Life Jackets
 

As are a lot of us, I am guilty of only wearing a life jacket if caught in very rough water. I know they save lives but they are also bulky and uncomfortable especially on a hot day. How reliable are Mustang inflatable vests? Are they just a false sense of security at anything above 50 mph or so? Does anyone here wear inflatables on a go-fast?

I just took the Tres Martin class and he does not endorse that type at all...

My passenger (Rik) and I were wearing Mustang Survival auto-inflate life jackets when we put my 30 over back in '06 and they worked perfectly. Rik said it saved his life for sure, as he was swimming the wrong way (down instead of up), and when he finally gave up the fight of swimming, the jacket turned him around and raised him to the surface. It's what I keep in both my current Skaters (36/46) for myself and all my passengers. They're definitely not as safe in the event of a high speed water impact as a Lifeline poker run jacket, but if we wreck at high speed we're all dead anyway, no matter what jacket we're wearing.

I carry a pair of Mustang inflatables on my boat and sometimes wear them if we're not going fast. Having owned Lifeline Racing vests in the past, there's no comparison. The big difference is impact protection. The Lifelines are zippered and strapped on - with leg straps - and all metal fasteners. The inflatables are simply single plastic snap / strapped on. if you crash at any kind pf speed, there's a pretty good chance the inflatables will simply get stripped off. As has already been said, if you crash at high speed, the impact will probably kill you, but at least with a Lifeline, finding the body will be easier. When the inflatable gets stripped off, well, you know. I have Lifeline Poker Run vests on order since with last fall's re-power, we're running more than fast enough to need them.

Oddly enough, most inflatables are USCG approved and Lifelines are not. I still can't figure that one out.

USCG approval doesn't apply to LL as they are made to order as a custom fit (No idea on the Poker run series are they are production run and not "custom") .. as the dimensions change the certification would not be umbrella-ed on the jacket originally submitted....

A friend of mine has a saying, the safest vest is one that you wear. So we have went to the inflatables with the straps that go under you. I hear what everyone is saying about impact and suck but we wear these things a lot and sometimes forget they are on.

Life line will not do much good if you only put it on when you THINK you may go fast. I also had a old coast guard guy tell me something like 40% of the bodies they recover have their fly open. LOL.

I'm not surprised that Tres Martin doesn't endorse inflatables. I do own a lifeline for myself and a variety of zipper neoprenes. The fact is, we rarely wear them. Skater30, cool story. I'm sure that was scary af! A couple more stories like that and I'll definitely invest in some Mustangs!

IMO, Purchase a vest with a buoyancy of at least 150N (100N is a typical life vest for sheltered waters)

Inherent with many inflatables, when inflated, it wants to raise up making it uncomfortable and hard to swim. I solved this problem by adding a Boat Cover Adjustable Strap placed between the legs. It also aids in the prevention Of the vest being stripped Off the body.

But any vest is better than non. Said the drown..

Edit

I have some thoughts:

Example of inflatable jacket not inflating and person drowning while surrounded by people trying to rescue him

In the above example the inflatable jacket was 16 years old and failed to inflate - could have been in manual mode however, we don't know.

Example of PWC style jacket staying on and keeping head above water after crash

In the above example the person did wind up perishing but the lifejacket seems to have done a good job - she was probably riding fairly fast on the jet ski and the vest stayed on her body after the crash and kept her head above water.

Where I boat it's just too hot to wear a PWC style jacket if you're not getting splashed/soaking wet and getting cooled down often. To me, inflatable is better than nothing just be sure to keep them in good shape(replace when expired, don't store in 120 degree boat cabin etc) and make sure the people wearing them know how they work. That last part is key - to you it's common sense but some people you may bring on the boat just have no clue about anything boating related. I once asked a (smart, engineer!)friend to drop the anchor and didn't give him any instructions (other than not to throw it) figuring it was common sense. He payed out all 200 feet of anchor rode and it was only 4 feet deep...

As others have said the most important thing is to wear them. Get the most comfortable one that fits you the best and keep it out. I hated the thought of wearing one until I started Bass fishing competitively, as long a the big motor is running you must have it on or you are disqualified. This gets you in the habit quick.
I found if you take them out and place them on the seats or bolster you will have a tendency to put it on.

A lot of good posts, and I just want to point out that the only way to even be halfway safe in any open cockpit boat running 100++ is with a REAL lifeline that will float you face up and a helmet with restraints, along with ballistic shorts (add a parachute to your back if you plan on going really fast). I ran an open cockpit hydro through the lights at 165mph (max top speed allowed in an open hydro in NJBA is 165.00mph), and this is the gear I had to wear. I really don't see anyone wearing all this in a poker run, but it's what we all should be wearing if we want to be safe. For me, actually wearing the Mustang inflatables is a lot better than nothing, and the best thing we can all do is to NEVER drink and drive, and also slow down to not drive past the limits of what is safe for the boat we are in for the conditions.
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From 2019 recreational boating statistics.
Where cause of death was known, 79% of fatal boating accident victims drowned. Of
those drowning victims with reported life jacket usage, 86% were not wearing a life jacket.
ONE SHOULD KNOW that wearing a PDF saves lives. And SOME die with them on. But that's NOT what this thread is about.

