Life Jacket with Harness reviews/recommendations

ggrizzard · Jul 28, 2020

..."West Marine ... less spendy"

A phrase I will never use!
But, I do have one of their combo PFD's, with SS D rings, but without leg straps.
Wish it did. They didn't sell them with leg straps 20 years ago.
But I like it just fine.

dlochner · Jul 28, 2020

Under certain conditions falling overboard with a harness and tether is a death sentence. The problem is once overboard the harness tows the body (and it will soon be a body) in such a manner so as to drown the person.

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I was convinced, bought 2 of them.

srimes · Jul 28, 2020

Similar situation here, and I went with the Mustang ocean racing. It's USCG rated (many aren't), comes with leg straps and a spray hood.

EP 38 Ocean Racing Hydrostatic Inflatable Vest

This over-the-head entry automatic inflatable PFD has a low-profile chassis designed for the open ocean with safety features such as an integrated spray hood, PLB storage and tether point.

mustangsurvival.com

I went with the kong double tether, and I like it. Kong Double Line ORC Tether

Make sure your jackline and tether combo keep you ON the boat!

CarlN · Jul 28, 2020

Given that the OP is single handed sailing, the harness tether need to be really short to always keep him inside the lifelines. Fixed clip points and double tethers are probably better than a jack line for the same reason. Mobility on deck will be very slow but once over the side, there’s no way to get back.

If he did go over the side, best to cut the tether and hope a PLB or AIS MOB brings help in time.

But to be honest, unless you are young and strong with an experienced racing crew with the manpower to recover you, falling overboard is rarely survivable offshore.

BigEasy · Jul 29, 2020

I use a west marine offshore auto inflatable vest with built in stainless rings. Has held up well over many years with annual inspections including 24 hour inflation test, changing bobbin, & weighing cartridge.

shemandr · Jul 29, 2020

I have a Revere for nearly 2 decades. The stitching around the neck irritates my skin. I had my wife add some soft material there to cushion. So, I think you should try on the ones your interested in. Comfort counts because you'll be wearing it a lot.
I just bought a tether for a recent trip. I was tempted to get the two tethers (One short and one longer) but thought it would be too cumbersome and a possible danger of getting caught on something. When I want a smaller tether I would double it around whatever I hook it too. Someone, on this recent trip had a double tether and it seemed to work well. He would attach both on opposing structure, with his body in the middle. He couldn't go too far. I think I would buy the double having seen that.
Oh, and I took the strobe off since it kept activating inadvertently.

dlochner · Jul 29, 2020

srimes said:
Similar situation here, and I went with the Mustang ocean racing. It's USCG rated (many aren't), comes with leg straps and a spray hood.

EP 38 Ocean Racing Hydrostatic Inflatable Vest

This over-the-head entry automatic inflatable PFD has a low-profile chassis designed for the open ocean with safety features such as an integrated spray hood, PLB storage and tether point.

mustangsurvival.com

I went with the kong double tether, and I like it. Kong Double Line ORC Tether

Make sure your jackline and tether combo keep you ON the boat!

Most of us run jack lines down the side decks, however, it is far better to run the line as close to the center of the boat as possible. It is simple math. Most tethers are 6' if the jack line is closer to the side of the boat than 6' the person can go over the side. If the greater than 6' the person will not reach the side, or maybe just the feet.

If you are using a double tether, do not clip the short tether to the harness to keep it out of the way. This defeats the quick release shackle, releasing the shackle leaves the tether attached to the harness and it is now 8 feet long instead of 6.

The Kong tethers are among the best on the market due to the clip design which is less likely to fail than some of the other well know brands. @thinwater probably knows as much about tethers, clips, and harnesses as any one out there.

Jackdaw · Jul 29, 2020

This is one place to buy the best, regardless of cost.

I've been a huge fan of the SpinLock Deckvest for years; I'm on my third. Offshore model with the HAMMAR hydro-static inflator, it will not 'pop' when splashed, ever. Use the leg-straps always, and inspect every year. The attachable gear/ditty bags are very handy where you wear one all day. I will not go offshore without it.

Use the KONG ORC double tether. Pretty much the state of the art in such things.

In the cockpit, use a D-RING on the floor, or better yet a very tight jackline running down the middle. deck jacklines ideally run from the leading edge of the cockpit to the center of the foredeck, stopping well before the bow. You should be able to get the the bow with am extended tether.

JamesG161 · Jul 29, 2020

Unless you plan a trip way offshore, try the cheaper coastal cruising models.
WEST MARINE Coastal Automatic Inflatable Life Jacket | West Marine

This difference is BIG waves and keeps your head up.

We have separate harnesses for normal comfort and are pre-adjusted.

WEST MARINE Ultimate Safety Harness | West Marine

The reason for a tether is to keep you inside your life rails.

Jackdaw said:
Use the KONG ORC double tether. Pretty much the state of the art in such things.

We have the KONG ORC double tethers for "crawling" forward in an emergency, but we can single handle all lines and running rigging from the cockpit. Extremely well designed and built.

Jim...

