I just fired my inflatable lifejacket.

[Crocodile]

Hello All,
I was doing the annual check of my inflatable lifejacket and the cyclinder was as rusty as can be. Clearly it needed replacing.
I think to myself, here is an opportunity.
I duly took the jacket down the creek, put it on and yanked on the lanyard.
I was rewarded with a very satisfactory hiss and suddenly the bladder was full and saving my life.
The inflated jacket was a very tight fit and would roll me face up no matter what, all very good.
I would report that it was very difficult to swim in it and a weak breaststroke was about the best that i could manage.
All in all a good result.

[Crunchy]

Thanks Croc.....I'm always tempted when I do my 6 monthly check but my cylinder still nice and shiney...

[Noelm]

you could just inflate it manually (by mouth) to see how it works when inflated.

[Captain Seaweed]

I have set one off to see what it was like in the pool and was surprised. I found it blew up too much and I couldnt swim. I then struggled to get it off and deflate it once the fun was over. I understand they are there to save our lives but what would it be like in a bar situation when needing to swim away from danger....I think the jackets style would be better...jury is still out though

[Crunchy]

you could just inflate it manually (by mouth) to see how it works when inflated.

yeh well thats part of the check so goes without saying.....

[marto78]

you could just inflate it manually (by mouth) to see how it works when inflated.

Thats no fun.

[MikeyS]

And don't, whatever you do, try to suck the CO2 out of the jacket using the mouthpiece when trying to deflate and repack it. It's friggin horrible and makes you choke! Blah. Then again, maybe everyone should get to try that once.

I've actaully gone back to using the old style jacket whenever I really want to wear one, rather than have to wear one. Much easier to swim in.

[LittleSkipper]

Hello All,
I was doing the annual check of my inflatable lifejacket and the cyclinder was as rusty as can be. Clearly it needed replacing.
I think to myself, here is an opportunity.
I duly took the jacket down the creek, put it on and yanked on the lanyard.
I was rewarded with a very satisfactory hiss and suddenly the bladder was full and saving my life.
The inflated jacket was a very tight fit and would roll me face up no matter what, all very good.
I would report that it was very difficult to swim in it and a weak breaststroke was about the best that i could manage.
All in all a good result.

Just thought I'd let you know Croc that the cylinders can last up to 10 years or more, I recently had my 4 RFD inflatables serviced by RFD.

[dnej]

I was very interested in this thread. I have been considering going to an inflatable. I have top of the range Hutchwilco,and find the storage an issue. No big deal ,but they take up room .
I would hate to think, that an inflatable would make it difficult to swim.
Could you eleborate a little mor please.
David

[tenzing]

Interesting David.
I am thinking of going the other way
I have had my 4 inflatables serviced professionally each year.
Last year at 40 bucks each compared with new at whitworths on sale for around 80 dollars
Just for hassles sake I think the standard jacket might be the go
The swimming issue I was already aware of from a similar test of mine
Cheers
Brendan

[MTAQ/BTAQ]

I run a commercial vessel so I have to do Elements of Shipboard Safety (used to be known as Workplace Health and Safety at Sea, basically it is fighting fires at sea and using the 8 person inflatable life raft) - when there are 8 of us in the water with our Type 1 (100s) PFDs on, we are told to lie on our back, all 8 link arms and kick like mad towards the inflating life raft which self inflates and pops to the surface from 2 meters depth.

[ozynorts]

I was very interested in this thread. I have been considering going to an inflatable. I have top of the range Hutchwilco,and find the storage an issue. No big deal ,but they take up room .
I would hate to think, that an inflatable would make it difficult to swim.
Could you eleborate a little mor please.
David
Hey David, because the jackets are designed to keep your head up at all times and give you heaps of bouyancy they do make it harder to swim. However have you tried to swim with the old school collar types that are the cheap option. They are no better. The vest type are better for swimming but I find that they get hot if you have to wear them out of the water. I have had to try and get into a life raft with an old school type and it wasn't fun. All life jackets have something about them that people do or don't like, just like boats.
Cheers
Ozy

[Crocodile]

Hello dnej,
It is in my experience that all life jackets, foam and blow-up, are hard to swim in.
To establish my credentials, I am a pretty strong swimmer, I participated in a 2K ocean swim two weeks ago and am always doing pool laps and swimming in the local estuary.
The problem is that the bulges of flotation limit movement of the arms and the exagerated head-up posture creates too much drag.
As MTAQ says lying on your back and doing backstroke kick is OK, as in better posture, but the arm movements are still restricted.
I would still rather have a jacket than not have a jacket when I am in strife.