inflatable pfd

scrap · 03-23-07, 10:26 AM

in the event the new inflatable pfd does not open, will the pfd
itself keep you afloat? i have thought and thought about it,
all the pros and cons. so, anyone know? looking forward to
the thoughts and comments, opinions and ideas?

vagabond · 03-23-07, 11:20 AM

I don't think that they will. Atleast the one that I use won't. When I go ocean fishing, I use one that is like a fanny pack with a pull cord.

I think that style would just bog you down if it didn't open.

If they were enough to hold a person up without inflating, there would be no reason for them to inflate.

FlyRod · 03-23-07, 12:00 PM

IT most definitely WON'T keep you, or even itself, afloat if UNinflated. The operative word here is "INFLATABLE"!!!
PFDs of this type DEPEND on either automatic or manually-triggered inflation, the automatic types having provision for manual inflation should the auto mechanism fail.
When purchasing an inflatable PFD PLEASE buy an automatic type and keep it maintained according to the schedule outlined in the instructions. With either type, you will need to "recharge" it on a regular basis, even if it hasn't been "Fired".
Almost ALL automatic-inflate types depend on a degree of moisture to trigger them, the exception being the hydrostatic-triggering types. The more common types will, sooner or later, suddenly inflate spontaneously, even if you and it are safe on deck, because of humidity, excess rain or spray, etc. It will not harm you, but it will scare the porridge out of you.
I mentioned the hydrostatically-triggered inflatable. These require that the triggering device be a certain depth beneath the water, say five or six inches, so that PRESSURE will trigger them. The danger of spontaneous inflation (and poop in your Fruit Of The Looms) is, for all practical purposes, eliminated.
The MUSTANG (TM) line features some hydrostatically-triggered models and, although more costly than the SOSpenders (TM) and others, are THE most dependable and desirable inflatable PFDs on the market as of today.
Why auto-inflate? Well, if you are knocked unconscious, suffer a stroke or seizure, or somehow hit the water with two broken arms due to a collision with a water hazard, other boat, etc, a functioning (remember I mentioned regular maintenance?) auto-inflate may mean the difference twixt life and death...as in DEAD!
If you buy an inflatable, wear it ALL the time on the water. It won't "sweat you" so much as a standard PFD so there's rarely an excuse to take it off, and then ONLY when the boat is at rest, engine and TM OFF.
I'd recommend you invest in a standard life vest for now, suffer through the Spring and Summer, wearing it ALL the time despite the heat, and save for the purchase of THE top model Mustang...350 bux as of this time.
And, if YOU are the boat owner, save to purchase one of the 'Stangs for every passenger. Make certain you research and acquire the proper PFD for very small children, should there ever be on in the boat. INSIST they wear them!!!
YOU are the one who will live with eternal guilt, very likely a lawsuit, and possible prison time if you fail to meet the requirements of the law AND common sense.

Be safe!

F.Rod
Wears belt AND suspenders

PS: Hook up the ^$%@~! KILL SWITCH BEFORE starting engine...ALWAYS!

zooker · 03-23-07, 03:30 PM

a inflateable pfd -suspend, mustang- are a class V pfd. they must be worn in order to count as a pfd.

in nc you must have a pfd for every person in your vessel plus a throwable pfd.

zooker

HOG Ranger · 03-24-07, 08:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zooker

in nc you must have a pfd for every person in your vessel plus a throwable pfd.

zooker

Same in IL and they must be easy access. They were writing warnings for people that had them buried in compartments.

Bender · 03-25-07, 10:36 AM

Yesterday I bought a few standard vests from Cabelas. They gave me some of those crappy generic orange ones with the boat, but those are not really practical to wear all the time. I looked at the inflatable ones and decided to wait. I got 3 decent ones for $150 where that is what 1 inflatable costs.
If you go that route then post up which one you get and how it feels.

links_man2 · 03-25-07, 11:02 AM

Bender-I went with the auto-inflate SOSPENDERS based on a review I saw someplace and the price. It is comfortable enough that I will wear it all the time where as a regular vest, I would wear it but seldom had it zipped up due to heat/comfort. I am 61 and fish a lot by myself, so figured I best prepare for the day I step/fall in the lake.

pig n jig · 04-07-07, 02:14 AM

Scrap, I have an older World class sospender model, its 4 years old and has never failed yet.Its a manual model, but if its submerged in water for 5 seconds , it will automatically inflate.Its also has a back up stem that you can blow air into the vest if for some reason the CO2 cartridge doesn't inflate the vest.The trouble with them is if you store them in your boat locker for long periods of time, the moisture collected will set them off.Then you pay $16.00 or so for the new rearming kit.P N J

bassinbob · 04-07-07, 03:02 AM

I read on another forum that some of the auto inflate SOSPENDERS were failing. I am not sure if they were the type pig n jig talked about. If I come across the posts again I will pm you with the info.

