Body of paddle boarder found near Stuart Causeway, FL Sunday, Mar 17th, 2013

[wilanz]

Yep, I own one, yep I read the instruction card, and nope I've never inflated it....have any of us???

I've owned mine for about 6 years.  I got a set for recreational Kayaking.  I was happy to hear they were ok for SUP.  I changed out the cartridge because it looked really corroded.  I had my hand on it once it was the third wave in the set and I was getting hammered pretty good on the way outside break.   

I did deploy it while learning to hobie car sail in high winds.  After flipping the hobie cat a couple of times, the last time I got ejected I didn't make it back to the boat and watched the hobie cat tumble away with my cell phone attached to the cooler.   It just kept righting it self and flipping over.   

I deployed the PFD for the sailing center to see me but it was near impossible to swim with.  I just moved it to my back and used it as a marker while i swam. 

[Celeste]

Yep, I own one, yep I read the instruction card, and nope I've never inflated it....have any of us???

Yes I have, both with the cylinder and by mouth, in the water.  I am not above doing stupid stuff, I just want to make sure of my back up it there if I need it.

[headmount]

I had an A-fib (irregular heartbeat) out in the ocean while paddling DW.  I feature myself as fairly strong in the water but during that particular event, there was no doubt in my mind that if I fell off the board (I was on my knees using my paddle for a sail) I would not be able to get back on the board.  I would have tried to swim but probably would've died.  Exerting myself to even a minimal degree was impossible. 

So that's not even an MI... just an A-fib.  People over 50 get them all the time (severe dehydration can do it) so when it happens on a SUB and there's no calvary to save you, you're pretty screwed.  I was lucky to have made it, probably because I convinced myself that I was getting the flu and I was just getting sick in the regular way.   

You get one on the putting green and your pals pile you into the golf cart.  You're good. 

Each time I paddle out and make it back in, I'm a happy boy.  I want to kick his only good knee when PBill tells me this but it's true.... Death is always a possibility.

[PonoBill]

We wear them on our ass, right?... that's backwards.  If deployed in a panicked state, it'd be inflated behind our back and we'd probably die struggling to wrestle the thing like a bizarre sea snake...

Yep, I own one, yep I read the instruction card, and nope I've never inflated it....have any of us???

Yup, I'm a curious guy. Wanted to see how well it worked. It's not bad, you won't die wrestling it. I've also blown it up maually (or is that orally) in the water. and I tried the suspender-style inflatable too--popped one of those to try it. I've also blown up my camelback and swum a mile or so with it. Just to see.

 I know for a fact that Krystyana Chemlinski tested hers -- on one of the CCBC crossings. She sat down during a break and BAM. That gal is something else. I think I might have even spelled her name right. What a talent.

[lucabrasi]

Yep, I own one, yep I read the instruction card, and nope I've never inflated it....have any of us???

Yeah, you're right, they do minimize the dork factor and that is one of the reasons I got mine. I have unpacked mine and blown it up by mouth but have never pulled the cord. Also easy to comply instead of a "real" one strapped to the board. Definatley better, back or front, than if you are strapping a pfd to the board. Thing is that as I was going through my summer stuff this weekend which has been sitting in a lonely pile for a few months I actually thought to myself that I am going to change the cartridge out. I had read somewhere that the co2 cartridges lose "power" in air rifles in cold weather. I think they gain it back when it warms up but I am not sure. Regardless, I thought it had been on there for 3 seasons already so I should change it out. I bet somewhere in the long lost instructions it may have some sort of "maintence" cycle. I will pull the cord on the existing one when I do. If an issue from the "old" unused cartridge I will post.
I actually wonder how many people have got theirs and carry them around without putting the cartridge in place. I actually believe the leash is plenty sufficient. Unless you have one of the super dorko orange ones, or perhaps bass boat Bob suspender type co2 ones, you very well are going to end up face down anyways.

A few years ago Bill posted this. I was so......educated, even having been around and loving the water my whole life I made my family read it. Much of it has been said already in this thread but here it is again.
 
http://www.xgeez.com/2011/06/drowing-doesnt-look-like-drowning/

[stoneaxe]

I tested one but only because I was part of a photoshoot for the MTI catalog. I have blown up my own by mouth to see how it works in the water. When I go out far a flatwater paddle I wear it backwards and don't even usually have the cylinder inserted. Anything other than that, DW or solo in heavy surf, I at least insert the cylinder.

[Chilly]

For me my PFD is a backup to my leash. To wear a PFD and not have a leash on doesn’t make sense.  The leash is what should be enforced not the PFD.

[Old School]

Damned shame.  That's a beautiful area to paddle.   From what I recall that afternoon would have been a little rough for a beginner. 

[covesurfer]

I have a waist belt inflatable pfd and wear it on downwinders or even flat water paddles (mainly to avoid the chance of a ticket). I consider my leash and board as my primary flotation devices. I have not, thank goodness, lost my board ever, but I've paddled in conditions where that was certainly a good possibility.

I know how to deploy my pfd blowing it up or using the co2 inflator although I've only manually inflated it - one time just to see how it worked and how difficult it would be. If it comes to the point where I feel like I have to put it on and blow it up in the water, I'm probably in some beaucoup doo doo. Still, I really don't mind wearing the waist pack, it's unobtrusive, has some storage and I especially appreciate that it has a built in whistle and signaling mirror.

The a-fib thing is really pretty scary. My cycling training partner is a few years younger than me and at 51, about a year ago, found himself with exercised induced a-fib. I've never been with him when it's come on but from HM's description, it could be a real bummer on an off-shore downwinder. I've had exercise induced muscle cramping before on some mountainous ultra long bike rides and you're as helpless as a kitten. Not fun and very humbling. The golden years indeed have some not-so-golden aspects.