You are going to want to use a buoyancy aid for sports such as canoeing, kayaking, or dinghy sailing.įor these activities, you are going to need a jacket that doesn’t restrict arm movement, and are comfortable to move around in. What to look for when buying a buoyancy aid These type of life jackets use a CO2 cartridge to self-inflate, so using them in sports where you are more likely to end up in the water will mean you will get through a lot of CO2 canisters, as well as the disadvantages in ease of swimming and movement when inflated. The harness element is for attaching to a safety line, which you use when moving around a yacht in rough conditions.Īlthough these life jackets will not inflate if splashed with water, they are not suitable for dinghy sailing or kayaking where you are more likely to end up in the water. Moving around a boat is easier with a deflated life jacket, leaving your arms free to work winches, etc. These are usually slightly more expensive.Īutomatic life jackets are generally used for sailing (in a yacht, not a dinghy) or power boats, and will self-inflate if immersed in water. You will see many adult life jackets as ‘automatic’ and often come with a built-in harness. Instruct your kids that this is for emergency use only. Life jackets should also come with a rescue whistle. When buying a life jacket for young children or babies then you must have a crotch strap (in fact, all life jackets should have this to avoid them riding up in the water) and a good collar to keep their head clear of the water.Īlways choose a life jacket appropriate for the weight of the person (including clothing). Use the Newton Range table above to select a life jacket suitable for the activity. What to look for when buying a life jacket After all, you would be doing this activity in a group where rescue is at hand, and you wouldn’t be doing it with very young children. In very cold water you should be wearing a winter rated wetsuit (otherwise hypothermia will soon set in), and wetsuits can help with buoyancy, so if you are correctly kitted out for cold weather white-water canoeing or rafting, then a buoyancy aid can still be appropriate. I have done whitewater kayaking in glacier melt water and can tell you first hand that capsizing in water that cold can reduce your immediate reaction to swim, and very cold water can make breathing difficult and force you to take in a breath…which is not good news when you are under the water. Take into account the amount of clothing you are wearing (including shoes) and how cold the water is. However, you wouldn’t be family sea kayaking in rough conditions, would you? If you are sea kayaking in poor conditions then a life jacket would be more appropriate. You always need to take conditions into account. If you capsize, the adults can rescue the children and get them back into the canoe.įor our setup, our youngest have always worn a life jacket, and transition to buoyancy aids when they are older and have become good swimmers. If you are family canoeing on calm (not too cold) waters, then the adults would be wearing buoyancy aids and any young children wear life jackets. This 100N child’s life jacket is designed to keep their head out of the water without them needing to swim. The ‘N’ stands for Newton, and this is known as the ‘Newton Range’. You will often see 50N on buoyancy aids and 100N or 150N on life jackets. Some will not keep a person afloat in rough conditions nor if the person is wearing lots of clothes. However, you can get different types of life jackets. A life jacket should keep someone afloat even if they are unconscious and should have a collar designed to keep the person’s face clear of the water. Buoyancy Aids or Life Jackets – what’s the difference?Įssentially buoyancy aids are designed to help you swim if you capsize for example, whereas a life jacket is designed to keep a person afloat without the need to swim.īuoyancy aids are designed to help you swim if you capsize for example, whereas a life jacket is designed to keep a person afloat without the need to swim In this post we look at those differences, and what you should choose for family water activities, and what’s best for younger and older children. It is quite common for people to call a buoyancy aid a life jacket, however, they are different.
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