lifejackets

[xr650jkallen]

whats the most comfortable life jacket to fish in

[M_A_C_K]

I need to get some life jackets. I haven't had any for my canoe when I go fishing because I'm a great swimmer, but legally you're supposed to have them in the boat here. I thought about making a couple of my own so I could make them comfortable. The ones you buy are just styrofoam with material sewn around and I have a bunch of styrofoam. I want to make a couple just so I can make them comfortable.

[carolina-rig-01]

There is no question that the most comfortable life jackets are inflatables. They are not the cheapest by far but the more comfortable they are the more likely you are to wear it, and if your not going to wear one it doesn't matter what you paid for it because it is worthless if you need it.

[nofearengineer]

MACK,

I don't know the laws in Michigan, but here in Indiana, home-brew life jackets are not legal.

[keithdog]

I can't really spend the big cash for an inflatable vest so I bought the full motion life vest from Cabelas and I love it. Very confortable for a non inflatable, and only $50.00

[M_A_C_K]

The only thing about inflatable is I would be afraid of popping it.

[coldbasser]

There is no question that the most comfortable life jackets are inflatables. They are not the cheapest by far but the more comfortable they are the more likely you are to wear. I've used them for 4 years now and dropped it and done all kinds of things never set it off by accedent.

[MIbasser]

I have a mustang inflatable and love it. Doesn't matter if I have on a winter jacket or just a t-shirt it still fits the same.

[carolina-rig-01]

Originally Posted by MIbasser

I have a mustang inflatable and love it. Doesn't matter if I have on a winter jacket or just a t-shirt it still fits the same.

That's another good point about the traditional style life jackets. The ones that fit you in a t-shirt may be too tight if you need to put on your rainsuit. Before I bought my Mustang Inflatable I used to wear a regular style life jacket. I was actually kinda in between sizes because a medium was a little snug if I had my Gor-Tex rainsuit on and I could tighten up the straps on a large and it would fit. But later in the day after it warmed up a bit and I took my rainsuit off I would have trouble getting a large tight enough to fit me in just a t-shirt. I carried 3 life jackets in my boat, a medium and two larges so I could just switch life jackets when I took off my rainsuit. But if I was fishing with someone else I had to make do with a Large because I didn't want to take two life jackets. Now that I wear the inflatable it's just a matter of pulling the strap a little tighter or loosening it up a little.

As for M.A.C.K.'s concern about popping it. That really isn't an issue because they are very durable. If you did somehow manage to stick a hook through it somehow and it developed a small leak they also have a straw type tube that has a one way valve so you could blow a little air into it every once in a while to keep it inflated if you were in the water for a long time for some reason.