Inflatable PFDs?

[rogersmith]

Just curious, why don't kayakers (my self included) wear them? Looks to be way more comfortable.

One answer I know is that it requires an action to inflate them (pull tab) and if you go over and get knocked out (by your own boat, etc.) you will drown before you inflate. Is that it?

[l2exllen]

There are also automatic-activated inflatable PFDs that inflate when they are immersed in water. They operate on a small tablet that dissolves in the water and causes the inflator to activate and fill the inflatable cell. These automatic ones also have a back up pull tab inflator just in case if doesn't deploy automatically. I've only used the inflatable ones on my float tube because I think its much safer to wear a regular one on a kayak IMO.

[CheapPelican]

It would suck to have your automatic go off during a surf launch.

I know inflateables are reliable, but they have parts that could break or malfunction. A vest is fool proof...if you ware it

[lightsidejedi]

Well I don't know.. but I tried them once on the store and they are really comfortable so I just ordered today one at Amazon so I'll give it a try..

this is the one that I ordered

http://www.amazon.com/Onyx-Co2-Autom...x+2+Inflatable

Its automatic or manual and I can change the setup very quickly. So this looks perfect to me.

[Jimmyz123]

Originally Posted by rogersmith

Just curious, why don't kayakers (my self included) wear them? Looks to be way more comfortable.

One answer I know is that it requires an action to inflate them (pull tab) and if you go over and get knocked out (by your own boat, etc.) you will drown before you inflate. Is that it?

Most of these have an auto inflate sensor so that if you are knocked out it will inflate. Seeing how we paddle out through the surf and if you should take some waves over the bow that get you wet to the point of activation, which I have heard has happened, you will have to recharge it. From what I hear they are also very loud when they go off.

[jorluivil]

For me its because of a little thing called pockets. I carry a headlamp, a knife, a whistle, an extra lobster gauge and believe it or not I tend to also carry my wallet in one of the PFD pockets....the important stuff.

[mrJB]

Jorluivil is right - lack of pockets. Also lack of warmth. A regular PFD is like wearing a jacket or sweater so less outer clothes are needed. I wear my inflatable (manual) only on the warmest summer days...

Might be good under a rain jacket though...

[Fiskadoro]

Originally Posted by rogersmith

Just curious, why don't kayakers (my self included) wear them? Looks to be way more comfortable.

OK think about this a minute...

Your kayaking along and a wave catches you wrong and you roll over. Now you're in the water, any gear that was out loose is in the water with you, the stuff that doesn't float is sinking, and the stuff that does is floating away from you. What are you going to do?

Another scenario:

Say your fishing yellows and you've hooked a big ole forty pound fish on your favorite setup a $150 rod with a $200 reel. You got the fish up to color and you know it's the biggest one you have ever hooked in your life. Suddenly wave catches you wrong and the kayak leans over and at the same time the fish lunges. The drag is pretty tight and you roll. Now you're in the water holding the rod as the fish takes heavy drag straight down. Everything on the yak that was not tied down is in the water with you, the stuff that doesn't float is sinking, and the stuff that does is floating away from you. What are you going to do?

A third scenario:

You're at the launch at 3:00am on a windy morning trying to get out to a wide open Seabass bite with fifty and sixty pound fish that's happening every morning right before sunup. It's rough and dark but you've stowed all your gear and have on a PFD on so you feel safe. You start out paddle a bit and hit a four foot wave just as it's breaking and it throws out of the yak. What are you going to do?

Scenario one if you have a kayak pfd on. You bob up, swim back to your yak, flip over the kayak and then immediately grab as much gear as you can and get it a back on the kayak starting with the paddle before it all drifts too far away. Then you climb on the kayak and paddle after anything that's still floating.

If you have inflatable vest you initially sink, then you swim up to the surface gasping and freaking out, then you fiddle around with your PFD trying to figure out how to inflate it, because it's not something you do all the time. Once inflated the PFD flips you over on your back because it's designed solely to keep your head out of the water face up to keep you from drowning.

