I enjoy a good downwinder when we have waves up here. Excellent fun - but on the odd occasion when things go bad - broken lines etc. I have wished I had some sort of floatations vest. Any recommendations ? Do impact vests give enough floatations?
Usually between 100-500 meters from shore. Have just found trying to keep board and manage a kite with a broken line in swell a fair challenge.
Have a look at the liquid force impact vest I think they would suit your needs fairly slim fitting but enough buoyancy for what you're after
Try to swim in a floatation west... not fun... especially 500m offshore... swimming lessons might be an alternative to a west 
Flotation west for kitesurfing is useless in the best case and dangerous in the worst.
1. If you stuck out more than a few hundred meters, it will slow your swimming, and it may result in exhaustion, hypothermia.
2. More time flipping in the water is more time for a great white.
3. Wipe out / crash in a west contribute to a whiplash.
4. If you get knocked out by your board, the west will not give your head enough support to float, so you drawn anyway.
^completely disagree after coming out of a few hectic crashes behind the boat and at cable where i was either a) ko'd or b) completely munted that i didnt know what was going on for a few seconds, impact vest auto corrected me and put my head above water.
If you want something that's easy to swim in, good impact protection, good flotation etc. go do yourself a favor and stop in at a wakeboarding shop and look at their range of PFD type 3's, I got a ripcurl one I use behind the boat, its thin, doesnt feel like it gets in the way and very comfortable, i have contemplated using it during kicker sessions in the waves so i dont get winded as much on crap stacks.
If pfd3's are too thick then some kiteshops should still have thinner impact vests, pretty sure Liquid force made one that could accommodate for a harness
have you thought about getting a second kite leash to keep with you on the harness so if you stack up you can then hook the board to the second leash and have hands free to cope with the kite mess. and with the kite leash, if some other problem develops you can pop the safety and get rid of the board just like the kite.
You can get some fairly slim impact vests like the Mystic Force but they are not smooth, but if you got a neoprene hooded vest and cut the hood off it would be smoother. They make them up to 7mm. You can get thinner vests without the hood up to 3mm you could wear under your wetsuit.
Try a Naish impact flotation vest,slim and full neoprene hardly know your wearing it has saved me a few times swimming back from 2k offshore,without it I would of been history.
Agree 100% with charl dv....
Coming from a waterskiing/wakeboarding background I have always wondered why it is not compulsory to wear a PFD 3 when kiteboarding, as it is with other watersports.
This issue has also been raised in the surf life saving association, due to the tragedies that have occurred over recent years at the national championships here on the Goldy. As highlighted in these incidents, all it takes is a knock to the head and the air to be expelled from your lungs, next thing you know you are rolling around on the ocean floor where no one can find you.
As we all know you will not last more than 3 or 4 minutes underwater!!
Personally, I wear a 5mm Barefoot suit, in the surf, which serves several purposes. It is a PFD 3 as well as a wetsuit which I can use for skiing, wakeboarding and kiting.
Checkout Wing, Wavelength and Rip Curl brands to name a few.....
Same old, same old.... some are dearer than others, you get what you pay for...
option 2. use good equipment on your downwinders. not ****ty old kites with worn lines. Then you should not need to worry about equipment failure.
here in sa they are trying the fines for no life jacket so here is an option use an inflatable
I havent got one yet but am considering it. It could be good in your situation
www.biasboating.com.au/Axis_Pacific_Manual_Inflatable_PFD_L_150_p/1087X.htm
there are many other brands and models you can look at in the same line
An impact vest (I use an NPX) provides extra buoyancy and is OK to swim in.
A canoeing type 3 PFD provides better buoyancy and pockets to stash safety gear in (e.g. strobe, EPIRB, GPS, phone etc) but is harder to swim in.
The OP was talking about kitesurfing and downwinders, and NOT cable, waterski, kickers etc.
1. The vest which could keep your head above water is way way too bulky to do any activities in it, let alone kiting. If you become unconscious you naturally turn face down, and consequently drown anyway.
2. The buoyancy of the vest is dependent on its capacity to hold air. So the safer, floatier, the bulkier. That's why they advertise the kiting ones as IMPACT vests, not flotation vest.
If you think you may knock yourself out with the board, an impact helmet is way better option, as it is preventative....
It is no question, that a flotation vest helps in a death loop situation, as you less likely to be dragged underwater. However, a hook-knife is a way better option.
In other situations, just follow the basic rule: don't go further out then what you can easily swim back....
Accidents in surfing or kitesurfing highlight that they are still somewhat extreme sports, so if you cannot take the risk don't start it.
Putting regulations, like compulsory floating vests is ridiculous, especially for surfing. Let's assume we are intelligent enough to make our choices, rather than letting nanny do it for us....
Get an inflatable life jacket or fanny bag version the SUP guys use.
Alternatively, a few years ago I thought of inserting a bladder in the back of my harness, inflate it by mouth when you need it, I think a cabrinha or north harness came out with an inflatable back support for the harness. You would not need a lot to keep you afloat.
Cheers
Rich
sorry again, my stupid but WTF are you doing 2K out when you can have more fun where the waves are in closer?
if you can not swim comfortably that far out why are you there?
maybe below the equator it's not just the weather that spins different?
2K offshore sounds like a real adventure, if you have the right equipment. Note that its marine law to carry an EPIRB if you go 2 or more nms offshore.
Here are some vest options kitesurfing-handbook.peterskiteboarding.com/gear/buoyancy-vests
Flotation vest of course, as other things, is a personal preference. However, in twelve years of kiting I had not one occasion when I thought I or anyone else needed it. On this thread, too, there has not been one convincing argument for it.
Helmet, hook knife have obvious use, while vest is rather a hindrance.
Getting stuck way out (8km or less) without a backup is a big time risk. If you loose your kite, and you have to swim in, a vest will slow you down giving more chance to hypothermia, exhaustion, dehydration. No, swimming in a flotation vest is not at all that easy, try it. Wetsuit gives plenty of extra float for an effective swim.
I put down a few other problems with vests earlier, but don't take my words, just try to dive with a flotation vest on. Or miss a jump and bounce on the water like a ball, and you may have a lot of time looking at your x-ray /mri taken on your cervical spine...
My other concern is a rather reactive council hearing how dangerous kiting without a flotation vest is, hence making it compulsory. We had it with bicycle helmets and some other things. We live in a nanny society and, in my view, we give away our choices far too easily.
There's a big difference between a normal Pfd and a impact floatation vest,I wear a impact vest for mainly the impacts but it gives adequate flotation if needed,nothing like the bulk and float of a true Pfd,not bulky easy to swim in adds an extra layer of warmth fits snug with a harness,have tried numerous brands over the years and the Naish is the best I've used to date.
