Best Lifejackets for Kids?

[Home Cookin']

Re: Best Lifejackets for Kids?

Question - if a life jacket doesn't stay on when doing watersports than why do you trust it for any other purpose? Not much difference between wiping out on a ski and falling out of the boat at speed.

true but it's all about assessing probable risk. Since you are more likely to hit your head in the boat at speed than fall out, should you issue motorcycle helmets to everyone? What about the benefits and dangers of seatbelts in a boat?

As for them coming off--have you ever been fitted for a PFD by a carefukl professional--such as for a white water rafting trip? They cinch those straps down so tight you can barely breath. Few recreational boaters do that for their passengers who are tubing/skiing--which is what happened to Texasmark, that or the PFD was the wrong size. It wasn't the lack of a crotch strap; it was operator error.

 

[Mason78]

Re: Best Lifejackets for Kids?

Almost lost a young daughter water skiing once. She was wearing a foam jacket (squeezable firm foam inside with a solid vinyl molded (to it) covering but NO CROTCH STRAP. She fell and the jacket came up over her forcing her arms straight up. When I looked around her face was partially under water and she seemed to be in a position where she couldn't do anything about it.

You just described my biggest fear. That is why I always preferred the jackets with crotch straps. Once my daughter reached a certain age she grew out of them, and the jackets in her size do not have crotch straps.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Best Lifejackets for Kids?

the reason why they don't have crotch straps is given above; at that age they are to be secured properly and the straps are not necessary. if they come up, they aren't tight enough.