Life jacket design?

[chrisbashforth]

Having read a lot recently about lifejackets, it strikes me that the current designs are pretty poorly suited to the job:
1) the chest strap has to be tight enough to hold the body up and may therefore restrict breathing,
2) the crotch straps look flimsy and painfully uncomfortable
3) the lifting buckle is in the wrong place for a horizontal lift as recommended by all the survival experts.

Has anyone compared notes with the mountaineering community who have very similar challenges for their safety hanesses and have avoided all these issues.

I hope the Ouzo tragedy will spur on a design review.

Any thoughts from other mountaineers or industry insiders as to why they seem so inadequate?

 

[damo]

Spinlock might be getting there, with their mast harness and the deckvest l/j's.
IIRC they were made in collaboration with a mountaineering/caving manufacturer (Petzl?), and they certainly look a lot better than traditional gear, though I haven't got the dosh myself!

I use climbing gear to get me up the mast and keep me on the boat: first because I have the stuff already, and second because it generally does the job better than yottie gear.

 

[Spuddy]

First thoughts about harnesses for the crag are that they are sit harnesses with the weight taken on wide leg loops. With life jackets. the leg loops are to prevent the jacket riding up, most of upward lift is applied higher up - after all, wouldn't want balloons attached to my legs if I was in water cos I might upend. Maybe the imperative for improving lifejacket design isn't so strong. After all wobbling up a crux knowing that my future depends on some webbing and string concentrates the mind wonderfully ( or used to, in my case ). Sauntering about the decks feels so much safer. But there could well be some useful overlap in functions and better leg loops would be a good idea.

 

[jamiha]

Spinlock deck vest, brought one last year & got to say worth every penny, great bit of kit......bit pricey but great anyway, you cant put a price on genuinely comfortable safety gear that works. Totaly recommend anyone to get one, shame they dont do one for kids....or maybe they will soon....hint,hint /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif.
Mike.

 

[Vara]

The chest strap only has to be uncomfortably tight if you are not using crotch/thigh straps.

In extended use I have not found that crotch straps are uncomfortable.
In fact their flimsiness makes them more not less comfortable as unlike some harnesses you can push them to one side.Their flimsiness is cos they only have to counteract a small force.

If you have a pinching problem might be an idea to replace boxers with Y fronts /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif.

The nub of the problem is that the forces involved in life jacket buoyancy and horizontal lifting are completely different and a harness to accommodate both functions would be incredibly cumbersome. (have a look at some of the harnesses worn by scaffolders)

 

[fishermantwo]

I spent 14 years as navy aircrew, mainly 6 hour flights in a mae west inflatable jacket. We had our own individual jackets that were to some extent tailor made. These never had leg straps and did not need them, they would have interfered with the parachute leg straps. Once a year we had to spend some time in the sea practising survival techniques. While at the time this seemed inconvenient I never felt the jacket could ever slide up and off my body and no one ever complained of the possibility. Winch D ring was in the correct position too.

I dont have one of these inflatable jackets on my yacht and wont be buying one in the near future. The law states that when crossing a bar, jackets are to be worn in this state[NSW}. I wear an ordinary sailing vest.

 

[billgray]

Tried the new Spinlock last year but found it much too heavy, bulky and not suited to my womanly shape. I am disappointed as I wanted the safety features of the new design but did not think that I could comfortably wear it at all times. Tried it around the house and had a very sore neck within about ten minutes.

Margaret Gray

 

[Shorn100]

Hi Margaret

Did you adjust the back strap?

I have found the Spinlock to be very comfortable - and my lady friends say that it is the most comfortable L/J they have worn.

But only of it is adjusted properly. Also, the jacket comes in two sizes for adults.

However, I am not very fond of the thigh straps which I find are too long.

Shorn