Bass Pro has an inflatable PFD on sale and I got to thinking about getting one. My thought process is along the lines of, I sometimes fish alone, the waters up here are often cold when the fishing is good, and should I fall out I'm fugged. I'm unlikely to get into the habit of wearing a bulky vest all the time, but I could probably get used to wearing one of these minimal bulk inflatables.Pretty simple deduction, I know. 🙂


Anyway, I know little about them. The one I'm considering are supposed to auto/manual inflation.

What says the brain trust here?

The auto will inflate when submerged . I would get the auto just in case you had an accident and were unconscious.

They strike an ideal balance between comfort and protection. If you buy one, familiarize yourself with it. Know the 3 ways it can inflate and maintain it meticulously. Be sure you can get back on your boat too. Your outboard or outdrive can serve as a ladder of sorts. FWIW, falls overboard are the leading cause of boating fatalities.

I have a set, and wear them when I am fishing alone and when I am on the Columbia river or saltwater. If I was smarter I would wear them 100% of the time.

I often forget I’m wearing it and don’t notice until put my seatbelt on inside my pickup at the end of the day.

Only a Type 1 PFD is designed to turn an unconscious person face up. Even then, they are not guaranteed to. There are no type 1 inflatables on the market. There are some inflatables that are very likely to turn an unconscious person face up.

I wore one while working. Tug captain that pushed our barges said "You'd trust your life to something that might not inflate when needed? And if you hit your head when you went over?"

He had a good point. I wore a Mustang brand one, but only during nicer (read HOT) weather. Mornings and cold (read spitting ice from the sky) days I wore the standard work vest.

One thing I will recommend. Maintenance before every season. Consider changing the CO2 cartridge and any seals yours might have. And inflate and deflate at least once a season to keep the bladder from sticking to itself.

And, when the weather warms, find a spot deep enough and test it with you in it.

And, on a final note, another thing said by those working on the water daily. Especially around COLD water.

"Remember, the PFD is really designed so they can find your body so the relatives have something to bury"

I have no idea who makes the BPS one, but you might look into it. If it's Chinese....................I'd shop elsewhere.

Good luck.

Now what does a bike rider and unlucky rifle buyer know about PFDs?

Chuckle Chuckle Chuckle.

I bought a couple for wife and I. I fish alone near always and promised her(and me) I’d always wear it. Couple of different type triggers on them. One is a pressure device that triggers when one goes into the water of about 20” submersion and the other has an eroding disc when sustained water contact is made. They’re to be inspected annually and disc replaced accordingly. I most often forget I’m wearing it.
Good luck.

Not just unlucky rifles, it's pistols too.

There is u tube .. a nice old black guy trys on each pfd t1 at a time and jumps off his boat...check it out b4y u buy !

Cold water to me means use the type 1. My inflatable gets used in the summer when its hot and the water is relatively warm.

How about power tools?

Paul lives down there amongst the 'Swamp People'..... they's knows bout water!

I had a friend who had an automatic inflatable jacket on once when it began raining. Once it rained enough and everything got wet enough the life jacket auto inflated while he was standing in the boat. I didn't see it but he said it happened. Go figure.

I've heard of that happening. I also read somewhere about making sure to store inflatables in a dry area so they don't go off when you wash your boat or if the boat gets rained on.

Thanks for the replies, guys. It's funny what having lots of candles on your cake will make you think about. 10 years ago I wouldn't have considered wearing a PFD on a regular basis, but only in rough conditions. Maybe, like I told my wife when I told her I wanted to buy one of these, it's life experiences speaking to me and telling me that I'm not immortal and need to use a little wisdom these days.

Alligator bait in the Louisiana bayou.

I have an inflatable PFD. I think it is a Mustang, I know it is red and was purchased with Cabelas points.

Last week I pulled it out of the storage compartment on the boat for the first time since I bought it a year ago. I found the CO2 cartridge was not installed. It was in a pocket.

