Offshore lifejackets: Spinlock Deckvest Vito vs Crewsaver Ergofit vs what else?

[MattS]

I've got an opportunity to help sail with someone from UK down to Lisbon in July, and will obviously therefore be spending some of that time offshore proper like.

Although I'm not planning any high latitude winter sailing... I do want to get a decent offshore lifejacket that can carry an AIS and PLB, and is designed for keeping me alive in an ocean rather than on a river.

Does anyone have any views / experience / insights into the main contenders? Or recommendations based on specific experience or factors?

If anyone can simply decode the various different Ergofit and Deckvest models that's also useful!

Reviews seem to think highly of the recent Ergofit models.

 

[Tranona]

This month's YM was made just for you - a review/test of latest models of offshore lifejackets!

 

[[70521]]

Get yourself to a decent chandelier and find one that you find comfortable in.

My choice is a Ergofit 290ex as it is comfortable on me.

Whatever you choose fit a MOB Lifesaver as it will help any rescuer pull you out of the water.

 

[lustyd]

Don't read articles, try on lifejackets! For me, the Deckvest was the only one that worked as the back of the neck is further back so I have full movement of my head including looking up. It also doesn't interfere with hoods and hats. Consequently I'm less likely to leave it in my bunk.

The Team-O was promising but had the same fit as my old Deckvest (which I rarely wore) and so was a no from me.

Your mileage will vary, but definitely don't buy on feature comparisons or magazine opinions (which are often paid for). Once you have a light, hood, auto inflate they are all safe enough but only if you wear them!

 

[Boathook]

Try them on as well to get a comfortable one as mentioned by Sandy.

 

[Tranona]

Don't read articles, try on lifejackets!

If you read the article you will be informed about the pros and cons of 13 broadly comparable products (the OP has only mentioned 2) and of course the article has a half page section on why you should try them on before you buy.

Better start to a search than a random post on a forum, although this will of course throw up some useful personal views.

 

[lustyd]

Indeed, but as I mentioned, beyond the basics those pros and cons are not as useful as fit, and there's only one way to compare fit. As I said, the Team-O backtow is very compelling as a feature, but I would never have been wearing that lifejacket due to the fit so it would never have been given a chance to save me.

 

[MattS]

This month's YM was made just for you - a review/test of latest models of offshore lifejackets!

I've just read that actually! But I was really surprised that the Ergofits and Vitos weren't really featured which partly led to me starting this thread!

 

[Tranona]

Indeed, but as I mentioned, beyond the basics those pros and cons are not as useful as fit, and there's only one way to compare fit. As I said, the Team-O backtow is very compelling as a feature, but I would never have been wearing that lifejacket due to the fit so it would never have been given a chance to save me.

But how do you know what is available unless you research the market - and of course if you had read the article you will have an idea what the pros and cons that you dismiss were, and know that "fit" expressed as adjustability, comfort and practicality were scored as well as covered in the individual assessment.

 

[MattS]

Thanks all - I do intend to go try some on too, and much of the advice online is to make sure the fit is good. I have to say, I've always had a 'no real choice' view on wearing lifejackets, so I'm quite unlikely to not wear one due to it being a bit uncomfortable.

Whatever you choose fit a MOB Lifesaver as it will help any rescuer pull you out of the water.

This is firmly on my list, along with a MOB1!

There are a few things I'm particularly interested in e.g. the ease of carrying a PLB on the jacket (it currently sits loosely on the waist strap of my current Crewfit), whether certain designs tend to get in the way, how easy they are to remove to pop to the heads etc... would love to have seen a heads time test in the YM article

The biggest challenge for me is decoding the different models within the similar ranges e.g. the YM article reviews the 6D, but would I choose that over a Vito? Why would I? Similarly with the Ergofits - Ergofit+ vs Ergofit Pro vs OC vs OS vs EX etc. etc. Crewsaver have comparison feature on their website, which is only slightly short of useless!

 

[lustyd]

I've just read that actually! But I was really surprised that the Ergofits and Vitos weren't really featured which partly led to me starting this thread!

