening the competition to the widest audience of professionals and amateur tinkerers, we anticipate designs that will be creative and unconventional."

PFDMA Executive Director Bernice McArdle said, "Today's life jackets are well designed but follow a defined and somewhat controlled set of guidelines. Our hope is that this competition will open up the playing field and encourage entries that will ultimately influence greater use of life jackets among boaters."

The competition will be judged based on four criteria: wearability, reliability, cost and innovation. "Wearability" relates to the level of comfort. "Reliability" will take into account the chances for potential failure, while "cost" will look at the affordability of the design. "Innovation" will take into account originality or the employment of new technologies.

There are no rules regarding types of materials to be used or whether the design meets any current U.S. Coast Guard or Underwriters Laboratory standards. However, certain entries may be submitted to the U.S. Coast Guard to review for possible financial assistance towards gaining full USCG approval.

Entries do not have to include a working model or prototype, as detailed drawings will be accepted. For more information including an entry form and contest rules, visit http://www.BoatUS.com/Foundation/lifejacketdesign You may also contact Ruth Wood at 703-823-9550, x3204/ RWood@BoatUS.com or Bernice McArdle at 312-946-6280/ BMcArdle@NMMA.org

Entries will be accepted from March 31, 2005 to December 15, 2005, with the winner announced at the Miami International Boat Show in February, 2006.

Okay:

Somebody gets an idea and gets rich. I want a kayak-length jacket with a camelback water tank sewed in the back so I can drink water while I'm on the wire or in a regatta...I promise no tequila or jack daniels...

Wyatt

DRINK WATER!!!!! what the hell for? If it is going to be perfect it has to be equipt with a fully stocked bar and automatically serve **** on the hour.

Try the new NRS vests.They are advertised as the most comfortable vests yet, and they do some good field testing! I've been using a Lotus for years and love it, but the folks at NRS are really good with their products! Check them out at www.nrsweb.com !

Magic Marine make one exactly like you describe. Only problem is it is not US Coastguard approved because it's a bit light on flotation. I wouldn't use it for an offshore distance race but it should be fine for racing round the cans. It is CE approved so should be safe enough.

Click on the Other Flotation link on the Magic Marine website. The model is the "Regatta Jacket with hydro pack".

Chris.

put a powerbar dispenser on it and you've got one sold!

Yeah, for the distance stuff like Tybee I think you need the type I vest (capable of floating your sorry a$$ upright if unconscious).

I have the Magic Marine vest and it's nice & comfortable with good range of motion on the shoulders. It's not type I, but works for all but the worst conditions.

One thing you may want to consider is how fast you can swim with all the crap you add to your vest and harness. Cats can move pretty quick on their sides, and if you can't swim too well to begin with, imagine how slow you'll swim with your spraysuit, vest, camelback (with 8 lbs of water), GPS, radio, etc. If you don't have a type I vest, you may not even be bouyant with all that....