I needed to jump out of the boat in the Snake River in very fast current about knee deep. And I wanted floatation in case I lost my footing in the slimy gravel bottom.

So, anyway, I needed to install the CO2 cartridge. Not something you want to do while already in cold water. To install the cartridge, I had to open the bladder compartment. The air bladders are folded into small pockets and contained by easy open zippers.

The zippers are designed to burst open when the bladder inflates. But they are not designed for easy closure. There is no closing apparatus on the zipper. I still have not gotten my PDF put back together.

Each time you replace the CO2 canister, or each time you get in the water and inflate the vest, or even when you test the vest by inflating it as directed in the instruction manual, you will need to reclose these zippers.

I about halfway regret even buying the thing.

I never wore my regular vest. It was always stowed or on the back of my seat. Not good when you're overboard, alone. So I got one of the Cabelas self-inflators. Should I go over, it's generally in cold water on the Great Lakes or duck hunting an inland waters during Oct-Nov-Dec. I promised my wife and kids I'd wear it. It's comfortable and doesn't interfere with my activities like the regular vest did.

That being said, I've never gone over the rail. If it happens, I'll have this vest on. And if it's a one and done, I don't care. If it did it's job, then I'm still alive to buy another.

Totally off point but we had a couple guys in a utv break threw the ice on the big lake. Drivers pfd inflated and trapped him inside the cab of the sxs. I did not realize they would auto inflate.

I am old, slow and mobility challenged. I just wear a regular one when in the boat

I bought a couple last year to keep in the boat. They are a lot more comfortable than the old style life jackets.

I have a couple of them and wear one when I'm boating alone. One is a West Marine and the other an Onyx, both are auto inflation. The Onyx is slightly smaller and only rated for inshore use, the West Marine for offshore. The difference is bladder size, the bigger one has more inflation for offshore use.

A standard vest might be marginally better but I fish in the summer time and there's no way I'd wear one, they're too bulky and hot. An inflatable that's on you when you go overboard is a hell of a lot more useful than a regular one that's inside the boat because it's too much of a pain to wear.

I use the inflatable that the paddle boarders use. Goes around the waste like a belt. Once inflated it has a horse collar type air bag. Once I realized how hard it is to get back in boat if I go overboard I bought this one. When I was 20, no problem. Not now no more. I suppose if I go over unconscious, i'll drown.

When fishing in chit cold weather the normal pfd goes on. Helps to keep warm.

I have the Mustang Survival auto inflate. Will not set off in the rain, needs to be 2' under to inflate

My current inflatable is manual operation only. I bought it when I had a kayak and got splashed a lot and didn't want a water-activated one. I wear a PFD all the time, period. They estimate that 90% of the men who drown while out alone fell in while trying to pee over the side. That makes sense, and the last two men who were found dead in our local reservoir had their zippers down (I'm told by rescue folks.) An inflatable is so comfortable that you forget you have it on. I'm thinking of getting an auto/manual one as well. BTW, an inflatable doesn't count per the Coast Guard unless you are actually wearing it. A stowed one does not meet their "one per boater" regulation.

I blow mine up with the mouth tube every year to make sure there are no leaks, and replace the CO2 cylinder every other year.

I also have a regular PFD for cold weather wear. An Onyx I got from Cabela's for $59.95. It's a very good PFD and even has hand warmer pockets - but if you order one, get one two or three sizes larger than you wear because they run VERY small. LINK

Lastly, if you have a kill switch in your boat, use it. There's a new Coast Guard law that mandates it, and it's just common sense anyway. The last thing you'd want to see if you fell in and you're bobbing around in your inflated PFD would be your boat coming back at you. Or zooming away, for that matter.

That's what I use. They are far and away the most comfortable. You do give up a measure of protection with them, but the best PFD is one that you will wear! Boating accidents that render boaters unconscious are very rare and normally easily avoidable. On rare occasion a boater will fall on a boat, hit their head then fall overboard. In those cases the only PFDs that might turn the boater face up are also the ones that people will least likely wear due to their bulk. Back to the OPs question. Those PFDs hit the sweet spot in comfort and protection. There are normally very good sales during National Safe Boating Week.