You then look like this:

You then awkwardly swim back to your yak on your back, turn it over and notice everything that was not tied down including your paddle is now gone.

Say your smart enough to have your paddle on a leash, and had no loose gear on the deck. Well you now have to figure out how to get back in your yak when you essentially have a small rubber raft around your neck and once your back on it you realize that your not going to be able to paddle very well. Quickly you'll figure it out. Your day is over. You are not going to be able to fish or really paddle very well with that PFD inflated so you have two options, take it off and risk getting in real trouble if you roll again or just go home, You are already a little freaked so you leave.


Scenario two with a kayak PFD on. You hold on to the rod, and loosen the drag. Then letting the fish take some line you turn your yak back over and stick the rod in a rod holder. You then grab you paddle and throw it on the deck climb aboard and fight the fish in. Twenty minutes latter you are grinning ear to ear with the biggest Yellow you have ever caught on your game clip. Yeah you lost your sunglasses, your favorite fishing hat, your soaking wet, but who cares your on frigging cloud 9. Best Kayak trip ever!!!!

Scenario 2 with a inflatable PFD. You are in the water sinking, to make things worse the fish is pulling you under, you can't tread water and hold on to the rod, and find that little inflatable pull thingy all at the same time. Finally when you realize you could drown like this you let go of the rod, swim up to the surface gasping and freaking out, then you fiddle around with your PFD trying to figure out how to inflate it, because it's not something you do all the time. Once inflated the PFD flips you over on your back because it's designed solely to keep your head out of the water face up to keep you from drowning.

You then look like this:

You then awkwardly swim back to your yak on your back, turn it over and notice everything that was not tied down including your paddle is now gone.

Say your smart enough to have your paddle on a leash, and had no loose gear on the deck. Well you still now have to figure out how to get back in your yak when you essentially have a small rubber raft around your neck and once your back on it you realize that your not going to be able to paddle very well. Quickly you'll figure it out: your day is completely and utterly ruined. You lost the fish of a lifetime, lost your best rod and reel. You are not going to be able to fish or really paddle very well with that stupid huge inflated boat around your neck so you have two options, take it off and risk getting in real trouble if you roll again or just go home and miss out on the best bite you have ever been in. Worst Kayak trip ever!!! If only you had purchase a self inflating PFD things would of been so much better!!!

Oh really......

Scenario three: if you have a normal kayaking pfd you flip your yak back over and paddle out to the bite wet but excited to be out fishing.

Manual inflatable you almost drown in the surf but you resist the urge to inflate the thing walk back to shore, empty the water out of your waders, grab your yak and consider trying again. It's kind of a toss up kayaking sux in the dark.

If you have a fancy self inflating inflatable PFD you fall in the water then Fffffffffwwwwwwwooooooosh!!! your inflatable PFD inflates the PFD flips you over on your back because it's designed solely to keep your head out of the water face up to keep you from drowning.

You then look like this:


The next wave catches you and you get dragged in backwards through the surf back to shore. You then quickly realize you essentially have a small rubber raft around your neck and that your not going to be able to paddle or fish very well.. Quickly you decide it's not worth going out at all. Your day is over before it started. Your not going to be able to kayak with it on inflated, and you don't want to take it off and risk getting in real trouble if you roll again again in the dark so you throw the stupid thing in your truck load your kayak up and head home. You know what they say: No fish in La Jolla anyway.

So why don't people wear inflatable PFDs kayak fishing? Because whatever pluses they score comfort when kayaking, those advantages are quickly irrelevant when you actually get in trouble and have to use one in a emergency situation while kayaking.

All that said I have a inflatable PFD, but I only wear it freshwater fishing in lakes.

Jim

[Cbad Mike]

My luck, I would have a nice dry launch and then roll coming in in 3 feet of water. I would jump up and pull my kayak onto the beach all within 15 seconds then while on the beach with people already laughing, the tablet would desolve and KA BAM the vest would inflate while Im standing on the beach. LOL

I like the my PFD. I wear it all the time and its comfortable and like mentioned above, it has pockets and I use them.

