I had a nasty swim in a badly balanced IK on the Middle Fork this summer and felt like my life vest did not keep me above the water enough even once out of the meat. Observers felt the same. I weigh maybe 220 with a husky build. Current Vest has 15lbs 8oz flotation. I would like something that levitates me out of the water and places me on dry land if that's available. Otherwise I see many vests that I can buy that add 1lb-2lbs over what I have, then you step up to 24-28lbs. Would a small change make a difference or should I look to more bulky vests in that higher range?
Life Vest Flotation Rating
DidNotWinLottery
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Guides were wearing type III (15 to 18 pound flotation) jackets as far back as I can recall, but I have always told private boaters that unless they like spending most of their swim with a periscope, go with a type V or at least a high-float type III. Both are made in relatively few models compared to standard type IIIs.
The MTI high float type III Atlas mentioned above is a solid choice if you want to avoid a collar. If a collar is okay, the MTI Canyon is pretty comfortable too. The third MTI product with a lot of foam is the universal size Explorer type V, but it is far less comfortable and made mostly for commercial peeps rather than private boaters. Extrasport had their HiFloat for a while in a pricey rescue harness version after the basic one was deleted, but I think even that rescue version is long gone.
It all comes down to cubic inches of foam, but yes, a leaky paddle top can also drag you down. That point was driven home to me during a long swim on the Merced River once. There is some degree of falsehood to the notion that low-float type IIIs are always more comfortable. Since many of them are designed to work with a sprayskirt (which comes up high on your belly), they are often require that a lot of foam be jammed in a very short front panel. Therefore the front panel thickness on a kayaker's type III may be the same as a type V vest. The problem with a hardsheller trying to wear a type V is that it will start pulling them up immediately in a roll before they can set up. But in a raft or IK, this obviously is not an issue. I would try one of the NRS or MTI products and see how they work. And unless the foam in your pfd is really cheap plastic-y stuff, no, it should not have degraded in just ten years. It just didn't have enough foam to start with.
The MTI high float type III Atlas mentioned above is a solid choice if you want to avoid a collar. If a collar is okay, the MTI Canyon is pretty comfortable too. The third MTI product with a lot of foam is the universal size Explorer type V, but it is far less comfortable and made mostly for commercial peeps rather than private boaters. Extrasport had their HiFloat for a while in a pricey rescue harness version after the basic one was deleted, but I think even that rescue version is long gone.
It all comes down to cubic inches of foam, but yes, a leaky paddle top can also drag you down. That point was driven home to me during a long swim on the Merced River once. There is some degree of falsehood to the notion that low-float type IIIs are always more comfortable. Since many of them are designed to work with a sprayskirt (which comes up high on your belly), they are often require that a lot of foam be jammed in a very short front panel. Therefore the front panel thickness on a kayaker's type III may be the same as a type V vest. The problem with a hardsheller trying to wear a type V is that it will start pulling them up immediately in a roll before they can set up. But in a raft or IK, this obviously is not an issue. I would try one of the NRS or MTI products and see how they work. And unless the foam in your pfd is really cheap plastic-y stuff, no, it should not have degraded in just ten years. It just didn't have enough foam to start with.
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Guiding on the grand for 20 years and all over the west, I only way an Extrasport Hi-Float. Learned it from a retired guide who always grinned at bagage boatmen wearing their kayak vests. Swim Granite once and you can't get enough flotation.
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I boated for years with a HiFloat, started kayaking and bought a kayak vest or two. Lost the HiFloat. Currently favor my old Lotus, but still use my Astral Greenjacket.
However, I bought the closest thing I could find to my old Extrasport last year in anticipation of another GC trip. I think it is called a Ranger. Discontinued, but you might still find a new one somewhere online.
However, I bought the closest thing I could find to my old Extrasport last year in anticipation of another GC trip. I think it is called a Ranger. Discontinued, but you might still find a new one somewhere online.
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5,258 Posts
You are correct. And, considering that the fabrics fibers are less dense then water, clothing might provide a very minor amount of buoyancy in still water. That is not true in currents typical of a "bad swim".
For example, a situation most of us are very familiar with, a blown off baseball cap or hat. In calm water that cap will sit on or near the surface allowing retrieval. On a river, it quickly becomes one with the river and at the mercy of the currents.
Still doubtful, another experiment would be to throw a towel into the current and see how it twists and turns in the current disappearing from time to time.
So hopefully these two examples illustrate how a person wearing loose saturated clothing will be considerably more subject to the actions of current and more likely transported in directions away from where they'd prefer to go.
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Now that is planning ahead. Was it class V in a kayak or raft and how well did the fins fit in the kayak?
I can see the logic in doing what you did. In many class V's there might likely be another class V below. Getting to shore asap is a good idea. One particular bad swim in Pine Ck on the Ark when I was sucked out of my boat after my spray skirt blew...... I wished I had webbed feet.
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310 Posts
I "swam" Lava Falls. During those moments I would have liked to have the floatation of the Hindenburg.
I "swam" Wild Sheep and Granite on the Snake. I don't really swim. "I begin drowning when I see water."
During the Lava swim, my wife looked out across the river and saw an empty vest floating downstream.
(It was our spare, but she was kinda relieved to see me catch and climb the boat. I like to stay in the boat.)
I "swam" Wild Sheep and Granite on the Snake. I don't really swim. "I begin drowning when I see water."
During the Lava swim, my wife looked out across the river and saw an empty vest floating downstream.
(It was our spare, but she was kinda relieved to see me catch and climb the boat. I like to stay in the boat.)
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