Decent Water Sports Vest?

[BoatNoobie]

We plan on doing some tubing and such. Wanted to be safe so we were going to get some vests.

Found some at Costco for $40. Seems pretty nice, but dont know anything about these types of vest.

What do we look for? Or any recommendations?

 

[ziggy]

Re: Decent Water Sports Vest?

sounds like yer looking at some type III's. http://www.pfdma.org/choosing/types.aspx
that's what i wear. two things i've looked at are high speed impact. i think the ones i got are 50mph. they have 4 buckles. some of the lesser type III's will have 3 or even only 2 buckles. i also try them on. i've seen some at the store that are cut high under the arm. to me this is restrictive. so i found one that's lower cut under the arm and feels comfy to me. comfy is important to me too. i'm more likely to wear it... i been out three times this year. twice by myself. all three times i had my pfd on the whole time on the water. i'm trying to make it a habit to wear if i can. i'll reserve judgement as to what i do when it's a 100* out in the shade with high humidity...

not that i recommend it. but when i was a kid in the 60's and 70's we used a ski belt. and they do work. saw me some stars once while water skiing (after a hard wipeout). was under water and couldn't tell up from down. the ski belt took me to the surface... for all i know ski belts likely don't meet any uscg regs. now a days i don't suppose..

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Decent Water Sports Vest?

A couple of things to watch for. The cheaper vests do not have the front floatation panels stiched to the back floatation panels. This makes them very uncomfortable when in the water, as the flap up and hit you in the face. Buy only the ones that are stiched together on the sides.

The neopreme fabric covered lifevests are a bit more comfortable than the standard nylon covered ones.

If you can find the old style "plastic over foam" water ski vests, I like those the most, as they never ride up, fit close to the body and provide plenty of impact protection..

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: Decent Water Sports Vest?

Go neoprene for watersports. They fit more snugly and don't restrict your movement as much. The also generally have compartmenatlized flotation so that it won't shift out of place like some nylon vests do. The bigger the cutout for the arms, the better. No brand is really better than the other, so just find the better deal. I like zippers with a couple of buckles, but some are zip-only, and some are buckle-only. Side-entry versus front-entry (side-zipper vs front zipper) is an option too, but it's purely a cosmetic decision. JetPilot, BodyGlove, etc all make good lifevests.

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Decent Water Sports Vest?

Either neoprene or a hybrid jacket works well for watersports. The junk they sell at costco and target are uncomfortable and don't stay put. I personally find the hybrid jackets most comfortable, lighter weight than a full neoprene but stay put nicely.

 

[wbc1957]

Re: Decent Water Sports Vest?

sounds like yer looking at some type III's. http://www.pfdma.org/choosing/types.aspx
that's what i wear. two things i've looked at are high speed impact. i think the ones i got are 50mph. they have 4 buckles. some of the lesser type III's will have 3 or even only 2 buckles. i also try them on. i've seen some at the store that are cut high under the arm. to me this is restrictive. so i found one that's lower cut under the arm and feels comfy to me. comfy is important to me too. i'm more likely to wear it... i been out three times this year. twice by myself. all three times i had my pfd on the whole time on the water. i'm trying to make it a habit to wear if i can. i'll reserve judgement as to what i do when it's a 100* out in the shade with high humidity...

not that i recommend it. but when i was a kid in the 60's and 70's we used a ski belt. and they do work. saw me some stars once while water skiing (after a hard wipeout). was under water and couldn't tell up from down. the ski belt took me to the surface... for all i know ski belts likely don't meet any uscg regs. now a days i don't suppose..

Ski belt? Now you are showing your age Sir! True, they were easy to wear, and wear full time. But, not any state that I know of, counts them as a legal substitute for a vest. We did survive the 60's and 70's without seatbelts, airbags, windows that went all the way down! You'd think they would let us "experienced" people still use the ski belts!

 

[BoatNoobie]

Re: Decent Water Sports Vest?

Either neoprene or a hybrid jacket works well for watersports. The junk they sell at costco and target are uncomfortable and don't stay put. I personally find the hybrid jackets most comfortable, lighter weight than a full neoprene but stay put nicely.

This is what my local Costco has.
http://www.costco.com/Browse/Produc...=9&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Nty=1&topnav=&s=1

It fits well, at least for me. I dont know what neoprene looks or fells like.

Also, my boat isnt going anywhere fast. I can only hit low 30s. But towing a tube, it'll probably be more like 15ish.... :facepalm:

 

[Navigator_Victory]

Re: Decent Water Sports Vest?

+1 very comfortable

Go neoprene for watersports. They fit more snugly and don't restrict your movement as much. The also generally have compartmenatlized flotation so that it won't shift out of place like some nylon vests do. The bigger the cutout for the arms, the better. No brand is really better than the other, so just find the better deal. I like zippers with a couple of buckles, but some are zip-only, and some are buckle-only. Side-entry versus front-entry (side-zipper vs front zipper) is an option too, but it's purely a cosmetic decision. JetPilot, BodyGlove, etc all make good lifevests.

 

[Silverbullet555]

Re: Decent Water Sports Vest?

Our costco nomally has Jet vests that are neoprene and work pretty well. We have one or two of those. Try them on because sizes are not the same.

We also have some helium vests that I got on clearance and they still have a few. Accurate sizing is the biggest challenge with them.

http://www.stearnsflotation.com/SALE-amp-CLEARANCE-C32.aspx

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Decent Water Sports Vest?

Ziggy, I think the old ski belts were USCG approved, at the time. It seems to me that one I had was the standard orange canvas with Kapoc filling and with a USCG approval label on it. Obviously these are not approved any longer.

On undenyable advantage of the ski belt was the invention of a new sport. I took a girl water skiing one time in the mid-seventies. She wore a ski belt and a bikini. After she fell, her bikini top exploded, allowing me to invent the Wet Tee shirt contest, which she won, hands down.

It is not the same when that happens and she is wearing a full ski jacket.....