I am in the process of developing a Bass club at our school and the questions of PFD'S came up.

NH law states that those 12 and under must wear PFD's. As a school, we will require PFD'S 100% of the time.

Auto-inflate's are recommended for those 16 and over.

What am I missing.......is there a downside to a 15 year old wearing an auto- inflatable?

I hope @A-Jay can share his input.

Thanks

Al

 

It’s the same here in Ontario, 16 years old and over 100lbs to wear one. Maybe it’s due to the violent nature of how it inflates and dealing with smaller children’s necks etc. I had my 9 year old wear one once, only because I misinterpreted the regs thinking it was 16 or 100lbs ( he’s just over 100, a pretty big boy ?), but after later realizing, he immediately went back to the regular type vest. 

I have seen a few pics on here and other sites of pretty young kids wearing inflatables and it looks like they would slip right out of them due to the vest being so loose on the child. Better to err on the extra safe side, especially with young ones. 

Probably due to the smaller physical size of the children.

 

59 minutes ago, NHBull said:

I am in the process of developing a Bass club at our school and the questions of PFD'S came up.

NH law states that those 12 and under must wear PFD's. As a school, we will require PFD'S 100% of the time.

Auto-inflate's are recommended for those 16 and over.

What am I missing.......is there a downside to a 15 year old wearing an auto- inflatable?

I hope @A-Jay can share his input.

Thanks

Al

 

I would say the down side is that it's illegal in NH. 

Can not go wrong by following the letter of the law. 

btw -  Self-inflating type III's need maintenance & periodic rearming - $$$$

A USCG certified, serviceable and properly fitted standard type III, may be a good plan.

May not look the coolest but they float everytime and just try and sink one

Good Luck. 

 

A-Jay

13 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

 

I would say the down side is that it's illegal in NH. 

Can not go wrong by following the letter of the law. 

btw -  Self-inflating type III's need maintenance & periodic rearming - $$$$

A USCG certified, serviceable and properly fitted standard type III, may be a good plan.

May not look the coolest but they float everytime and just try and sink one

Good Luck. 

 

A-Jay

No......the manufacturer says 16 with no mention of weight and chest size down to 30.

Since I posted this we decided to go with a slender type III and be done with it. KISS!