Lifejacket Recommendations

Irish Rover

Irish Rover

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I know there have been previous threads but I'd like to get a specific perspective on this having regard to my likely usage profile if anyone has the time to advise. What I had on my previous boat were the foam type which are probably described as buoyancy aids and that's what has come with the new to me boat as well. I'm planning to buy new life jackets but I'm unsure what will best suit me. All of my boating will be in the Med so relatively warm water minimum around 16C in winter and I won't be wearing a harness. I'm not as agile as I once was so getting in and out of the dingy at anchor is probably the riskiest time for me. I will definitely wear the LJ in the dingy and I will probably have to get in the water regularly to beach and launch it. So would 150N, no harness, manual type be the best choice and any recommendations on brand, model or current bargains on offer. Choice is fairly limited here in Turkey and top brands relatively expensive so I will likely order from UK and won't have a chance to try them on before buying.
 
I recently bought a set of these for Flower Power.
Auto inflate, no harness, comfy to wear (I don't feel like I'm wearing a corset).
£95 or so.

I'd go for an auto inflate just in case you do knock yourself out - it's hard to pull a toggle when unconscious.

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Irish Rover said:
Would auto inflate not be a problem when getting in the water to beach or launch the dingy especially if I lost my footing?
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If the lifejacket auto-inflates, you just have to pretend that you meant it to happen all along :)

More seriously, in all the time I have been boating (since 1999), I have only ever accidentally auto-inflated a lifejacket twice.
Once I threw the lifejacket into the bottom of the slatted floor tender that had 4 inches of water in it. I'm not sure why I thought anything other than "psssstt whoomph" would happen.
The second time I jumped out of the tender, got swamped by a wave on the beach, and fell over into the water.

Either way, it's not the end of the world.
£15 for another gas cylinder, dry it out, and fold it all back again.

Some of the more expensive autos have a "Hammar" hydrostatic head which would need you to properly fall in before it went off.

Both the above jackets are also available as manual inflation, if that's what you really want.

.
 
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I went for a set of Active 190 Pro. It’s at the affordable end of life jacket price range and yet still comes with an unobtrusive, soft harness point, double crotch straps, strobe light and sprayhood. The simple U-shaped design, unlike some of the more shaped life jackets I tried, it’s comfortable to wear.
 
Quite what is it that you want the lifejacket to do? If your major concern is tumbling overboard next to the boat and the tender, that is a bit different to falling overboard 100 miles from help!
Personally, in the boat to tender to beach scenario if you feel you need something, then I might use the dinghy foam style-I assume you feel you can get back onto the boat, or into the tender.
If you can't, does an inflatable lifejacket help ? Open question..I am not sure?
 
A bouyancy aid in the dinghy (so you can still swim and get back in a dinghy) and an auto lifejacket on the boat would be my preference. Manouverability in an inflated lifejacket is very limited.
 
Thanks all for your input and ideas. Never having been dunked with an inflatable LJ on I wasn't thinking about how it would restrict me from getting back on the boat or dingy.
 
MoodySabre said:
A bouyancy aid in the dinghy (so you can still swim and get back in a dinghy) and an auto lifejacket on the boat would be my preference. Manouverability in an inflated lifejacket is very limited.
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That's exactly what I have - buoyancy aids for the dinghy, autoinflatable for the boat.
 
If you are looking for more manoverability in a dinghy buoyancy aid you might also want to consider those for canoeing etc. Decathlon retails such items I believe as I was looking to invest in some buoyancy aids and another forumite mentioned this option as they assist to reboard in event of un planned med swimming session or in the somewhat colder reaches of the rivers around south coast .
 
ashtead said:
If you are looking for more manoverability in a dinghy buoyancy aid you might also want to consider those for canoeing etc. Decathlon retails such items I believe as I was looking to invest in some buoyancy aids and another forumite mentioned this option as they assist to reboard in event of un planned med swimming session or in the somewhat colder reaches of the rivers around south coast .
Click to expand...
Thank you. I'll have a look. There are 2 branches of Decathlon in Izmir which is only an hours drive from me.
 
I recently bought a Crewsaver Ergofit 190 Offshore. I am looking to buy a PLB but am struggling to determine which (other than the McMurdo) fit on it. Does anyone know whether the MOB1 is compatible with it? I can´t find anything with a Google Search. Thanks.
 
I have completed a sea survival course with my family. Interesting to jump in see what ah
Lend to your life jacket and life raft on hitting the water. I like the quality of Kru stuff
 
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