Hobie Forums

I currently use a Mustang inflatable. Very comfortable! For inshore I am sure this is perfect. I am starting to wonder if when going offshore maybe I should consider something else not inflatable. What is everyone's thoughts? Do you use inflatables offshore? If not what do you use that is comfortable? I have a 2015 REVO 13.

Hobie sells paddler style pfds which is designed for active comfort with I think an elevated rear waistline, large arm holes, and generous pockets. I LOVE all the pockets in my paddler clone, although stain"less" steel tools can rust like crazy in damp zip pockets. Technically offshore requires a type 1 pfd which includes no inflatables according to USCG, but they are really too confining for much activity:



So I wear the type 3 when I go semi-offshore. Nearshore I may use the type 2 placed on the kayak floor, which makes a luxurious pad to lie down on. For a tiny inflatable kayak that I plan to carry on a pubic bus, I have obtained an ultra compact type 5 belt, but I am suspicious of inflatable pfds working right when needed.

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My Hobie i12s... sailboat in a suitcase!

I use a Mustang as well and didn't know about needing a Type 1 off shore, need to check into it. I do keep a Type 1 for a spare in my front hatch, because I KNOW the inflatables work. I've discovered that a few times by accident.

We have two hobie kayak life jackets that we wear, we like them because they have a high back so we can sit in the seats comfortably.

When we have passengers on our TI we bring along a 4 pack of class 2 lifejackets strapped to a tramp, I require all kids to wear life jackets, most adults don't. I personally prefer to always wear mine, especially offshore. We at times have as many as 6 on board, (adults and kids,,,,it's our only family boat). However don't expect to go anywhere fast with that many on board. We only typically go no more than a mile or two offshore and only in very calm conditions, (hardly any wind or waves). We mostly snorkel and dive off the boat, (that's what we do, and mostly use the boat for).
Make sure you can get back onto the kayak with your selected life jacket on, (kinda important, and is harder than you would think), something that should be practiced IMO.
FE

If I was paddling off the Florida coast with the warm Gulf Stream waters a Mustang PFD would be fine. I paddle mostly off the California coast in waters that run from 52 to 58 degrees and so the PFD is used to keep me warm. I also want a PFD that has a pocket to hold a VHF radio and that makes for a very short list.

One thing that I found interesting when researching off-shore PFD's is that there is no requirement for a crotch strap. Some work PFD's designed for workers on oil platforms will have a way to add such a strap and the Rescue worker type PFD's will have leg straps and also the Mustang inflatable has a crotch strap.

The reason this is important is that nearly always the Coast Guard reports of drownings when a person is wearing a PFD is the result of rescuers trying to grab the PFD and pull the person out of the water and the person invariably slips out of the PFD and is never seen again.

I am a fan of the Kokat PFD's from Arcata, CA.

I think you are talking about auto-inflate on immersion feature, which I don't want. Sometimes staying uninflated when wet gives the needed agility to, say, reboard a kayak.

I got a super slim belt type 5 pfd for special purposes. Mine is like the size of 2 decks of playing cards and sold for half price. From youtube I got the false impression that when manually activated it forms into a type 2ish headrest. But then my user guide revealed it simply inflates into a cube attached to the belt. I guess to reboard a kayak I might briefly twirl the belt 180 degrees if that doesn't drown me. These are my concerns about it not working, but I have a need for such minimalism in certain rare excursions.

BTW the US coast guard insists the belt type always be worn to be legal, which makes sense. But I found a state by state guide of local pfd rules that applied that rule to any type of pfd in most any state I randomly chose, which is very excessive.

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My Hobie i12s... sailboat in a suitcase!

I wanted a pocket for a standard size VHF radio and this is absent from the inflatable PFD's and most non-inflatable ones. A VHF with a single button to push to send ones exact location can be a lifesaver.

The DSC function provided on some VHF radios may not be fully appreciated. When people give their GPS location on their radio to a rescue agency it is not unusual for them to do so incorrectly. A sailboat in Southern California provided their position in minutes and degrees and seconds and the rescuers were looking at a location more than 9 miles away.