Author Topic: Smallest / cheapest USCG approved inflatable PFD?  (Read 12726 times)

NoogaSup

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Smallest / cheapest USCG approved inflatable PFD?
« on: June 25, 2013, 01:56:02 PM »
Subject line says it all - what is the smallest / cheapest USCG approved inflatable PFD?  Just want enough to keep me from getting slapped with a fine, don't plan to actually use it.

Also, I know it has probably been beat to death, but can someone clarify the law for me - do you have to actually wear the thing, or just have it on board (like all other so called "vessels")?

Thanks.

stoneaxe

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Re: Smallest / cheapest USCG approved inflatable PFD?
« Reply #1 on: June 25, 2013, 02:50:49 PM »
Has to be on the "vessel"....so dumb.... ::). A good inflatable you won't mind wearing though. I usually put mine on and spin it around to the back and forget about it until I go to get in my truck and its in the way. Not sure about smallest and cheapest but I like the MTI I have.
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Tom

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Re: Smallest / cheapest USCG approved inflatable PFD?
« Reply #2 on: June 25, 2013, 02:54:13 PM »
You can get a kid size orange cheap ne at most boat store, like West Marine, for about $5.00. The reguatin says nothing about its size.

hbsteve

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Re: Smallest / cheapest USCG approved inflatable PFD?
« Reply #3 on: June 25, 2013, 03:22:01 PM »
Belt types have to be worn.  Law says not backwards.  I do it anyway, also. Yep, you'll forget you have it on. Vest types can be on vessel.
I looked at the pull tab on mine today.  It says "Jerk to open".  Like I want to take a jerk with me, just in case.

WingSuit

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Re: Smallest / cheapest USCG approved inflatable PFD?
« Reply #4 on: June 25, 2013, 04:37:05 PM »
I have the Quicksilver belt type PFD.  I wear it on the salt water, you quickly forget its there.  The belt types aren't cheap though, as per the original post.  IMHO, a wearing a leash is a bigger deal than a PFD, your board becomes the flotation device.  If the wind takes your board away, now that's something to write home about.  Like most boarders, I use a sliding scale of what I have and wear depending on where I am paddling and what the days conditions are.  That said, at least in the Inland Waters if the Pacific Northwest (now known as the Salish Sea) conditions are so variable even on what appears to be a calm day you never really know what it's going to be like in an hour.   The Coast Guard does do boat checks here, as does the sheriff on the lake, and they do give tickets. 

lucabrasi

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Re: Smallest / cheapest USCG approved inflatable PFD?
« Reply #5 on: June 25, 2013, 04:54:17 PM »
Have the Hobie and Onyx in the house. The Onyx disappears and you don't even know it is there. The Hobie you know you are wearing but it's ok. It is new and not "weathered/softened/broke in" but it's shape isn't as conforming it seems.

PonoBill

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Re: Smallest / cheapest USCG approved inflatable PFD?
« Reply #6 on: June 25, 2013, 05:19:50 PM »
I have about a dozen inflatables kicking around. I keep misplacing them and then finding them the moment I bring home a new one (some of you have seen my garage, so this comes as no surprise). the one I wear is the MTI. Partly because I keep finding it, but also because for some reason it's the most comfortable. No idea why, just is.

Incidentally, I always assumed they were intended to be worn on the backside. I had a patrol guy tell me it was wrong the other day. I was pretty grumpy about him even checking me so I said "are you kidding me, the regulation says it's fine if I want to tie it on the board so it's totally useless, and you want to tell me how to wear this f*&ng thing."

Yeah, yeah, I know, he was just doing his job. I was doing mine--being a cantankerous old fart. I don't see any reason to make it enjoyable for them to stop me, and nearly knock me off my board with their wake both coming and going.

A friend of mine used to give OSHA guys the work area he was required to provide them with--between two continuously running ammonia compressors. They never stuck around long.
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Funsup

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Re: Smallest / cheapest USCG approved inflatable PFD?
« Reply #7 on: June 25, 2013, 06:35:38 PM »
I have a Stearns brand that is a very small belt pack.   I have been stopped  several times by the rangers and they all say," oh sorry, I didn't see that belt pfd."  I just remind them that they should check those guys on the jet ski, drinking beer and doing circles around the wake less buoy.  I think they may be slighly more dangerous.

