RickOnt Posted March 18, 2012 Report Share Posted March 18, 2012 Recommendations? Auto/Manual? Brand? Thanks Rick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
registerfly Posted March 18, 2012 Report Share Posted March 18, 2012 Yes my son and I both use the mustang manual inflatable version. Nice and light and not obtrusive at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Clemens Posted March 18, 2012 Report Share Posted March 18, 2012 We have the bps xps and love them. We even forget we have them on. The inflatables are less bulky and don't limit the fishing and landing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mercman Posted March 18, 2012 Report Share Posted March 18, 2012 Auto/Manual combined......Mustang. Ya cant go wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lew Posted March 18, 2012 Report Share Posted March 18, 2012 I decided last year it was time to start wearing an inflatible and wanted the best I could find and after alot of research I came up with this Mustang. I'll be wearing it all the time now. http://www.mustangsurvival.com/recreational/hit%E2%84%A2-inflatable-pfd?division=recreation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinny Posted March 18, 2012 Report Share Posted March 18, 2012 i just bought a mustang auto haven't used it yet . I thought about one for a year. it's got to be better than having the regular PDF sitting on the floor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DRIFTER_016 Posted March 18, 2012 Report Share Posted March 18, 2012 Yep, got a manual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i2cool2fool Posted March 19, 2012 Report Share Posted March 19, 2012 I have a Auto/manual from Crappy Tire. I think it's a Nautilus. Good unit until I used the CO2. Couldn't find a replacement cartridge. Rumour has it that most marinas carry most replacement cartridges or can at least order them in. Nice units. Better on then stowed away. You get used to wearing them quite quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irishfield Posted March 19, 2012 Report Share Posted March 19, 2012 (edited) Fishing by yourself often.. you want an Auto.. not much good when you knock yourself out on the boat side, on the way in, if it's manual! That said... I fly with a manual... can't get out of the cabin if it inflates before hand...and if I'm knocked out I'm dead anyhow unless someone pulls me out of the wreck. Edited March 19, 2012 by irishfield Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimace Posted March 19, 2012 Report Share Posted March 19, 2012 Remember one thing, you are not wearing a PFD until it inflates. I have an auto. The false sense of security with the manuals is troubling. You think you are wearing a PFD all day but you are not. Bash your head on the gunwale on the way down and you will sink like a stone with your so called PFD around your neck. Unless you have a situation like Wayne you should get an auto. I am of two minds of these inflatables. One makes me worry about the false sense of security they bring and the other thinks they are great because people that would have never before worn a PFD are now wearing one (That'd be me :-)). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radnine Posted March 19, 2012 Report Share Posted March 19, 2012 (edited) I wear one all the time (a Mustang auto). The ONLY problem with them is that you forget to take them off once and a while and have to go searching for the bloody thing (usually hanging in the bedroom of the cottage). There is no reason to not have one on while in the boat IMHO, but remember that they have to be worn to count as an on-board PFD - having them stowed in the boat does not count if you get stopped by the MNR/OPP. As far as going off half-cocked, mine has misfired twice in four years - both times due to excessive moisture while I left them in the boat instead of bringing them in. The replacement do-dad is about $23 or so for mine. The much maligned Fishing World has the Helly Hanson autos on for $149 right now. Jim Modelled here by the lovely me! Edited March 19, 2012 by Radnine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skeeter Posted March 19, 2012 Report Share Posted March 19, 2012 Question: What if your wearing an auto inflate and your out in the middle of the lake and it starts to pour rain? Will it inflate? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i2cool2fool Posted March 19, 2012 Report Share Posted March 19, 2012 No Skeeter. The unit needs to be submerged. Rain will not trigger it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimace Posted March 19, 2012 Report Share Posted March 19, 2012 No. They have to be submerged in water to inflate. They won't go off if they are wet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skeeter Posted March 19, 2012 Report Share Posted March 19, 2012 Thanks guy's ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregoire Posted March 19, 2012 Report Share Posted March 19, 2012 No. They have to be submerged in water to inflate. They won't go off if they are wet. There's got to be a dirty joke in there somewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Handlebarz Posted March 19, 2012 Report Share Posted March 19, 2012 I have been thinking about them for a few years now I guess this year is as good as any to get one for the wife and I. I do have a float suit for cold weather fishing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whiskywizard Posted March 19, 2012 Report Share Posted March 19, 2012 Question: What if your wearing an auto inflate and your out in the middle of the lake and it starts to pour rain? Will it inflate? No Skeeter. The unit needs to be submerged. Rain will not trigger it. No. They have to be submerged in water to inflate. They won't go off if they are wet. As stated above, the newer models must be submerged to fire. The old sensors would fire the CO2 cartridge if they got a good splash or were thoroughly wetted, and that's why you'll still hear the "stories" about it. No longer true, but you know how stories can linger... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickOnt Posted March 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2012 Great info I was a little concerned about Rain as was Skeeter, But you guys cleared that up. So looks like an auto as I do Fish alone at times. Rick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedimaster Posted March 19, 2012 Report Share Posted March 19, 2012 We had an auto inflater go off in a rod locker one time. if it gets sufficiently soaked and is in the wrong position it will go off. However, I think this was just a freak accident. I doubt it would go off even in driving rain. As my cousin has wore his in some brutal rain at 60 mph. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tootsie II Posted March 19, 2012 Report Share Posted March 19, 2012 I have the same model that Radnine so graciuosly modelled. I like it. I agree with the same theory that if you get whacked on the head going overboard, the manual one won't save U. IMO, U have to be more careful stowing them to ensure that the manual pull rope does not get accidentally pulled. At first the side holding the CO2 cartridge seems a bit bulky, but it's nowhere near the bulkiness of a full PFD and you soon don't even know it's there. I still carry my old PFD in the boat just in case I do forget to put my Auto on and the OPP/MNR show up on the water. I somtimes take it off when we're anchored and still fishing and the sun is really hot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Urban Fisherman Posted March 19, 2012 Report Share Posted March 19, 2012 The auto's are great.... I wear one when I'm shooting Facts of Fishing all the time, and I'm holding up a 25lb + camera all day... I don't even notice it's there and one of these days I might "forget" to put it back in Dave's storage before I hop in my truck at the end of a shoot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyb Posted March 19, 2012 Report Share Posted March 19, 2012 I decided last year it was time to start wearing an inflatible and wanted the best I could find and after alot of research I came up with this Mustang. I'll be wearing it all the time now. http://www.mustangsu...sion=recreation Ditto! No better auto-inflateable on the market. 35lbs of bouyancy ensures if you do fall in the drink and get k.o'd that your head will be high enough out of the water to breath air not water 5 year lifespan on the hydrostatic cartridge, and is about $75 to replace. Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gman Posted March 19, 2012 Report Share Posted March 19, 2012 I agree as I have one of those vests as well. However if I had to buy a new one or recommend a vest to someone it would not be a PFD but an inflatable lifejecket since there in now one available, the first and only Transport Canada approved inflatable Lifejacket which was introduced by Mustang Survival just this past June and sells for I believe $335. This will ensure you're floating face up should something unfortunate occur and you're knocked unconcious. http://www.mustangsurvival.com/about-mustang/news/2011-06-22/mustang-survival-launches-canadas-first-and-only-transport-canada-appr Cheers G. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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