Some inflatables will meet the carriage requirement on recreational vessels even if they are not worn. The label tells you whether they must be worn or not. Of course it's crazy to buy a nice inflatable and not wear it.

A life jacket is like a pistol. The best one is the one you got on.

The inflatable PFD’s must be worn to count as one of the CG required PFD’s. If your boat has a cabin or wheelhouse that you pilot the vessel from then I would NOT get an auto inflate but rather the manual inflate. A few years back during the west coast Tuna Classic several guys were running offshore for albacore and doing a demonstration report on the 29’ Defiance Guadalupe when the skipper made a mistake coming into the harbor (across a bar iirc) and took a good wave abeam and swamped the boat. Everyone got out quickly except the skipper. His auto inflate PFD did just what it was supposed to do and inflated. The problem was that not only was the boat upside down but the cabin filled with water and his PFD pinned him to the floor (which was the ceiling in an upside down vessel). He had a decent air pocket which gave him the seconds needed to formulate and execute a self-rescue. If I recall correctly the skipper used his knife to quickly cut the bladder and negate the buoyancy of his PFD and open the cabin door to swim out. Everyone survived but according to the skipper (an experienced skipper too) other than screwing the pooch by taking a big wave abeam he said the biggest take away from that incident was tailoring the PFD to the vessel....ie open boat versus one with a cabin or enclosed spaces.

I’ve thought about those PFD’s but I’ve never pulled the trigger. Mostly because I rarely wear a PFD and also I find those inflatables are less cumbersome than regular PFD’s but, depending on the PFD, not enough to entice me into dropping $150-200 on a PFD that doesn’t count unless worn. If it’s really dicey and the wind and swells kick up enough that I feel the need to wear a PFD I’m more likely to throw on my Mustang work suit. If I put my work suit on then the conditions are bad enough that I’ll have my first mate (wife or son usually) wear my cold water immersion suit and seek temporary shelter in a protected bay, cove or leeward side of an island. Unless we’re offshore in which case it’s a slow and methodical albeit tiring slog keeping the bow pointed INTO the swells. As I’ve gotten older, wiser and less likely to take chances doing dumb crap I follow the weather and ocean conditions religiously and will always err on the side of safety. Conditions can change rapidly offshore so it helps to be able to read the water and weather. No fish is worth dying for although when I was younger I was willing to chance it.

We’d run 65 miles west/southwest out of Westport in an 18’ Grady White so weather and conditions were extremely important. It was usually a wet roller coaster of a ride for 3-3.5hrs....4 or 5 a few times. 😫. I’ve gotten to the point where I’ll chase tuna if the current brings them within 30 miles of the beach, otherwise I’d prefer to hop on one of the fast 6 packs so that I can relax and enjoy the day.

Have one and wear it all the time, very comfortable.

There are some inflatable models that meet the carriage requirements for recreational vessels even when not being worn.

They are great because you will wear it 100% of the time and they basically disappear on your body. I have 4 and have never had an inadvertent inflate. As mentioned you need to be aware that they only ‘count’ as a life preserver if you are actually wearing it, unlike a foam jacket. Thus if you are inspected and have only your inflatable and are not wearing it, you will get a ticket. I keep a foam jacket on board for each passenger as well as the required throawable. The Onyx A/M brand is the same as the Bass Pro A/M brand. One last thing, the cartridges and bobbins expire over time, so they are considered a service/maintenance item.

For the third time, that is not always the case. There are some inflatables that meet the carriage requirement even when not being worn.

Yes, that’s true. I didn’t make it to page two while typing. The Onyx/BPS A/M models the OP is likely looking at do not count when not worn.

If dropped in any, water they inflate. Keep a spare charge handy.

For cold weather boating, I recommend a floater coat.

I found this steal today for $2.50.