Celeste

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Re: Smallest / cheapest USCG approved inflatable PFD?
« Reply #8 on: June 25, 2013, 06:42:52 PM »
If you have a class 5 PFD, it has to be worn on your body, not just on the board.  Class 3 or lower can just be on the board.  Most inflatables (all that I have looked at) are class 5.  The cheapest inflatable I could find is "suspender" brand.  They don't have the "bag" most do, just a wide strip that folds over itself and closes with velcro.  The bladder is tucked up in the fold.  Very unobtrusive,   If I am wearing a lose top that gets draped over it, I am sure to be told I need to wear a PFD, because it is so low profile
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Celeste

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Re: Smallest / cheapest USCG approved inflatable PFD?
« Reply #9 on: June 25, 2013, 06:45:09 PM »
I have a Stearns brand that is a very small belt pack.   I have been stopped  several times by the rangers and they all say," oh sorry, I didn't see that belt pfd."  I just remind them that they should check those guys on the jet ski, drinking beer and doing circles around the wake less buoy.  I think they may be slighly more dangerous.
I think that may be a case of the Rangers really caring about you, and hoping that Darwinian selection will deal with the jet pilots.
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WingSuit

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Re: Smallest / cheapest USCG approved inflatable PFD?
« Reply #10 on: June 25, 2013, 08:02:07 PM »
While we are on the subject...   If you have a belt-type inflatable take it to some water (or at least to your living room) and put it on, pull the trigger cord, and try it out.  Or at least manually inflate it and try it out.  I know none of us, esp me, would ever fall off the board and need a PFD, but if you ever do, you don't want to put it on for the first time when you think your life depends on it. 

Argosi

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Re: Smallest / cheapest USCG approved inflatable PFD?
« Reply #11 on: June 25, 2013, 08:58:41 PM »
When I first started paddling, I just bought a cheap aluminium paddle and went out on my windsurf board - never thought about a leash. I even tried a few downwinders without knowing that a leash was necessary - just didn't know any better. No one else was paddling in my area either, so no role models on our lake.

Anyhow, not surprisingly, I wiped out on a downwinder and kicked my board forward. I started to swim for it but there was no way I was catching it. I had an inflatable waist PFD. I wasn't too far out so I thought I'd try to swim to shore without blowing $20 on a new cartridge refill for my PFD. When I was too tired to go any further, I decided to inflate my PFD. I had turned it around so it was on my back - didn't really think about how it would get deployed. Messing around with your PFD when you're exhausted isn't fun. Simple things like turning around the PFD, finding the cord to pull (is it on the right or left? - one side has a whistle and the other has the pull cord). Some people even keep the pull cord bundled up neatly inside the PFD. Not a good idea. I eventually figured it out, pulled the cord and put the now inflated PFD over my head.

I now wear my belt PFD on my front, where it's supposed to be. And if I do a downwinder in blasting winds, I wear a regular lifejacket, not an inflatable. It's in crazy conditions where there's a possibility of your leash failing and I didn't want to take a chance with an inflatable PFD not working.

I'd also recommend undoing your inflatable PFD so you're familiar with how it's folded up.

SaMoSUP

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Re: Smallest / cheapest USCG approved inflatable PFD?
« Reply #12 on: June 25, 2013, 10:34:33 PM »
Argosi, did you ever retrieve your runaway board?

PonoBill

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Re: Smallest / cheapest USCG approved inflatable PFD?
« Reply #13 on: June 25, 2013, 11:07:45 PM »
If you have a class 5 PFD, it has to be worn on your body, not just on the board.  Class 3 or lower can just be on the board.  Most inflatables (all that I have looked at) are class 5.  The cheapest inflatable I could find is "suspender" brand.  They don't have the "bag" most do, just a wide strip that folds over itself and closes with velcro.  The bladder is tucked up in the fold.  Very unobtrusive,   If I am wearing a lose top that gets draped over it, I am sure to be told I need to wear a PFD, because it is so low profile

So here's how dumb the regulation is. I can buy a ten buck kids PFD and tie it on the nose of my board. It's class three of course, so I'm good. The logic is all built around a small boat sinking, and the PFD's floating up so you can find them. A class five wouldn't float up, but a three would. Of course SUPs don't sink, but that little distinction is lost on our rulemakers.
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

lucabrasi

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Re: Smallest / cheapest USCG approved inflatable PFD?
« Reply #14 on: June 26, 2013, 04:32:25 AM »
While we are on the subject...   If you have a belt-type inflatable take it to some water (or at least to your living room) and put it on, pull the trigger cord, and try it out.  Or at least manually inflate it and try it out. 
I pulled the cord on my Onyx this spring just to check it out. I got it in 2010 and it inflated in an instant. I was curious about a lifespan or loss of gas in the cartridge. I was also quite amazed at how durable the material is. Just doesn't seem that durable when it was all folded up and tucked away. I would imagine all of them are well made. It does seem some of them use a special cartridge with a ring on them that will push on the indicator so read up on yours to make sure you have the right replacement cartridge.

 


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