Lifejacket advice

Lifejacket

My Crewsaver Hammer Action is a couple of seasons old now .. Had it apart at the beginning of the year pumped it up and it stayed well inflated .. SWMBO's other brand was a bit soft after a couple of days .. No wear points on mine and it went back together very easily .. They appear to be made in the UK but not sure .. Nothing on the label that says made in China etc ..

So cannot really complain .. Fits well which is important and is comfortable when worn for long periods .. Also came with the plastic hood that goes over your head and crotch straps .. You get two . One up each side .. Don't have them to tight or it looks like your on show ..
 
Lifejackets

The Ocean Safety Kru Sport Pro is reputed to be the most comfortable to wear, easy to put on and they are made in the UK.(I think by Remploy)
The lockkeepers and other canal workers here have to wear a lifejacket all day at work regardless of what they are doing, painting, strimming or pushing lock gates, the standard issue is Crewsaver but some of them have got Kru Sports because of discomfort from neck chafe.
Having said this and tried both on in the shop I am still undecided on whether to replace our XMs with the Kru Sport or the Spinlock but the price of the latter is now hard to justify though it is a cool piece of design.
 
Life jacket

Quandary said:
The Ocean Safety Kru Sport Pro is reputed to be the most comfortable to wear, easy to put on and they are made in the UK.(I think by Remploy)
The lockkeepers and other canal workers here have to wear a lifejacket all day at work regardless of what they are doing, painting, strimming or pushing lock gates, the standard issue is Crewsaver but some of them have got Kru Sports because of discomfort from neck chafe.
Having said this and tried both on in the shop I am still undecided on whether to replace our XMs with the Kru Sport or the Spinlock but the price of the latter is now hard to justify though it is a cool piece of design.
Click to expand...

I purchased a LJ made by Remploy some years ago and had difficulty having it serviced by them. I find Crewsaver very good and dependable. Personally I would go for Crewsaver every time. Have had no complaints about discomfort.
 
Servicing Lifejackets

There should not be a problem with servicing Ocean Safety Products, I know they have a place in Glasgow as well as some in England, I have purchased lifebuoys, recovery sling etc. from them and their sales/ after sales service seemed fine. Comfort is an issue for us as we now wear lifejackets all the time when on deck at sea. More of a problem in hot weather when you have nothing between the lj and your skin.
 
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I purchased 2 Crewsavers 18 months ago, they are well made and generally I am happy with them. I have noticed though a little chafe around the neck when on long runs (22hrs +) in the wet. I usually wear a Buff to overcome this.
 
orbister said:
Dear Gang,

I want to buy a couple of new lifejackets. Automatic, preferably Hammar and with built in harness. Is it worth paying the extra for Crewsaver?
Click to expand...

Look at how the lifejackets stay packed. I have come across a number of different types and I find the ones that have a zip around the edge very infuriating. Often the zip doesn't stay zipped but opens up. This is usually the case after you have added more bits inside. i.e. light.

I also don't like thigh straps. They are a pain in the neck. You sit down and the thigh straps drop down your legs making it difficult to stand up. I much prefer a single Crotch strap. As a consequence, often the thigh straps are removed leaving no strap which defeats the purpose. (the Spinlock range have thigh straps but they seem to have got around the issue of the straps dropping down by having the return of the loop lower down the strap..
 
orbister said:
Dear Gang,

I want to buy a couple of new lifejackets. Automatic, preferably Hammar and with built in harness. Is it worth paying the extra for Crewsaver?
Click to expand...

Given you will use them for ?5-8 years or more, the extra cost for a good brand is a small consideration. Tightly packed jackets will probably peel open in use with time - irritating but they all seem prone to this.

Automatic is the way - check the cylinder every year, and varnish it to prevent corrosion.

Check your gear every year for pinholes - inflate by mouth and leave overnight: then deflate the same way and repack. No need to send away: if the jacket doesn't hold air, it goes straight in the bin, of course! Repairs are uneconomic.

PWG
 
PeterGibbs said:
Given you will use them for ?5-8 years or more, the extra cost for a good brand is a small consideration. Tightly packed jackets will probably peel open in use with time - irritating but they all seem prone to this.

Automatic is the way - check the cylinder every year, and varnish it to prevent corrosion.

Check your gear every year for pinholes - inflate by mouth and leave overnight: then deflate the same way and repack. No need to send away: if the jacket doesn't hold air, it goes straight in the bin, of course! Repairs are uneconomic.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I ordered a couple of Crewsaver super-duper 150Ns today - I was getting some other stuff from Jimmy Green and their price on them was good enough that I wasn't going to spend time hunting for a few quid off.

