35 minutes ago, roadwarrior said:

Well, I suppose color comes into play at the margin, but I want camo to match my clothes.

Even if I fall out I suspect I will be close to the boat if I am still floating.
 

Wow ~ 

I can only hope this serves as a waring to others.

A-Jay

 

 

Most all of the bladders are orange when deployed so visibility is good regardless of what the outer shell is colored.  The full vests have reflective strips on them and aid in visuals, especially in low light conditions.  I guess the takeaway here is that you need to use SOMETHING every time you are on the water and for us boaters (even with a hotfoot installed) ALWAYS use your kill switch.  

On 2/6/2019 at 1:20 PM, A-Jay said:

Wow ~ 

I can only hope this serves as a waring to others.

A-Jay

 

 

I don't know exactly what you mean.  I am just agreeing that you NEED to where your vest, but I don;t

think the color is all that important in most cases. Ocean, Great Lakes, the middle of any BIG water...Maybe.

However, just wearing a PFD is probably enough.

On 2/2/2019 at 11:14 AM, A-Jay said:

 

Auto inflated life jackets usually have bright yellow or bright orange "inflation bags". 

(Varies by manufacturer)

You can 'open them up' such as when you re-charge them, to see what color yours may be.

So while worn - in the ready status - the uninflated color may not represent what you'll see after a few seconds in the water.

 

As for recommendations - Mustang has been effectively protecting &  successfully saving lives for a long time. I've put my own trust & faith in their products.

 

https://www.mustangsurvival.com/en_US/products/flotation/inflatable-pfds/elite-inflatable-pfd-bass-competition-auto-hydrostatic-62533128729.html

 

A-Jay

I cannot even wear these legally in Illinois as they are not type 3.  Still perplexed as ever as I scroll through older threads and laws. I am assuming that the USCG determines the level based on buoyancy #'s. I saw a few level 3's that were 35 and 40lbs while this is a 5 @28 lbs. 

12 minutes ago, dgkasper58 said:

I cannot even wear these legally in Illinois as they are not type 3.  Still perplexed as ever as I scroll through older threads and laws. I am assuming that the USCG determines the level based on buoyancy #'s. I saw a few level 3's that were 35 and 40lbs while this is a 5 @28 lbs. 

Ummm - I just looked at Illinois law and it says nothing about types - just that it has to be USCG approved.

 

"All vessels must have at least one U.S. Coast Guard (USCG)–approved wearable personal flotation device (PFD), sometimes called life jacket, for each person on board or being towed. All vessels 16 feet or longer, except canoes and kayaks, also must carry one USCG–approved throwable PFD."

https://www.dnr.illinois.gov/boating/documents/boatdigest.pdf

 

So if someone told you that Type V's are not allowed - ask them where they got that information.

 

52 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

Ummm - I just looked at Illinois law and it says nothing about types - just that it has to be USCG approved.

 

"All vessels must have at least one U.S. Coast Guard (USCG)–approved wearable personal flotation device (PFD), sometimes called life jacket, for each person on board or being towed. All vessels 16 feet or longer, except canoes and kayaks, also must carry one USCG–approved throwable PFD."

https://www.dnr.illinois.gov/boating/documents/boatdigest.pdf

 

So if someone told you that Type V's are not allowed - ask them where they got that information.

 

Wow! Thanks for showing that to me as I have not looked it up in years!  I could have sworn Illinois was like MI where I have been stopped before and they said that it did not count towards your PFD count (this was a few years back). 

 

I just looked up MI too and it seems I would still need a type 1,2, or 3 in the boat with me as the type 5 does not count towards the pfd count.

 

Thanks again!

 

And remember...an inflatable has to be worn to count as a pfd.  If all you have in the boat are inflatables, you will get a ticket.  

4 minutes ago, dgkasper58 said:

I just looked up MI too and it seems I would still need a type 1,2, or 3 in the boat with me as the type 5 does not count towards the pfd count.

Ya, Michigan discounts inflatables as allowable PFDs - so you need a regular vest there.

 

"Vessels less than 16 feet (including canoes and kayaks) must be equipped with one Type I, II, III or IV PFD for each person on board.

All vessels less than 16 feet and used on the Great Lakes or connecting waterways are required to carry one approved Type I, II or III device for each person on board.

Vessels 16 feet and longer, in addition to the Type I, II or III for each person on board must carry one type IV. (Canoes and kayaks over 16 feet are exempt from the Type IV requirement.)"

https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-350-79119_79144_80298-37313--,00.html