Clumsy as I'm getting in my old age, I'm beginning to think it's a matter of time before I go head over butt out of the boat. I do have a regular life jacket I wear when I'm running, but it's too bulky and hot to wear while fishing. I've looked at the auto-inflatables from Cabelas, BPS, and Mustang in the catalogs. The Mustangs are a bit pricey. Looking for an auto-inflatable w/manual backup that won't A: Inflate in the rain, or B: Break the bank. Any suggestions?

Clumsy as I'm getting in my old age, I'm beginning to think it's a matter of time before I go head over butt out of the boat. I do have a regular life jacket I wear when I'm running, but it's too bulky and hot to wear while fishing. I've looked at the auto-inflatables from Cabelas, BPS, and Mustang in the catalogs. The Mustangs are a bit pricey. Looking for an auto-inflatable w/manual backup that won't A: Inflate in the rain, or B: Break the bank. Any suggestions?

The Mustang HIT is your only option.  How much is your life worth?

I've been using a Mustang HIT for about two years, it's been worn in driving rain without inflating.

I have a couple of the automatic inflation life jackets.  Orignially, I got one of the standard automatic inflation models.  It worked fine.  I got rained on several times and it never accidentally inflated.  I wore it in severe rain storms and in moderate rain storms going 60+ mph during a BFL tournament.

Once during the summer , an exceptionally hot & humid day/evening, I took off the vest, threw it on the front seat of my truck and locked it up.  Several days later, I had to go out to my truck and look for something and the vest had inflated.  My guess is the humidity trapped inside the truck eventually melted the clay bobbin.  I bought a re-arming kit and went about my business.

Last year, Bass Pro had a spring sale and had the HIT inflatable vest on sale (I think $229 or something close to that), it was roughly $50 less than the standard price, so I bought one and now I have the other as a back up or a loaner.

I have fallen out of the boat once (in 46 or so degree water) in 2006.  Talk about a wake up call.  I bought an inflatable vest that evening when I got home and I always wear it.  I think that the vest is comfortable enough that it eliminates all excuses for not wearing one.  JMO

It's not the getting wet that causes them to inflate.  It's the sudden minute difference in atmospheric pressure that's caused when it goes a few inches below the surface of the water.

The things you need to look at is how often they recommend replacing the charge and what they cost.  Some get rather expensive and they recommend replacing them every six months.

Another thing is how well it fits and is it comfortable enough to wear, some with wear your neck raw. 

Then you have to figure how well it's made.  Get thrown from a moving boat, will it stay together.  I know you're suppose to put your life vest on when moving, but many times that doesn't happen. 

I had to buy two. During the summers, my dad would never wear his life vest, so I bought two similar to this one http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_104808_100021002_100000000_100021000_100-21-2.  I got me one and wore it so it wouldn't have an excuse not to wear his.  About two months later, he got to see just how much they were worth and was glad he had it on.  He left a rod on the rear deck and I had started off and was probably up to 30 mph when he all of a sudden jumped up and went to reach on the back deck to catch it.  Well, he ended up in the water.  His $400 rod/reel stayed in the boat though, so all was good. ;D

Althought they are pricey, in my opinion, the Mustang HIT is the only way to go for the reasons already stated. I have been wearing one for around 5 years. It actually saved my life when I was thrown out of my boat in 2008 due to a steering malfunction.