JUST A THOUGHT... Im not real familiar with the self inflating PFDs but understand that if they get wet the inflate. I get all kinds of gunk on me while fishing and rinse my vest off with water after every use. I wonderif there is a way to make it NOT inflate during cleaning.

[Fiskadoro]

In the above post I'm trying to talk about it with a sense of humor, but the deal remains that with a standard kayaking PFD you don't have to mess with it to get it to work, and it's simply more practical for kayaking.

A kayaking PFD protects you as soon as you put it on. and when you hit the water it's there keeping you afloat. You can be in and out of the water all day long as much as you want and it's still 100% effective.

You don't have to deflate it, recharge it with a new cylinder after every use. Since you don't have to mess with it, start it, or inflate it so you can instantly take care of other things like grabbing your paddle, turning your yak back over, and fighting in that forty pound fish you hopefully still have on, if you do end up in the water.

You can also swim paddle and do everything you could do normally without having to reset it, or mess with it, and since it is designed for freedom of movement you can swim fish or paddle in it with total freedom of movement and comfort wet or dry day in day out.

Climb in and out of your yak, fall in the surf multiple times, do a handstand on your yak and flop over the side, with that Kayaking PFD it all doesn't matter. It's there and your safe, and you don't have to worry about damaging it punchering it or it getting in the way of what you want to do.

Inflatable PFDs are designed for boaters and rescue. Your boat sinks it's there for you. You fall out of your boat and it keeps on going it's there for you. When you fall out of your boat or it sinks it's a major catastrophic event, that inflatable is there so you can pull the cord then float around with your face up until the coast guard finds you and rescues you.

Boats don't roll very often, and when they do it's a huge deal. It's not like your going to climb back in a boat after it flips and then fish out the day.

Rolling a kayak is just part of ocean kayaking. It happens all the time. In sit insides you learn to Eskimo roll so you can just turn right back up and keep going. Rolling or falling out of your kayak is just part of kayaking so you want to wear gear that not only protects you but also allows you to get right back to kayaking with minimum effort and maximum safety.

Jim

[ful-rac]

Yeah I went the automatic inflating pfd route and I thought I was brilliant while all the other suckers were wearing a bulky pfd....mine was nice and compact.... I had it stored in my front hatch one day after it had rained I heard a boom!....I was thinking what the hell was that? A couple of days later, I open the hatch an it looked like I have a air mattress in there....that wasn't the worst part...you should have seen my face when I found out how much it was to re-arm it!!! FUCK!!! I bit the bullet and bought the re-arming kit...I could swear that the instructions said clearly that you had to be in 2 feet of water for so...many seconds for it to inflate....??? It was in 2 inches of water....So a couple of months later....I get home after a trip and I'm rinsing down my kayak and water starts to build in the front......with my PFD.....Boom! This time I knew what that sound was......I said are you FKN kidding me? open up the hatch and there it goes again...Mo $$$$$ for nothing....

So I didn't rearm it the second time, and now it sits in my garage. I would save the automatic pfd for when you go on a boat. That's what it's designed for anyway.

[Hunters Pa]

Did not want the automatic in case I needed to manually deploy and was unable to because of being hit by a boat or drunken jet-skiier. I have a wife & 2 kids relying on me coming home. I'll take whatever slight discomfort from a regular PFD to help ensure that happens.

[sasha]

Lets not forget that a regular PFD would protect your ribs in the surf. Going back in at the end of the day I got fliped out again in about 4ft of water. Tosed around under the water for a second or so. Just then when I stand up that freaking boat of my smacks me in the chest.

Well as we talk about a PFD. Lets say you roll over and for one reason or another you are out cold. Would the regular PFD keep you from sinking???
can someone be to big and heavy for one???
I always put my PFD on and keep it nice and tight. I can't swim well so always aware of safety first.