PFD Flotation for Rafting | Ep. 28

[@bayeux2]

I thought my lower float jacket was pretty cool until I took an extended tour of the depths of Big Drop 2. Now I'm more interested in staying on the topside, and wear a higher float jacket if I think there is a chance I'll swim. Maybe it depends on the river? High float jackets can make it more cumbersome to get back in the raft.

[@ricktill1]

For cold, winter boating it seems like the higher floatation and a bit more torso coverage would also help with warmth. The classic Extrasport design actually looks great for cold weather trips. I'm thinking below freezing on the Owhyee. Looking warm looks pretty cool.

[@DaxTheMagnificent]

PFD all the time, absolutely no excuses. Wear it

[@GearGarageTV]

Yes!

[@jhorn7960]

This is a great vid. I've tried many vests from an Astral Green 16 lbs, Extrasport HiFloat 22lbs, NRS Rapid Rescuer 22lbs , Stearns Versatile Rescue 1.0 Stearns VR2 (both 22lbs) and Force6 Rescue Ops 26lb. I too have vacillated weighing the cool factor, storage and float. I got to go with Aaron leaning towards High Floatation, as the driving factor. That 16 pounder might rank high with cool points and Cadillac storage, but in high risk swim a 16 pounder can push the fear factor. Think about the first part of video regarding risk. One becomes super comfortable the more experience they have and there is risk of complacency that lies in that. So when the river indiscriminately serves up that event that puts your vest to test, coolness and storage go out the window and floatation becomes quite the priorty. We ask why do we wear PFDS??? To safe lives. Like an auto seat belt, would go for one with less tensile strength in trade for some delicious storage compartment and cool racing stripe. Most would not. Safety first. Body type is key factor, fat vs muscle as well. Lean muscular folks are gonna need more float than say one with a higher fat ratio. I'm 220 and right now I live in the Force6 PFD and am comfortable here. I rest having the security of a higher flotation and this vest is not too bulky, sits lower and allows for an aggressive swim with good storage. The more I run river the less likely I am to go back down the floatation ladder. Thanks Guys!

[@travisdecker7153]

Your current opinion On the Internet is the opposite of this. Today I had my most gnarly Whitewater swim ever and I was really glad I had a 26 pound NRS rescue vest. The mistake today was that after we went through what we thought was the worst we loosened the vests. So then when we were surprised it was loose and I and I lost about 3 inches of my head above the water because the straps weren’t tight. high float and tight. It makes a difference when you have a broken oar and your buddy is getting maytagged. 25-26lb floatation saved my ass today. Im fat and old but in serious shit i want everyone to wear 25lb plus flotation. Today after I got through the gnarly shit in my head was still of the water

[@noelfruchtenicht2345]

You guys kill me. Awesome stuff. Miss you guys let’s boat sometime soon.

[@GearGarageTV]

I sure hope we can get together and paddle sometime.

[@davidpauli3189]

I'm heading to the Grand Canyon and I'm leaving my 17.5 zen jacket home and ordered an Mti buoy jacket. If I go in at lava I would rather have 26 lbs of flotation. Glad to hear Aaron affirm this

[@GearGarageTV]

Good call

[@aaroncavagnolo8410]

Enjoy your high float on the Grand Canyon! If you want more information about the advantages of high float pfd's check out this post: brexpeditions.com/rafting-life-jacket-flotation/

[@davidpauli3189]

@@aaroncavagnolo8410 great article. I've never heard anyone who swam a big rapid say "'I wish I had less flotation". That's a good one lol.

[@caseykinnamon1040]

I guide my own private raft on the New and Gauley Rivers in WV. I wear a NRS Zen, because of it's versatility to carry whatever gear I need on my person. My passengers all wear Extrasport Ranger Rescue Jackets. They are super high floatation. I feel like that level of floatation gives my paddlers more confidence in high water scenarios.

[@GearGarageTV]

Thanks for your thoughts and suggestions. The Extrasport Ranger has a ton of flotation!

[@jasongray9411]

Evaluating my own PFD needs, Aaron's suggestion at 5:40 about some real-world/water comparing vests in a rapid - - has this been done? Seems like a practical experiment.

[@GearGarageTV]

I don't think it's been done

[@problemsolver6332]

​@@GearGarageTV I would love to see this experiment one day!

[@triiius]

I got smashed by a rapid on the new river, and my vest came up over my shoulders which forced my head to be basically at water level so I was gasping and swallowing water because I couldn't get my head up over the vest. I had the vest cinched tight around my ribs, etc, but the water hit me so hard it just knocked my vest up. It was really scary. So yah more floatation the better...! Luckily after some time I was able to grab on to a guide raft and climb on to the bigger raft until they got my kayak back. I am not sure what I needed to do there... I guess I really needed to tighten everything down even more... But when that vest came up like that over my head it basically rendered me useless, I couldn't swim plus my swim trunks got ripped off!!! I am male, 44 yrs. old, 6 foot 5 inches 260 lbs. (at the time I was probably around 290 lbs.)

[@GearGarageTV]

You might want to look into leg straps

[@triiius]

@@GearGarageTV Thank you! That sounds like a good idea! I wouldn't have even thought about something like that, but makes perfect sense! I will look into that!

[@andrewbrown6522]

Surprised they dont have a low float that has a ripcord in it to expand. I have yak vest i have to cinch up a bit to fit and paddle properly but have thought about the water line issue. Not wearing a vest can result in risking OTHER peoples lives.

[@taylorlindsay1262]

Using the same added floatation logic, would it also be a good idea to leave a little air in your drysuit for the added floatation? Obviously not so much that it decreases mobility, maybe just enough that it allows added floatation as well as effective mobility.

[@GearGarageTV]

I'm not sure. Maybe.

[@JustinBaker2567]

Even with a small amount of air in your pfd, it all ends up in your arms when you swim. When your drysuit arms are big balloons, it makes it difficult to plunge your arms into the water to make swimming strokes. You don't want any floatation in your arms.

[@jacobwuesthoff6471]

i have a body type that "negative" buoyancy high float all the way