After thinking long and hard I ordered one today. Anybody out there have any experience with these.

Which one did you go with? I almost pulled the trigger on one over winter but the cost of the re-arming kits scared me off, I was looking at the hydrostatic ones, HIT's

quote Ragged: "Which one did you go with? I almost pulled the trigger on one over winter but the cost of the re-arming kits scared me off, I was looking at the hydrostatic ones, HIT's"

Mustang Bass competition deluxe with HIT

quote walllee: " Mustang Bass competition deluxe with HIT"

Nice choice

I have a BPS inflatable. I love it. It is not automatic, as the auto ones tend to like to inflate at the most inopportune times.

The manual one will work fine for me.

One thing you need to do is TEST it before every trip. They do wear out, and if you portage with your life vest on, you may create some wear points that are bad news when you need to inflate it.

Most all of them come with a tube to blow air into to inflate in case the cartridge doesn't work or is empty or old or used, or whatever. Blow up the vest, and leave it out overnight to see if you lose air. If you do, then pitch it, because it will lose air a lot faster in the water under weight than in your garage.

I've had two for 15 years, and they still hold air, but the nylon frames have been sewn up a little.

One other thing.....in the COLD....really COLD weather, these don't inflate all the way. I found this out the hard way at Dale Hollow in January a few years ago. STILL glad I had it, but it was only about 75% inflated.

Later,

Geo

I own a couple of these and love them. I prefer the manual ones, easy to wear light weight, and best of all cool to wear when the temps start up towards a 100 degrees. The auto ones can go off if you hit to much "fast water" so the manual ones for me in the canoe. I also have one that is a manual inflate(meaning you pull/tug a handle)that you wear around your waist like a small fanny pack. A great balance for a life jacket and movement.

I use a Kokatat SeaO2 inflatable hybrid. Tested each year, I just re-arm with hardware store co2 powerletes of appropriate size and thread style.
Finish with the indicator pins I buy by the dozen.

butthead

how do you inflate a manual version if you are incapacitated or unconscious?

The Type 3 pfds that nearly all of us wear while canoeing won't float most unconscious people face up, so using a manually inflating pfd isn't much different.

Ya places your bet and ya takes your chances.

Pete

quote ClarkPeters: "The Type 3 pfds that nearly all of us wear while canoeing won't float most unconscious people face up, so using a manually inflating pfd isn't much different.


Ya places your bet and ya takes your chances.


Pete"

i was waiting for that reply. floating beats sinking, what ever the outcome.

quote kanoes: "how do you inflate a manual version if you are incapacitated or unconscious?"

Same here, I'd be worried about hitting a head and blacking out

If that bothers you don't use them.
Personally I feel if that's a problem you might have more to worry about. My vest does have foam flotation also, enough to float and orient you.

butthead

I took a guy down a river that had one on. I was in a kayak, he was in a canoe. He tipped his canoe over 10 minutes into the trip. The thing inflated, but since all the inflation was in the front he had trouble swimming with it. A lot like having a balloon on the front of you. then he had to figure out how to deflate and reload it.

Ask yourself this. . .have you ever seen a kayaker with one on? People that plan and use gear with the mindset that they will go in the water. . .and moving water at times, do not wear inflateable PFD's.

ken? i only posted that to bring up a valid point...a very valid point, one that should be considered by anyone thinking about buying a inflatable.

I don't have the Mustang brand but I do have an auto-inflate vest from Gander Mountain. I purchased a re-arming kit right away so I always had a backup inflator on hand. The freedom of movement and the fact that to me they are cooler to wear causes me to always wear it on the water.

quote markaroberts: "Ask yourself this. . .have you ever seen a kayaker with one on? People that plan and use gear with the mindset that they will go in the water. . .and moving water at times, do not wear inflateable PFD's."

Yes, wearing one depends on the type of boating activity. I sail a lot. People who sail small boats that capsize don't wear inflatable PFDs. You might be deflating them and rearming them a few times a day and it could be hard to right the boat and get sailing again. People who sail on big boats with heavy keels often will wear them. The boats don't capsize and the sailors rarely wind up in the water. So, the comfort factor plus a lot of floatation if they do wind up in the water far from shore are features.

So, while I wouldn't wear one if sea kayaking, I could see wearing one in a canoe in the BW. And, as always, the best PFD is one you will chose to wear.

BTW, I've never heard any of the people I sail with talk about an accidental inflation.

BTW, I wear a standard PFD in all boats. I like the simplicity, pockets, and comfy backrest on bigger boats.

quote kanoes: "ken? i only posted that to bring up a valid point...a very valid point, one that should be considered by anyone thinking about buying a inflatable."

Valid it is, didn't intend to disqualify the concern. You have seen me in the same PFD, it is more both types rolled together.

butthead