I wear an impact vest, its not as big as a pfd but still gives boyancy confidence, I dont think i can swim a 1000 m back to shore
when I do my upwinders from Mullalloo to Hillarys and further I tend to go out pretty far and on such occasions I wear an NPX vest (floating not impact), just in case a line breaks or something else happens. So far I did not really need it .. touch wood..
My wife insisted that I wear the vest and I oblige .. happy wife .. happy life :)
Closer to beach I wear an impact vest when I practise or just cruise along ..
any reason you ask ?
regards
gmd
The NPX is not as good as a big PFD1 (Australian Standards) but it is not as bulky and sits ok (it gets clipped into the hook and has straps on the side to avoid riding up).
I also have inflatable PFD1s for Kayaking but they have sit a bit loose and are not really suitable in the wind. So the NPX was a good compromise .. it does give me more floatation than the impact vest, but it does not have a neck cushion, so if you get knocked out for some reason it will not keep your head above water.
Still I think it is better than nothing especially when you are a couple of miles out, and you are supposed to wear a vest anyway ..
regards
gmd