Bob

Recon8541 · 04-07-07, 05:41 AM

A fellow angler from a club I grew up fishing had an automatic. It was so sensitive you would spit on it and it would go off. That was some time ago.

He was the best angler in the club BY FAR!!! He took us to school year in and year out lol.....one year, at our clubs classic, it was payback.

two guys ganged up on him, tossed a bucket of water on him, his pfd went bang!! the other guy pants him, and another yet took pics while the moon was shining bright!!! I gotta tell ya that was one of the funniest things I had ever seen.

Every year there after that that man won the top spot, he would just jump in the lake and set his pfd off, it became a ritual thereafter for the top spotter to take the "dive".

Military excluded that was one of the greatest group of guys ever!!

zooker · 04-07-07, 11:53 AM

my uncle actually has a "mae west " jacket that he wears. it is an automatic. the inflatable pfd is new twist on and old idea..

zooker

Fish2win · 04-07-07, 10:02 PM

Zooker said " a inflateable pfd -suspend, mustang- are a class V pfd. they must be worn in order to count as a pfd."
lots of wisdom Zooker, They cant save you if you dont wear them guys
The whole idea of the inflatable is so that you will wear them.

03-23-07, 10:26 AM	#1
scrap BassFishin.Com Active Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Maryland Posts: 217	inflatable pfd in the event the new inflatable pfd does not open, will the pfd itself keep you afloat? i have thought and thought about it, all the pros and cons. so, anyone know? looking forward to the thoughts and comments, opinions and ideas?

03-23-07, 03:30 PM	#4
zooker BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: denton nc Posts: 13,441	a inflateable pfd -suspend, mustang- are a class V pfd. they must be worn in order to count as a pfd. in nc you must have a pfd for every person in your vessel plus a throwable pfd. zooker __________________ the godfather.. aml in remission since 7-20-09

04-07-07, 03:02 AM	#9
bassinbob BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Pitts. Pa. Posts: 3,801	I read on another forum that some of the auto inflate SOSPENDERS were failing. I am not sure if they were the type pig n jig talked about. If I come across the posts again I will pm you with the info. Bob __________________ you can have my fishin rod when ya take it from my cold dead hands

04-07-07, 05:41 AM	#10
Recon8541 BassFishin.Com Active Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Orlando, Florida Posts: 144	A fellow angler from a club I grew up fishing had an automatic. It was so sensitive you would spit on it and it would go off. That was some time ago. He was the best angler in the club BY FAR!!! He took us to school year in and year out lol.....one year, at our clubs classic, it was payback. two guys ganged up on him, tossed a bucket of water on him, his pfd went bang!! the other guy pants him, and another yet took pics while the moon was shining bright!!! I gotta tell ya that was one of the funniest things I had ever seen. Every year there after that that man won the top spot, he would just jump in the lake and set his pfd off, it became a ritual thereafter for the top spotter to take the "dive". Military excluded that was one of the greatest group of guys ever!! __________________ My wife says "I swear what would you rather do fish or make love"....I said "well....depends on how the fish are biting!"

04-07-07, 11:53 AM	#11
zooker BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: denton nc Posts: 13,441	my uncle actually has a "mae west " jacket that he wears. it is an automatic. the inflatable pfd is new twist on and old idea.. zooker __________________ the godfather.. aml in remission since 7-20-09

03-23-07, 11:20 AM	#2
vagabond BassFishin.Com Active Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Medford, Oregon Posts: 120	I don't think that they will. Atleast the one that I use won't. When I go ocean fishing, I use one that is like a fanny pack with a pull cord. I think that style would just bog you down if it didn't open. If they were enough to hold a person up without inflating, there would be no reason for them to inflate.