[img]https://i.imgur.com/Y3rMwwE.jpg?1[/img]

Another note about inflatable PFDs. The labels will be changing over the course of the coming years and some unfamiliar symbols will appear in the place of the Type designations. As long as the Type designated life jackest remain in good and serviceable condition and are used in compliance with the label, they are still authorized for use. It will be important to read the label on the new ones to understand them.

https://safeboatingcampaign.com/news/new-life-jacket-labels/

https://safeboatingcampaign.com/wearitlifejacket/en/read-it-new-label.html

And also for the third time, Paul, MOST inflatables do not count if not worn. Commonly available ones are Type V, which do not count.

Wow, that is a steal!

It doesn't always apply on small water bodies, but it does often apply in larger water bodies. If you need your PFD you may also need to be seen to that end I encourage the use of orange or other brightly colored PFDs. They are much easier for searchers to see. You could always put an orange bandanna in the pocket of that one and wrap it around your melon if you needed to be seen.

WEAR THE THING!!

My father drowned at 3 in the afternoon, Sunday, 19 August, 1984, off a point at Christy Island. Wabigoon Lake.

The PFD was hanging on the boat seat.

I apologize Rocky. I didn't see that qualifier mentioned in any of the posts I quoted when I wrote that.

The Mustang Floater I keep in Wabigoon, is bright yellow.

If you are floating, you likely are needing a ride home, the better you show up, the faster you get picked up.

No probs, Paul. You are perfectly correct, but I want to keep people safe and legal.

The yellow coat.

NOBODY is gonna put on a Type I PFD unless their ass is in a bind. A flea market life jacket worn is better than a life boat in storage.

Warning: if you have the kind with the dissolving pellet, do NOT wear it in the rain unless you have a rain jacket over it and do NOT forget to take it out of the boat at night if it's going to rain (I learned that the hard way). They're easy to rearm but it'll cost you about $25 for the kit every time it inflates. I don't recommend them for any kind of white water, either. The splashing can get it wet enough to inflate.

I wear it all the time on the water. I've never come close to going in but that just makes it easier to forget to be careful.

I actually had that comparison in mind when I typed the OP.

FWIW, I bought mine from West Marine while on a deep discount, online sale. I think I pd about 80$ ea for the two. Also, they have a little higher buoyancy rating.

Lots of good feedback from you guys. Thank you all.

I appreciate the info about the CG not recognizing an inflatable as a PFD unless it's being worn. Good point and one that I wasn't aware of, but since I have plenty of other PFD's, that's not a worry.

Sounds like keeping up on the mechanism is something that must be done. That makes sense, since it's a mechanical item. Gotta keep that in mind when I make my choice.

The peeing over the side and falling in thing makes perfect sense. I've probably done it 500 plus times on my life on the water and I can see how it can easily happen.

Rocky brings up the kill switch thing. That's actually something that I had thought about. Even have had one bookmarked in my browser for a year, and I'll probably add one to my boat,, but I'm not sure how often I'll be able to make use of it since I have a center console boat and will be moving around a lot. I guess that at the very least I can use it while running. An ounce of prevention and all that.

Thanks again for the input, gang. Maybe it's a boring topic, but at least we're all commenting in a helpful light and not arguing about stuff we have little control over. 🙂

I have a coffee can in the boat to pee in. Then just dump it and rinse it out. It's a lot safer.

Good point. Until a couple of years ago I didn't own a boat big enough to store a pee can. That's a legit safety upgrade. 🙂

Good thread. Almost all of the big country hunting in my life has been solo, and similarly most of the fishing. During the time I have owned 2 boats, and always when out on water, I wear a flotation device. After a bit, my body adjusts and I do not feel it. Probably an insurance policy, but I always have kept something substantaial trailing over the side to enable a good shot at getting back in should I go overbaord. Has never happened to me, but a couple of other people have needed it.

Also an idea on the water, along with a PFD, three ways to build a fire.

Some to eat.