This may be old hat, by the way, but I always try to make safety gear colour coded. On my current boat, for example, there is a yellow harness with a yellow lifeline, a red harness with a red lifeline and a blue harness with a blue lifeline. When we start a trip, everyone is allocated a harness and line and adjusts it to fit ... makes find them and putting them on in a hurry MUCH easier.
 
I would recommend that you give any newly purchased LJ's or other safety gear a close looking at before you assume that all is OK with them............We purchased two new Crewsavers a year or so ago and found that one had an incorrectly routed harness webbing, which was easy enough for us to rectify, however the other had two furry strips of velcro instead of one hook and one furry and the pouch wouldn't fasten. This was exchanged by the retailer, only to find that the replacement was also faulty, this time the webbing strap for the crotch strap had been folded but not stitched, we thought that it was missing but found it on the floor. The was also replaced by a somewhat apologetic chandlery. We contacted Crewsaver, they sent an apology and a foc watchstrap for the first but didn't reply to the second! I suspect that the chandlery had a word or two with the Sales Rep when on his next visit.
We purchased a Crewsaver lifesling some years ago and found that the line was attached to the sling by a single overhand knot with a very small stitch through the standing part of the line, one tug and it came undone! This was simple for me to sort out, a decent knot and some stitching.
It is worrying that such basic errors can get through "final inspection" on this type of kit.
 
orbister said:
Thanks. I ordered a couple of Crewsaver super-duper 150Ns today - I was getting some other stuff from Jimmy Green and their price on them was good enough that I wasn't going to spend time hunting for a few quid off.

This may be old hat, by the way, but I always try to make safety gear colour coded. On my current boat, for example, there is a yellow harness with a yellow lifeline, a red harness with a red lifeline and a blue harness with a blue lifeline. When we start a trip, everyone is allocated a harness and line and adjusts it to fit ... makes find them and putting them on in a hurry MUCH easier.
Click to expand...

One last thought: I have added crotch straps to my life vests: easy with a length of stout webbing and a suitable clip. Only takes a few minutes to make, and a definite plus!

PWG
 
Wight Dawn said:
I read that mouth inflation is NOT advised. Use a bellows or pump to ensure inflation is with dry air.
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Might not be recommended but its a salutary lesson in how hard they are to blow up. I wouldnt give myself much chance of doing so, in shock, in cold water and with water pressure to contend with. Confirmms the comment of a pal who fell in wearing a manual jacket and found he couldnt effectively blow it up. He wasnt an asthmatic old phrrt either!
 
wotayottie said:
Might not be recommended but its a salutary lesson in how hard they are to blow up. I wouldnt give myself much chance of doing so, in shock, in cold water and with water pressure to contend with. Confirmms the comment of a pal who fell in wearing a manual jacket and found he couldnt effectively blow it up. He wasnt an asthmatic old phrrt either!
Click to expand...

Surely 'Manual' means you have to pull the cord to fire the cylinder. Having to blow it up by mouth equates to 'faulty' in my mind unless you are talking about a minimalistic product.
The blow in tube is supposed to be for topping up - isn't it?
 
orbister said:
Dear Gang,

I want to buy a couple of new lifejackets. Automatic, preferably Hammar and with built in harness. Is it worth paying the extra for Crewsaver?
Click to expand...

Absolutely! A lifejacket has one purpose and one purpose only, as indicated by it's name! Buy the best you can that is most comfortable to wear ie something that you and crew will actually wear.

I bought a crewsaver 275N earlier this year: I feel alot safer than some non-descript other make - if it's good enough for the RNLI then it's good enough for me.
 
Having both Crewsaver and Kru lifejackets I would vote for the Kru everytime. Three reasons:

1. Kru are more comfortable
2. Kru are very easy to put on. I have always felt that you have to almost dislocate your shoulders to put the Crewsaver lifejacket on.
3. Crewsaver have an annoying pop / stud arrangement on the neck part that seems to come undone if you just look at it the wrong way.
 
Haven't experienced any of these negatives (have worn crewsaver for 40-50hrs now)- but that's why it is so important to try jackets on ("yes we are all individuals!!!!" ;) ), rather than buying "blind" via t'internet and on price etc.

radarman said:
Having both Crewsaver and Kru lifejackets I would vote for the Kru everytime. Three reasons:

1. Kru are more comfortable
2. Kru are very easy to put on. I have always felt that you have to almost dislocate your shoulders to put the Crewsaver lifejacket on.
3. Crewsaver have an annoying pop / stud arrangement on the neck part that seems to come undone if you just look at it the wrong way.
Click to expand...
 
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