The U.S. Coast Guard reports that SOSpenders Corporation is recalling approximately 7,200 automatic inflatable personal flotation devices. Approximately 300 defective Hammer units in one lot were loaded incorrectly and will not inflate the vest.

The "pfds" have the brand name SOSpenders. The affected units can be identified by a Yellow hammar MA 1 Manual/Automatic Inflator Cap.

West Marine sold these units from 3/502 through 8/13/02

If you find that your unit might be in question, you can contact SOSpenders customer service at 1-800-858-5876 8:00AM - 5 PM Monday through Friday

glad I didn't buy mine yet ! Thanks for the info.

To the top.

If you haven't checked the serial number/batch number of your SOSpenders, now would be a good time.

Also - I was checking mine over last night, and discovered that they recommend changing the bobbins on the auto-inflate versions on a regular basis. I didn't think that this would be a big deal, so I let mine go for a couple of years. One went off in the cabin over the winter, so all of mine have fresh bobbins in them now. The bobbins are REAL cheap - The CO2 cartridges aren't........

Replacing the bobbin is easy, and West Marine has them (3-pack for $10.99):Replacement Bobbins - West Marine

Let's be careful out there.....

Thanks for the safety tip...