I just purchased a bass boat that came with 2 inflatable life jackets....One was from 2000... The other from 2005......I decided to pull the cords before I threw them in the trash....The one from 2000 inflated about 1/2 way.....The one from 2005 fully inflated but it was like a air bag going off...It was so violent that it blew a hole ......They were both Sterns ..

You need a longer hose.

As I spend as much time on boats as I do land, I would suggest peeing in the boat if it's that rough.

I snap my kill switch leash on when things get schitty.

I also use the Mustang Survival brand inflating PFDs.
I change out the cartridges and bobbins once a year.

It's recommended in the paperwork that comes with them but not required.

Gives me a chance to be sure they function properly and I am able to submerge them and check for leaks while they are inflated. Just watch for any air bubbles while submerged, pretty easy maintenance considering the intended use.

I started out with the West Marine brand but found them to be rather cheezy compared to the Mustage Survival brand.

Be sure to hang them up and dry them after use, mildew sucks.

So one day I was fishing from the river bank in a rather illusive little spot.
I was just minding my own business casting my fly rod and catching some small Rainbows here and there and releasing.

I see this canoe coming down river and it's aiming right for me.
Once it was close enough I could make out the uniform, it was a chick game warden.

She hits the gravel beach just down from where I was fishing and proceeds to stand up in her canoe.
Just as she did she fell azz over tea kettle out of her boat and into the water, it was only a couple feet deep she jumped right up.

Right as we locked eyes her self inflating PFD went off.
It scared the schit outta her and she fell over backwards into the river again.
This time I rushed over and helped her to shore and asked if she was OK.

She just kinda looked at me and said not really, said she was going to check my license but now she just wanted to leave, and she did.

It took everything I had in me to suppress my laughter in her presents.

Bet she didn't have a spare cartridge with her, if she did it wasn't in her PFD as she paddled away down river.

They didn't teach her how to deal with that situation in college biology class, apparently.

I don’t think any of the modern inflatables have to be “worn to count” as a life jacket. Unless your state rules exceed the CG.

Post #41
https://www.ifish.net/threads/life-jackets-teenagers.1491825/page-3#post-15001058

It depends on how it is classified, Sean. If your inflatable (or other special purpose PFD) is rated Type V under the current standards, it must be worn to count as being aboard. The rating system may be changing, as Paul pointed out, but at least right now all you have to do is look at the label and see what Type rating your is and how it must be worn. LINK TO RULES

Probably not, she went from being a pistol toting baged law enforcement officer to just being a girl all in a matter of a few seconds and was at a loss as to what to do about it.

For the guys that own them and wear them, what type would you recommend for fishing trout ponds out of a small canoe and wading fast water fly fishing?

Thanks.

Frank

This Onyx that I use is hard to beat. They aren't at all bulky or in the way. You definitely want the auto inflating kind. If you step in a hole and your waders are pulling you down, you sure aren't going to get a manual inflation one blown up.

Confusion there. A manually inflating one works by pulling that orange or yellow "T" handle. It still uses a CO2 cylinder and inflates immediately. It does not have a method of inflating on its own when submerged, however.

All of them have a mouth tube you can use if the CO2 system fails or you have a slow leak, but it is NOT the primary inflation method. (It is also the best way to check for leaks once a year without using the CO2.)

I have never used and auto inflate one, but wear one of my two PFD's when even just walking a gnarly bank fishing on any of these local rivers or streams. I never go in a boat without one on either. Filled too many body bags over the years !

That's true but if your waders are full of water and you're in a current being knocked around, getting hold of that handle won't be easy. You want it filled and you want it now without having to screw with anything.

I'll put up with any discomfort, and wear one that is fool proof.

Something is better than nothing.

I guess.

I don't find the bulkies to be unduly in the way of most anything. Everyone in the boat wears one. Everyone. I much prefer the float coats tho.



Especially the railwalking bait....

I worked one summer out in the Bristol Bay country for ADF&G. They mandated PFD at all times on the water, and issued us loaner , bright orange float coats.