Almost as if there were some kind of commercial aspect to these reviews

of course if you had read the article

I have read it. It's the same article as last year and the year before that. It doesn't change anything I said above at all. I do agree that for people unable to use the Internet it might be useful as a starting point to find options. Most will I imagine look at what their local shops or Internet shops offer and start from there. It doesn't change the fact that a well featured life jacket with great adjustability on paper, even with a best buy badge in an article, might not fit well at all and consequently won't be worn.

 

[[70521]]

There are a few things I'm particularly interested in e.g. the ease of carrying a PLB on the jacket (it currently sits loosely on the waist strap of my current Crewfit), whether certain designs tend to get in the way, how easy they are to remove to pop to the heads etc... would love to have seen a heads time test in the YM article

My personal gripe is nobody is producing a combined PLB/AIS device. I want every Office of the Watch within 5 NM to hear their AIS alarm wake the dead when I am in the water AND the CG be alerted about the same time so they can make sure the aircraft is being refuelled and the pilot gently woken from their slumbers.

In theory as long as you are face up the PLB should start transmitting. Personally, I'd like have a good Glasgow Coma Scale, i.e. conscious, to make sure the device is working and the antenna is pointing in the right direction.

 

[Plum]

I've got an opportunity to help sail with someone from UK down to Lisbon in July, and will obviously therefore be spending some of that time offshore proper like.

Although I'm not planning any high latitude winter sailing... I do want to get a decent offshore lifejacket that can carry an AIS and PLB, and is designed for keeping me alive in an ocean rather than on a river.

Does anyone have any views / experience / insights into the main contenders? Or recommendations based on specific experience or factors?

If anyone can simply decode the various different Ergofit and Deckvest models that's also useful!

Reviews seem to think highly of the recent Ergofit models.

I recently bought a new lifejacket and one of my priorities was to be able to fit my Ocean Signal PLB1 to the inflation tube inside the outer cover. In my experience, once you are in the water and the LJ has inflated any other location of the PLB will be extremely difficult to locate and strapped to the inflation tube is the only location that keeps the aerial out of the water without you having to constantly hold it up. Not all LJs have enough room inside the cover. The chandleries would not let me unzip them to try to fit mine. The Spinlock one (can't recall the model) did not have room. Seago could not give me a straight answer by email. Only Crewsaver gave me a direct answer "our 180N range and above can take the PLB" so i bought the Crewfit 180

www.solocoastalsailing.co.uk

 

[MattS]

I recently bought a new lifejacket and one of my priorities was to be able to fit my Ocean Signal PLB1 to the inflation tube inside the outer cover. In my experience, once you are in the water and the LJ has inflated any other location of the PLB will be extremely difficult to locate and strapped to the inflation tube is the only location that keeps the aerial out of the water without you having to constantly hold it up. Not all LJs have enough room inside the cover. The chandleries would not let me unzip them to try to fit mine. The Spinlock one (can't recall the model) did not have room. Seago could not give me a straight answer by email. Only Crewsaver gave me a direct answer "our 180N range and above can take the PLB" so i bought the Crewfit 180

www.solocoastalsailing.co.uk

That's really useful insight - thank you. And did you find Crewsaver good to their word, and did you manage to fit the PLB?

Do you also have a MOB1 AIS beacon, as I wonder if there is space for both devices around the inflation tube?

 

[KompetentKrew]

I never noticed I was wearing a lifejacket until I tried the Deckvest 5D - after that, all others feel very slightly bulky.

Not sure I'd choose a 6D over the 5D if I was buying again now - the only difference I can see is the fastening, and it doesn't look better. You can probably geta discount on a 5D from MarineSuperStore or anyone else who has it in stock. I doubt I'd choose a Vito.

I've crossed Biscay more than once with 5D's - a borrowed one before I bought my own. They seem to be popular on racing boats.

 

[[70521]]

Do you also have a MOB1 AIS beacon, as I wonder if there is space for both devices around the inflation tube?

