Self inflating PFD's

[NHBull]

The Mrs really wants me to start wearing a PFD especially when alone.

I have done some research on the self inflator, but am curious as to what, if any do you use.

Thanks,

Al

[A-Jay]

 Mustang Survival ELITE™ 28 INFLATABLE PFD

Built on a revolutionary 3D chassis, the Elite™ Inflatable PFD stays put at high speeds, lets you move the way you want and NEED to and provides automatic inflation powered by Hydrostatic Inflator Technology.

 

The 3D chassis reduces drag at speed, the wide shoulder system eliminates neck fatigue, a wicking mesh liner improves all-day comfort, dual-side adjusters ease fit and an exclusive sleek inflation handle prevents snags. The bright fluorescent yellow-green inflation cell provides 28 lb buoyancy when inflated and improves visibility in a rescue scenario.

 

http://www.mustangsurvival.com/en_US/products/flotation/inflatable-pfds/elite-28-inflatable-pfd-MD5183.html

 

A-Jay

[Russ E]

if I am in the boat alone, I always wear an inflatable.

I have a Cabelas brand and a BPS brand inflatable. the BPS is a lot lighter and less noticeable while fishing.

this is the one I use the most. It cost $80.00.

 

 

 

 

 

[Angry John]

1 hour ago, A-Jay said:

 Mustang Survival ELITE™ 28 INFLATABLE PFD

Built on a revolutionary 3D chassis, the Elite™ Inflatable PFD stays put at high speeds, lets you move the way you want and NEED to and provides automatic inflation powered by Hydrostatic Inflator Technology.

 

The 3D chassis reduces drag at speed, the wide shoulder system eliminates neck fatigue, a wicking mesh liner improves all-day comfort, dual-side adjusters ease fit and an exclusive sleek inflation handle prevents snags. The bright fluorescent yellow-green inflation cell provides 28 lb buoyancy when inflated and improves visibility in a rescue scenario.

 

http://www.mustangsurvival.com/en_US/products/flotation/inflatable-pfds/elite-28-inflatable-pfd-MD5183.html

 

A-Jay

Oh yes... I run this and its worth every dollar in the heat of the summer and the HIT technology prevents inflation in the rain, which could get expensive.  My only accidental inflate was with the help of my 8 year old that wanted to see what the yellow tab did.

[Darren.]

1 hour ago, NHBull said:

The Mrs really wants me to start wearing a PFD especially when alone.

I have done some research on the self inflator, but am curious as to what, if any do you use.

Thanks,

Al

I agree with the others, go with a good quality inflatable.

And kudos to the Mrs.  

[Goldstar225]

I'm another who is using a Mustang with the hydrostatic inflator.  If I'm in the boat alone it's always on me.  I'm not as agile as I used to be and never was a great swimmer.  I figure that if nothing else it'll speed the recovery of my body should I keel over dead and fall out of the boat! 

[moguy1973]

I use both the Bass Pro ones and the West Marina ones.  Every now and then West Marina has great deals on theirs and can be had for around or even less than $50.   

[WRB]

If you are going under 25 mph the Suspender type PFD line like BPS are adequate but at higher speeds you need a PFD that survives when you are hitting the water, staying on, plus inflates to save your life if unconscious.

PFD's only work when you put them on, not stored.

Tom

[22RangerZ520R]

Not to hijack thread, but I have (2) Mustang Elite 38's for sale in the Flea Market Forum if interested....

[TOXIC]

9 hours ago, WRB said:

If you are going under 25 mph the Suspender type PFD line like BPS are adequate but at higher speeds you need a PFD that survives when you are hitting the water, staying on, plus inflates to save your life if unconscious.

PFD's only work when you put them on, not stored.