I agree 100% on the phrase, The one you wear ...

That being said, we have Lifelines and it is much like wearing a seat belt. When you first started using it, it felt funny, uncomfortable and you were self conscious. But by the end of the run, and from that first day forward, it becomes second nature. Now..... It feels the exact opposite when you get in the boat and go for a ride, without having the jacket on.

I will also add, law enforcement in the area you boat regularly will also take notice. Quick side story: We always kept our boat in storage and commuted to the lake. When we came in for the weekend, I would grab boat from storage, splash it and wife would take it back to our place, while I took trailer etc back to storage. We then boated all weekend and took back out when we went to go back home. One weekend nearing the end of the season, water patrol was at the dock doing their thing and while I waited for the wife to show up with the boat, we started talking. As soon as I stated what boat I was waiting on, they both said: Oh you are the ones with the matching jackets.... Kind of floored me, there is 1000's of boats on LOTO on a busy weekend and they took notice of us. And... every time they had a check point during the summer, we always got waived through. Bottom line, safety pays!

I personally like the neoprene style fitted jackets that the ski and wake board guys wear. This is the jacket I use. Im definitely guilty of not wearing it but Im also not in a performance boat. When we were doing a lot of sailing in big water I would wear it because it is so comfortable. After awhile you didn't even notice it on. They are definitely not ocean rated but its better then nothing at all or a pair of blue jeans blown up tied around your chest.

https://www.obrien.com/o-brien-men-s...e/5637342017.p

A little off topic but I can top that story. We stopped once and my anchor and line was coiled up on the cockpit floor. My helpful lady passenger promptly tossed it into the water to which I exclaimed "I usually clip it to the boat first..."

I'm going to look into the Mustangs more and maybe start out with two of them. I like the idea of adding a crotch strap. I won't allow children on my boat if they don't have a proper child's vest with crotch strap.

We got inflatables from West marine that has the crotch strap built in, you may want to look at their web site.

I will do that. There are lots of these on the market at all price points. Any recommendations for a performance application? Auto inflate feature is a must. There are Defender brand, Mustang brand and others on Amazon. I'm lost!

I use to wrench on my buddies Top alcohol / Pro mod capsule boat fun times.............life jackets will be mandatory for all on my boat.

Great information in this thread!

No recommendations, I have not had to test any yet,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

I have to do more research unless someone has a recommendation. The best ones are bulky and have sailing harnesses. The small ones wouldn't have a chance in hell of staying on. Only a couple come with leg straps. If I was in a poker run it would be lifelines for everyone but I'm not and i usually don't wear a jacket. If it gets rough on the Great Lakes then we put them on. Otherwise I take my chance, like biking without a helmet. I encourage passengers to wear a vest but they usually follow my lead and don't. Right now the Mustang Survival looks like the best bet.

I've kind of come to the conclusion that a good inflatable is nearly as bulky as a high performance life jacket and a small one will not do any good in a high speed crash. I think I'm giving up on the idea of inflatables and maybe we will wear our life jackets more when going fast.

We wear our mustangs every time. They do not have leg straps, our next ones will. Our boat isn't that fast, max of 104, but we run it hard almost every time out We wear our Lifelines during poker runs etc. Just my opinion, some sort of pfd is better than nothing.

Being tethered to a flipping or rolling boat just doesn't appeal to me. Seat belt I could do.

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Basic but better then zero

What model do you wear?

The tethering is only for sailboats to help keep one from going overboard. A seatbelt in a boat would lead to a broken neck.

When I was a lot younger I used to do some crazy things on the water and it wouldn't be uncommon for me to hit the water going 70+. I had on a neoprene jacket once and hit the water going way to fast. Fortunately for me when I finally stopped I was in shallow water and could stand up. The jacket I was wearing disintegrated and all that was left were the nylon straps and bits of neoprene. I found some jackets from Sea Doo that are impact rated to 100mph and coast guard certified. The problem is that I don't wear them enough and thought about getting the mustangs as well. I will say I was doing some prop testing in rough water and put my jacket on. I caught a wave just right and got to much air and the stern caught a wave and slammed the bow into the following wave and spun the boat sideways into the wave. I went from 75 to 0 instantly. I stayed in the boat, but I cracked a few ribs, and messed up my hip pretty good but that jacket helped cushion the blow.