03-23-07, 12:00 PM	#3
FlyRod BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 1,270	IT most definitely WON'T keep you, or even itself, afloat if UNinflated. The operative word here is "INFLATABLE"!!! PFDs of this type DEPEND on either automatic or manually-triggered inflation, the automatic types having provision for manual inflation should the auto mechanism fail. When purchasing an inflatable PFD PLEASE buy an automatic type and keep it maintained according to the schedule outlined in the instructions. With either type, you will need to "recharge" it on a regular basis, even if it hasn't been "Fired". Almost ALL automatic-inflate types depend on a degree of moisture to trigger them, the exception being the hydrostatic-triggering types. The more common types will, sooner or later, suddenly inflate spontaneously, even if you and it are safe on deck, because of humidity, excess rain or spray, etc. It will not harm you, but it will scare the porridge out of you. I mentioned the hydrostatically-triggered inflatable. These require that the triggering device be a certain depth beneath the water, say five or six inches, so that PRESSURE will trigger them. The danger of spontaneous inflation (and poop in your Fruit Of The Looms) is, for all practical purposes, eliminated. The MUSTANG (TM) line features some hydrostatically-triggered models and, although more costly than the SOSpenders (TM) and others, are THE most dependable and desirable inflatable PFDs on the market as of today. Why auto-inflate? Well, if you are knocked unconscious, suffer a stroke or seizure, or somehow hit the water with two broken arms due to a collision with a water hazard, other boat, etc, a functioning (remember I mentioned regular maintenance?) auto-inflate may mean the difference twixt life and death...as in DEAD! If you buy an inflatable, wear it ALL the time on the water. It won't "sweat you" so much as a standard PFD so there's rarely an excuse to take it off, and then ONLY when the boat is at rest, engine and TM OFF. I'd recommend you invest in a standard life vest for now, suffer through the Spring and Summer, wearing it ALL the time despite the heat, and save for the purchase of THE top model Mustang...350 bux as of this time. And, if YOU are the boat owner, save to purchase one of the 'Stangs for every passenger. Make certain you research and acquire the proper PFD for very small children, should there ever be on in the boat. INSIST they wear them!!! YOU are the one who will live with eternal guilt, very likely a lawsuit, and possible prison time if you fail to meet the requirements of the law AND common sense. Be safe! F.Rod Wears belt AND suspenders PS: Hook up the ^$%@~! KILL SWITCH BEFORE starting engine...ALWAYS!

03-25-07, 10:36 AM	#6
Bender BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Brighton, MI Posts: 2,414	Yesterday I bought a few standard vests from Cabelas. They gave me some of those crappy generic orange ones with the boat, but those are not really practical to wear all the time. I looked at the inflatable ones and decided to wait. I got 3 decent ones for $150 where that is what 1 inflatable costs. If you go that route then post up which one you get and how it feels.

03-25-07, 11:02 AM	#7
links_man2 BassFishin.Com Active Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Sanford, NC Posts: 134	Bender-I went with the auto-inflate SOSPENDERS based on a review I saw someplace and the price. It is comfortable enough that I will wear it all the time where as a regular vest, I would wear it but seldom had it zipped up due to heat/comfort. I am 61 and fish a lot by myself, so figured I best prepare for the day I step/fall in the lake.

04-07-07, 02:14 AM	#8
pig n jig BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Avoca, NY Posts: 3,508	Scrap, I have an older World class sospender model, its 4 years old and has never failed yet.Its a manual model, but if its submerged in water for 5 seconds , it will automatically inflate.Its also has a back up stem that you can blow air into the vest if for some reason the CO2 cartridge doesn't inflate the vest.The trouble with them is if you store them in your boat locker for long periods of time, the moisture collected will set them off.Then you pay $16.00 or so for the new rearming kit.P N J

04-07-07, 10:02 PM	#12
Fish2win BassFishin.Com Active Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Norris Tennessee Posts: 469	Zooker said " a inflateable pfd -suspend, mustang- are a class V pfd. they must be worn in order to count as a pfd." lots of wisdom Zooker, They cant save you if you dont wear them guys The whole idea of the inflatable is so that you will wear them. __________________ Norris Tennessee set the hook! They dont have hands.

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