Tom

And it's for this very reason I went back to a vest style PFD from an inflatable.  Too many stories of them not inflating.  If I am fishing rough water and want a PFD on when fishing, I will put on the inflatable.  Another thing to remember is that if you only have inflatables in the boat, they must be worn to keep you from getting a ticket from Johnny Law on a safety stop.  In Virginia you must either wear your inflatable or have another non-inflatable in the boat to be legal.  That's for every person as well.  

[Spankey]

15 hours ago, NHBull said:

The Mrs really wants me to start wearing a PFD especially when alone.

I have done some research on the self inflator, but am curious as to what, if any do you use.

Thanks,

Al

Great post. I wear a jacket in motion but admittedly not while fishing. I'm solo 95% of the time also. Have a Lake Ontario trip solo coming up this summer and that is on my  hit list of pick up items also. 

 

I figure in in the upcoming weeks we will be able to catch a decent sale. 

 

Good luck, be safe. Thanks for the post. 

[A-Jay]

46 minutes ago, TOXIC said:

And it's for this very reason I went back to a vest style PFD from an inflatable.  Too many stories of them not inflating.  If I am fishing rough water and want a PFD on when fishing, I will put on the inflatable.  Another thing to remember is that if you only have inflatables in the boat, they must be worn to keep you from getting a ticket from Johnny Law on a safety stop.  In Virginia you must either wear your inflatable or have another non-inflatable in the boat to be legal.  That's for every person as well.  

@TOXIC

This is something I have been mulling over for a while.  Your post here is right on the money. 

Just order two 'high speed vests' and will feel very good about wearing them while on plane.

Thank you for sharing this. 

Here's what I went with. 

http://www.mustangsurvival.com/en_US/products/flotation/foam-pfds-clothing/accel100-fishing-vest-MV4620.html

I'll do a brief review after a few hours on the water in one.

A-Jay

[MickD]

I use a cabelas auto-inflate.  It went off once when my boat was in for service and it was in a compartment that got flooded.  Has never gone off since, even though I've taken some splash and rain.

 

My son insists I wear it because he doesn't want to waste any fishing time looking for the body.  :-)

[TOXIC]

Having been a guide, safety is always on my mind.  Due to recent events, I don't think it's beyond reasonable consideration for those of us who fish rivers and larger bodies of water invest in an emergency beacon GPS alerting device of some kind.  I go to Wisconsin on big water and the Fox Chain, I go to St Clair, I have been on Champlain and plan on going to Erie sometime this year, my home water is the Potomac.  All of which can and have gotten nasty.  I think it's time to step up the safety measures.  

[SDoolittle]

21 hours ago, NHBull said:

The Mrs really wants me to start wearing a PFD especially when alone.

I have done some research on the self inflator, but am curious as to what, if any do you use.

Thanks,

Al

When I'm fishing alone, I wear one of these. https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/bass-pro-shops-m-16-manual-inflatable-belt-pack

I wear a traditional, vest style PFD anytime the big engine is running.

[BassNJake]

i posted this in the can you swim thread

 

How many people have bought something only to find out you got something defective?

 

This was my experience after buying a Mustang inflatable life jacket for tourney fishing.

I was to co angler and the boater ran into a barely submerged rock pile.

We both got tossed at about 60 MPH.

My boaters Mustang inflatable opened properly mine did not open at all.

 

Luckily, I was able to make it to the boat before he was because he was dazed and panicked.

He hit the steering wheel hard on ejection where I was just thrown out cleanly.

 

Mustang issued a recall on the model I purchased.

I now always wear a foam life vest when running(using the outboard)

 

Since the deaths that happened recently, I will now wear it at all times

[SWVABass]

I still use a foam one because a concern I have is how long will they stay inflated? I haven’t been able to find any info on that. If someone knows I’d love to hear, ive wanted to get an inflatable when fish not while running though.

[J Francho]

25 minutes ago, Swbass15 said:

I still use a foam one because a concern I have is how long will they stay inflated? I haven’t been able to find any info on that. If someone knows I’d love to hear, ive wanted to get an inflatable when fish not while running though.