There is no way that your could fit two devices round the inflation tube and pack the bladder in the cover. Having just done a monthly check on 28 CS 180s with an AIS device fitted it can be a pain repacking them. Hence my rant about a combined PLB/AIS device.

 

[Plum]

That's really useful insight - thank you. And did you find Crewsaver good to their word, and did you manage to fit the PLB?

Do you also have a MOB1 AIS beacon, as I wonder if there is space for both devices around the inflation tube?

Yes, they were correct, my PLB1 did fit (just!) to the inflation tube using the fastening that comes with the PLB1. I do not have an AIS beacon and I would be surprised if there was room for that on the inflation tube too, ask them......?

www.solocoastalsailing.co.uk

 

[MattS]

I never noticed I was wearing a lifejacket until I tried the Deckvest 5D - after that, all others feel very slightly bulky.

Not sure I'd choose a 6D over the 5D if I was buying again now - the only difference I can see is the fastening, and it doesn't look better. You can probably geta discount on a 5D from MarineSuperStore or anyone else who has it in stock. I doubt I'd choose a Vito.

I've crossed Biscay more than once with 5D's - a borrowed one before I bought my own. They seem to be popular on racing boats.

Any particular reason for not choosing a Vito?

 

[KompetentKrew]

Any particular reason for not choosing a Vito?

Just seems like overkill to me - it looks bulkier than the 5D/6D and I can't see what the advantages are.

I don't think there's any real benefit to hammar activation - the only time I've accidentally set off a lifejacket is when I dumped it (my cheap one for the tender) in a marina wheelbarrow that had an inch or two of water in the bottom. I guess a hammar one would have prevented this, but I believe they're also more expensive to rearm (and doesn't this need redoing every few years even if you haven't used it?).

Biscay is a milestone, and you're right to be excited about it. But it's not the southern ocean - there's a good chance the conditions will be benign, or that you'll have to motor all the way. I'd guess you're an experienced enough sailor that you'd consider force 6/7, even force 8 fully reefed, to be jolly good yachting, and these conditions are not by any means exclusive to Biscay.

I think there's an element of marketing to lifejacket design, in that the cheaper designs are deliberately basic looking, and then the premium models are styled to visually convey how rugged and roughty-toughty they are. They're advertised as "designed in conjunction with the Volvo Ocean Race" because it's natural for enthusiasts who are passionate about yachting to want the best. But I don't see that they're doing anything different - both models have the same 175N of buoyancy.

I was surprised how comfortable the 5D was, and that's the only justification I can give for spending so much on a flashy-looking LJ.

Finally, I would guess that the biggest contributor to lifejacket safety is just wearing the damn thing, I often don't, in benign daytime conditions. One night on my mile builder (from Southampton to Malta - the biggest conditions we saw were off the Spanish coast, past A Coruña and towards Gib) I came on deck for my watch to find us sailing in good conditions - the boat was heeled in a good breeze - and one of the lads on the low side of the cockpit pissing over the side. He was wearing no lifejacket and it was pitch dark - when I wondered out loud how long it would take us to find him if he went overboard, one of the other lads remarked that we were flying a gennaker (or an A2 or something?), so it would take us some minutes to get that under control before we could even start looking. In a case such as this the choice of lifejacket is irrelevant - it probably doesn't matter if your lifejacket keeps you afloat 36 hours or 48 hours; probably only the first 24 hours matter.

 

[Plum]

My personal gripe is nobody is producing a combined PLB/AIS device. I want every Office of the Watch within 5 NM to hear their AIS alarm wake the dead when I am in the water AND the CG be alerted about the same time so they can make sure the aircraft is being refuelled and the pilot gently woken from their slumbers.

In theory as long as you are face up the PLB should start transmitting. Personally, I'd like have a good Glasgow Coma Scale, i.e. conscious, to make sure the device is working and the antenna is pointing in the right direction.

Absolutely agree. A combined PLB & AIS device that will be above water with the LJ inflated, does not have an antenna that needs to be manually extended and the combined device can be activated entirely by feel so i don't have to rely on finding my reading glasses first. We live in hope.....

Www.solocoastalsailing.co.uk