aknight
New member
Further to this recent thread I have checked and manually inflated my new Deckvest. I thought that anyone currently considering whether to purchase one of these quite pricey new lifejackets might find the following images of interest.
Apologies for the self-portrait (staring intently at built-in webcam on
MacBook). Incidentally, the CO2 cylinder has been removed here to avoid accidentally activating it.
As you can see, in contrast to many lifejackets, when inflated the left and right hand sides of the deckvest overlap one another. The image below is clearer, but as shown above, the effect is that they more or less close around the user's neck.
I'm not sure if it is a design feature or just my thick neck, but one practical consequence is that it is quite hard for the lifejacket to ride up, as it can't get past one's head.
The sprayhood is reasonably, but not - considering the price - incredibly strongly constructed. It has a number of ventilation holes from which a rip could start quite easily. Otherwise, it seems quite well designed and the plastic window sits clear of the user's face.
A special mention for the (included) light. It is clipped to the sprayhood. If the user chooses not to deploy the hood but to scrunch the sprayhood up behind his/her head, the light will twist with the hood and is likely to become obscured by the folds of fabric. It would be necessary to make a conscious effort to twist the light back round into position so that it remains clearly visible. However, the stitching attaching the hood to the lifejacket near the light is pretty flimsy, and it wouldn't take too much of that kind of treatment by the look of it.
Repacking the Deckvest after use is significantly more fiddly and time consuming than for the normal XM or Crewsaver type folding and velcro-closing versions. There are essentially no repacking instructions and it took me (admittedly not the most dextrous person) about 25 minutes to figure it out and pack everything away neatly.
My overriding comment about this product in the earlier thread was that it was 'fiddly'. I see I've started using that word again here. The same goes for the thigh straps. In the end I did get them set up without twisting, but only by rigging them in the reverse order to that shown in the (fiddly) picture-based instruction book, and hanging the jacket on a coat-hanger to replicate what would happen if someone was wearing it...now they are on, they are staying on, even if the 'neck-stopper' technology means that they might not be needed.
Having worn the Deckvest for a few hours now, and having adjusted it pretty carefully, I would say that it is really no more or less comfortable than my XM Easyfit. The Deckvest of course come with an integral light and sprayhood, but in no other respect does it seem to be to be superior to the XM, unless of course the 'neck-stopper' shape makes a difference. And it's awfully... fiddly.
(N.B. The manufacture date of my Deckvest was July 2007. That date is also stamped on the CO2 cylinder. The firing head expiry date is 2013 and the light expiry date is 2012).
Apologies for the self-portrait (staring intently at built-in webcam on
MacBook). Incidentally, the CO2 cylinder has been removed here to avoid accidentally activating it.
As you can see, in contrast to many lifejackets, when inflated the left and right hand sides of the deckvest overlap one another. The image below is clearer, but as shown above, the effect is that they more or less close around the user's neck.
I'm not sure if it is a design feature or just my thick neck, but one practical consequence is that it is quite hard for the lifejacket to ride up, as it can't get past one's head.
The sprayhood is reasonably, but not - considering the price - incredibly strongly constructed. It has a number of ventilation holes from which a rip could start quite easily. Otherwise, it seems quite well designed and the plastic window sits clear of the user's face.
A special mention for the (included) light. It is clipped to the sprayhood. If the user chooses not to deploy the hood but to scrunch the sprayhood up behind his/her head, the light will twist with the hood and is likely to become obscured by the folds of fabric. It would be necessary to make a conscious effort to twist the light back round into position so that it remains clearly visible. However, the stitching attaching the hood to the lifejacket near the light is pretty flimsy, and it wouldn't take too much of that kind of treatment by the look of it.
Repacking the Deckvest after use is significantly more fiddly and time consuming than for the normal XM or Crewsaver type folding and velcro-closing versions. There are essentially no repacking instructions and it took me (admittedly not the most dextrous person) about 25 minutes to figure it out and pack everything away neatly.
My overriding comment about this product in the earlier thread was that it was 'fiddly'. I see I've started using that word again here. The same goes for the thigh straps. In the end I did get them set up without twisting, but only by rigging them in the reverse order to that shown in the (fiddly) picture-based instruction book, and hanging the jacket on a coat-hanger to replicate what would happen if someone was wearing it...now they are on, they are staying on, even if the 'neck-stopper' technology means that they might not be needed.
Having worn the Deckvest for a few hours now, and having adjusted it pretty carefully, I would say that it is really no more or less comfortable than my XM Easyfit. The Deckvest of course come with an integral light and sprayhood, but in no other respect does it seem to be to be superior to the XM, unless of course the 'neck-stopper' shape makes a difference. And it's awfully... fiddly.
(N.B. The manufacture date of my Deckvest was July 2007. That date is also stamped on the CO2 cylinder. The firing head expiry date is 2013 and the light expiry date is 2012).