It stays inflated until you manually deflate it.  It's actually a bit of a pain to deflate when rearming.

[moguy1973]

Just for the OPs info West Marine has their off shore (i.e. higher amount of floatation) inflatable vest on sale today for 56% off which makes it $99. Has sailing harness D-rings and heavy duty straps.  I’m fairly certain it would have a pretty good speed rating even bough it doesn’t state it. 

[A-Jay]

42 minutes ago, moguy1973 said:

Just for the OPs info West Marine has their off shore (I.E heavy duty) inflatable vest on sale today for 56% off which makes it $99. Has sailing harness D-rings and heavy duty straps.  I’m fairly certain it would have a pretty good speed rating even bough it doesn’t state it. 

https://www.westmarine.com/buy/west-marine--offshore-automatic-inflatable-life-jacket-with-harness--14897433

 

If this is the product being referenced - It's designed for sailing.

Offers NO Speed rating.

A-Jay 

[moguy1973]

1 hour ago, A-Jay said:

https://www.westmarine.com/buy/west-marine--offshore-automatic-inflatable-life-jacket-with-harness--14897433

 

If this is the product being referenced - It's designed for sailing.

Offers NO Speed rating.

A-Jay 

So what makes them speed rated??!?  The USCG website doesn't say anything about speed ratings on their website when it comes to PFDs.  Even the most expensive Mustang vests don't say anything about speed ratings. 

 

After looking, no inflatable is speed rated as they are not approved for use while water skiing, personal watercraft use, or tubing.

[A-Jay]

25 minutes ago, moguy1973 said:

So what makes them speed rated??!?  The USCG website doesn't say anything about speed ratings on their website when it comes to PFDs.  Even the most expensive Mustang vests don't say anything about speed ratings. 

 

After looking, no inflatable is speed rated as they are not approved for use while water skiing, personal watercraft use, or tubing.

 

Excellent Question - and you are correct in that inflatable Life Jackets do not carry speed ratings.

I did not indicate anywhere that they did.

Where one inflatable design could be better suited for a certain application lies in the chassis design.

Models that include an integrated sailing harness that includes stainless steel D-rings for attaching a safety tether probably shine as an Offshore Sail life jacket.

One that incorporates a 3D chassis, is built to reduce drag and stay put at high speeds may be more suitable for a vessel with a planning hull and a high horse power out board.

 

A-Jay

 

 

 

 

[12poundbass]

This is a great subject and conversation we have here. Something I've been thinking about since the tragity on the Big O not too long ago, How does one determine which PFD offers enough flotation. Especially when you take into consideration the extra clothing in colder weather months? Warm weather clothing could potentially add a lot of extra weight if you were to go overboard. 

[A-Jay]

1 minute ago, 12poundbass said:

This is a great subject and conversation we have here. Something I've been thinking about since the tragity on the Big O not too long ago, How does one determine which PFD offers enough flotation. Especially when you take into consideration the extra clothing in colder weather months? Warm weather clothing could potentially add a lot of extra weight if you were to go overboard. 

Most of the guess work has been taken out of it for us.  

Although Minimum Buoyancy levels should suffice, where & when one may desire a higher float factor, those options are available as well.

http://www.uscgboating.org/recreational-boaters/life-jacket-wear-wearing-your-life-jacket.php

A-Jay

[J Francho]

On 2/9/2018 at 12:37 PM, moguy1973 said:

After looking, no inflatable is speed rated as they are not approved for use while water skiing, personal watercraft use, or tubing.

Lol, you realize they inflate when wet or submerged.  How an inflatable would seem appropriate for these activities is beyond me.

 

Anyway, that West Marine looks exactly like my Stearns jacket, with D-rings added to the belt.  They would likely drive me nuts.  West Marine stuff is usually a little overpriced, so be aware that 50% may not be as good a deal as you think.  I got my Stearns for around $80 at F&S.  My Mustang HIT was north of $250.