PS: WEST MARINE ORC Specification Double Safety Tether | West Marine
I noticed my KONG clips are Blue and some are Red. I wonder why the difference?

jssailem · Jul 29, 2020

Jackdaw said:
I've been a huge fan of the SpinLock Deckvest for years; I'm on my third. Offshore model with the HAMMAR hydro-static inflator, it will not 'pop' when splashed, ever. Use the leg-straps always, and inspect every year. I will not go offshore without it.

It is my go to vest. Extremely comfortable. Only issue is, when I bought it 3 years ago it was not CG approved. Meets all of the Euro inflation safety regs. Suspects the Brits chose not to spend the money to go through the CG quals. So I keep a couple of Mustang "Hammar Hydro-static inflator" PDF's on board for inspection.

Jackdaw · Jul 29, 2020

jssailem said:
It is my go to vest. Extremely comfortable. Only issue is, when I bought it 3 years ago it was not CG approved. Meets all of the Euro inflation safety regs. Suspects the Brits chose not to spend the money to go through the CG quals. So I keep a couple of Mustang "Hammar Hydro-static inflator" PDF's on board for inspection.

People underestimate the value of comfort when it comes to these things. I agree, it is by the the most comfortable PFD I've ever worn, and actually like to have it on when racing.

Pretty sure the lack of USCG certification was due to the onerous nature of the testing, and that it had to be re-done with ANY change to the product. Spinlock updates the offshore deckvest continually based on pro feedback, so they passed. The Deckvest LITE does not change like that, so they went for USCG cert.

In any case its really designed to Off-shore OSR Cat-0 regulations, and that is the important one for me. USCG? We always have a pack of approved vests onboard. Unlike inflatables, intrinsically buoyant vests do not have to be worn to be counted.

dlochner · Jul 29, 2020

jssailem said:
It is my go to vest. Extremely comfortable. Only issue is, when I bought it 3 years ago it was not CG approved. Meets all of the Euro inflation safety regs. Suspects the Brits chose not to spend the money to go through the CG quals. So I keep a couple of Mustang "Hammar Hydro-static inflator" PDF's on board for inspection.

Approved inflatable PFDs only count towards he USCG carriage requirement if they are being worn. We carry several foam vest type jackets to be legal.

Jackdaw · Jul 29, 2020

Pretty much a state-of-the-art jackline system, on the Pogo 12.5. I overdrew them on orange for visibility. Three of them, one running the center of the cockpit floor from companionway to tiller. Two P/S running from the cabintop (not sidedeck) to the middle of the foredeck. Each terminated in a backplated Wichard folding D-ring. This allows you to clip in BEFORE you leave the cabin, and get to every corner of the boat while always attached, and do so with a extended tether.

Head Sail · Jul 29, 2020

Whatever vest you choose, I would make sure it has a pocket to hold a hand held radio. The clips on hand held radios are not strong enough to keep clipped to the vest and fall off frequently.

Scott T-Bird · Jul 29, 2020

I have a Spinlock 5D 170N Prosensor for myself I didn't want the weight of the 275N. I also have 3 Deckvest LIte models for the boat. I use Deckvest Lite most of the time in the bay. I should get a new 6D for Sue now that she is going outside the inlet, but she won't even wear the Deckvest Lite. I am curious about one of my Deckvest Lite models that had not even been out of the package case. I found it this winter with the inflation tubes outside but not inflated. I don't remember it being packaged that way. I blew it up manually and it held air, so I don't think it auto-inflated and then lost air. I think I would have noticed it. In any case, I re-packaged it and thought to test it in the water. I don't know if I have to re-arm it or not. I don't know how to tell. :huh:

dlochner · Jul 29, 2020

Scott T-Bird said:
I have a Spinlock 5D 170N Prosensor for myself I didn't want the weight of the 275N. I also have 3 Deckvest LIte models for the boat. I use Deckvest Lite most of the time in the bay. I should get a new 6D for Sue now that she is going outside the inlet, but she won't even wear the Deckvest Lite. I am curious about one of my Deckvest Lite models that had not even been out of the package case. I found it this winter with the inflation tubes outside but not inflated. I don't remember it being packaged that way. I blew it up manually and it held air, so I don't think it auto-inflated and then lost air. I think I would have noticed it. In any case, I re-packaged it and thought to test it in the water. I don't know if I have to re-arm it or not. I don't know how to tell.

If this is the "Pill" kind of inflator, the pill should be visible. Another way is to unscrew the CO2 canister and weigh it or simply inspect it to see if it has been punctured. I had an old SOSuspender vest (the first generation) where the pill slowly dissolved and allowed the nail to slowly puncture the CO2 cartridge. The gas escaped and didn't inflate the jacket. The nail is spring loaded so it will rapidly puncture the cartridge and inflate the jacket.

Or, you can put the jacket on and jump in the water. When our inflators reach the expiration date, that's what we do. It is a good experience to see how they inflate and how rapidly you come to the surface.

dLj · Jul 29, 2020

CarlN said:
Given that the OP is single handed sailing, the harness tether need to be really short to always keep him inside the lifelines. Fixed clip points and double tethers are probably better than a jack line for the same reason.

This is not what what Andrew Evans says in his book on Single Handed Sailing, he says to use flat webbing as a line in such a way as to never have to unclip to move around the boat. Staying on the boat is, of course, a given.

dj