belt pack PFD

F

fatbillybob

Steelhead
does anyone have experience actually using an inflatable beltpack PFD. Any words of wisdom short of putting one on and falling into the swiming pool to see how user friendly these are? can the pdf be belted on the small of the back and then spun easily in the water and then deployed?
 
Two things to consider:

If you have to manually deploy it, the cold water shock may/will prevent you from accomplishing this.

You need to take into account your size, weight and amount of buoyance required. For average adults you need at least 22 pounds of buoyance and many of the belts are only ~16 pounds.

Do not skimp on life saving tools/apparatus for ,say, comfort...
 
I always considered them a calm water warm water thing since you need to put it on before you can use it. If I’m going into trout temperatures water, I want something that’s already in place. And no way I’m using it in moving water. They’re basically pfds for people in bathing suits on sup who don’t want to mess up their tans.
 
I have a NRS belt Type 3 PFD that I use float tubing hike-in lakes. Admittedly, I have asked myself how well it would work in a real world situation. I know its effectiveness is limited but optimistically figure: I’m fishing small lakes and staying fairly close to shore. I generally avoid rough conditions. Float tube failures are likely of the slow leak variety giving me the opportunity to deploy the PFD before full immersion. Most people (in my limited sample group) don’t use any PFD on these type trips, and a belt unit is 100% better than nothing. I’m very unlikely to pack in either a rigid Type 1 or my Mustang.
I have been meaning to, and next season will make a point of actually trying the thing in a safe environment.
 
I have one that I've used for summertime paddleboarding or other recreational type calm water stuff. Places where I'm probably going swimming anyway and just want a PFD to be extra safe and/or legal.

I can't imagine that I'd use one in cold or moving water. Having to both deploy and then put on feels like too many steps in a hectic situation.
 
The device would appear to be only slightly better than accessing a PFD stowed at the opposite end of a watercraft.

Having capsized kayaks in both rivers and lakes I can't imagine dealing with this contraption in an emergency....but I suppose it's better than the usual 'nothing' I generally see.
 
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