Which Lifejackets?

I bought these,http://www.themarinewarehouse.com/prod7.htm, but that was 2 years ago and they were on a special, 4 in a holdall and recharging kits for £239 but I see they've gone up in price now.
but having said that, they do everything I want, offshore quality, but not the full blown jackets that cost a fortune, but price shouldn't come in to the equation I know,how much would you pay when you have to use them to save your life?
 
I thought the MBM article was good. A summary of their results: if you want light, sprayhood and crutch straps, then it seems the Secumar ultra AX plus is best buy at £130, or Kru Sport Pro at £145, or for budget model Viking Conquest at £90.

If you only want basic jacket, then I reckon the Seago, as they're 175N instead of 150, comfy to wear, easier buckle than the letterbox type, and good price. You definitely need crutch straps though.
 
Not so sure about hydrostatic activation. Folks involved in SAR seem to suggest us punters are better of with traditional salt pelet, or paper activation systems (ie getting wet triggers inflation). I remember when we got our RNLI sea check done some years ago there was a bit of negativity about hydrostatic activation, cause if you don't sink enough they may not activate. The guys doing our check suggested we avoid them.

I fell in off the bathing platform about 7 years ago wearing a hydro activated jacket and it did NOT inflate. I was only in the water about 60 seconds, but I binned it immediately afterwards and replaced the rest of our PDFs with traditional "wet" activated auto systems.
 
Faced with the same decision I did a lot of research and ended up choosing the Seago 275n lifejacket. Comes with integral harness, a fitted crotch strap that you can't lose and a an integral spray hood, looks to be exceptional quality as well.
I know that going for the 275n version might be considered overkill but I'm not in my first flush of youth, nor could I be described as svelte. I would rather have too much bouyancy if I'm wearing heavy waterproofs and boots.
Bought mine off the internet for a fraction under £100 including delivery===thouroughly reccomended
 
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