Lifejackets

[tinstaafl]

Why is there such a large difference in prices between lifejackets that appear to be of the same type?

For example, I've found a couple of 150N lifejackets, both with hammar inflation, one for £60 and one for £140! In fact the cheaper one has a harness with it too!

I know that in life, one generally gets what one pays for but assuming both these jackets comply with all the regs, why can one be so much more expensive?

Sorry for the noob post, I'm sure it's a daft question really!

tinstaafl

 

[tinstaafl]

100 views and no one can answer this? Maybe it wasn't a daft question - or perhaps it was really daft!

tinstaafl

 

[panther]

I wonder how the different brands survive over time?

I would think that the important bit is that all your lifejackets are checked every season - blow them up via the mouth piece and see if they go down overnight


I have a crewsaver that has seen lots of action, I used to use it at work, then on a number of Ribs, and now on Jasper - probably over 10 years of use - would a "cheap" version last as long?

Jools

 

[whisper]

Hopefully the "get what you pay for" theory does apply but I'm not certain that it does. I've got both Baltic and Crewsaver Autos + harnesses and have had them for atleast 10 yrs. Both seem to have lasted perfectly well but the Baltic cost about 25% less than the Crewsaver at the time.
Think that one of either PBO, MBM or Sailing Today have done a group test sometime during the last 2 yrs - maybe worth a search.