The instruction sheet for this topic stated: "It probably won't save your life, but it will help us find your body."

Someone had a sick, but not necessarily untruthful sense of black humor.

You need to resist the temptation to loosen them up. it floats, you may not.

All well and good, but I'll wager you wouldn't wear one in Mississippi in July, not unless you're comfortable with heatstroke.

By definition any Type 5 has to be worn to count toward the carriage requirement. If it is not a Type 5, it doesn't have to be worn (unless an age requirement) to be counted. A lot of inflatables are Type 2 or 3 for recreational boats and Type 5 for commercial vessels. My primary inflatable is a Type 5.

I have a couple plastic powder bottles in boat.

the hole isn't nearly big enough...hence my coffee can.

There are ones that will inflate when wet. Different system.

I guide 3 months a year on a river in AK that coast guard sometimes says is not navigable waters. Glacier run off. I put a vest on when I get out of the truck. If I fall on the dock..... and hit my head.

Anyway It carries some coast guard rating. Orange. Says work vest on it. I remember the wording HIT on the activator, IE from water pressure not from just getting wet. IIRC 34-38 pounds flotation which is way more than a normal vest that folks wear.

When in rough whitewater with the jet boat I'll put on a normal vest and this one over....

It was an amazon buy. It was not cheap. Maybe 200 bucks. But its my life. I know how fast people float down the river if they fall in. They make the bridge faster than they expect. If they hit the Susitna they are most likely dead. So like I say I try to have it on EVERY time when I get out of the truck and dont take it off until I'm away from the dock.

Just makes sense.

Mustang Survival HIT technology. 240 bucks. its my life.

https://www.amazon.com/Mustang-Survival-Inflatable-Hydrostatic-Reflective/dp/B00QMT5M9C/ref=sr_1_4?crid=3DYGNY3157QZ8&dchild=1&keywords=inflatable+life+vest+orange&qid=1616627472&s=sporting-goods&sprefix=inflatable+life+ve%2Csporting%2C183&sr=1-4

Hope this helps.

If it's a HIT, it's a Mustang. Those are very good PFDs. https://mustangsurvival.com/products/hit-inflatable-pfd-md3183-02

Here's a label on a Type 2 Recreational, Type 5 Commercial inflatable. This one would not have to be worn to count toward the recreational carriage requirements.

Thats pretty much it. My life could rely on it. And frankly I'm in danger just being on the bank or in the boat watching up to 6 folks. Falling in even when not running is very possible.

I like that I can and do wear it in the rain. Has a lot of flotation.

And like others know, wearing a big real one and working often aren't going together all that well.

That cold water can be instantaneously debilitating too.

They have been around a long time...
The only failure I have observed was putting a new charge in an automatic in after flying on a vest with a degraded (aspirin, that's what many use.) tablet. It inflated while screwing in the CO2 charge..

If you are not worried about getting bashed in the head, they have (or had) fanny pack models. I jumped overboard with one of those and it worked just fine.

But if you are going offshore, get an offshore model...
They weigh more, but are more durable.

Get a package of rebuild kits too.

Luckily, the majority of my guiding is done in a marsh system. After the obligatory safety speech, "life jackets are here, flares, radio etc. are here", I tell them " If you fall overboard and start drowning...stand up."

The manufacturers stopped calling them "fanny packs" because of the stigma associated with that word. They changed the design of some to more of a belt style and call them inflatable belts. That's what I wear, and I also have bright orange inherently buoyant PFDs with reflective tape, a light, mirror and whistle readily available. I put my vessel registration number on my lifesaving gear as well.

The old Mae West are most likely the best, though uncomfortable.

the belt packs work, I have 2 of them, but you have to pull the cord to inflate them then put it over your head. As long as you have your arms free and are conscious you can do it. The problem is in a major crash when you aren't conscious. That's where the auto inflating vest saves your tail. I think they're best for wading and fishing rather than for boating.

Looking good Paul. Like on a set for "Miami Vice" !!


I like the mustang PFD. Think the best quality