Spinoff: Do you wear your lifejacket?

[mike rousseau]

Wear the darned thing so your kid has a father to come home to not to get him to wear his! One stupid mistake is all it takes!!!!! I thought you were a really smart guy until I read this!

 

It's not every day a post on this site truly upsets me... This one has... I feel like when a family member says they're not mad but disappointed in you... It hits you harder...

 

My next fishing purchase will be a PFD I can tolerate wearing...

 

Thanks for implying I'm a dummy... Might just save my life some day...

[Old Ironmaker]

Good for you Mike, want you around to read in the future your respected opinions and spin on things, good decision.

[chris.brock]

doesn't these inflatable PFDs defeat the purpose, if you fall and hit your head and are knocked out, you won't be able to pull the rip cord?

 

as for PFDs help in recovering the body, I did find a body once, off shore, no life jacket, he was floating just fine, but face down

[Joeytier]

I wear mine 100% of the time while in the canoe, and sometimes in the tin can, but even when it's not on I make sure it's accessible, and not stuffed away at the bow under a pile of other gear

[Big Cliff]

It's not every day a post on this site truly upsets me... This one has... I feel like when a family member says they're not mad but disappointed in you... It hits you harder...

 

My next fishing purchase will be a PFD I can tolerate wearing...

 

Thanks for implying I'm a dummy... Might just save my life some day...

 

Thank you Mike, you just made me feel a lot better! I hope it is never needed but look at what happened last year when some of our own members found themselves in the water. It all happened in seconds and there was no time to grab a pfd and put it on. Fortunatly they all survived.

doesn't these inflatable PFDs defeat the purpose, if you fall and hit your head and are knocked out, you won't be able to pull the rip cord?

 

as for PFDs help in recovering the body, I did find a body once, off shore, no life jacket, he was floating just fine, but face down

There are two types of inflatable PFDs. auto inflate and manual inflate. The auto inflate ones activate when submerged in water so they work just like a regular PFD. The big advantage of the inflatables is that they are so comfortable you often forget you even have them on.

[mepps]

I started to wear mine all the time this year. Most of my time on the water is in a canoe with my 7 year old son.

 

I also wear a helmet when cycling 100% of the time.

[AKRISONER]

Serious question, does anyone know the rules about manual vs auto inflatables?

 

Are manual inflatables considered "valid" if stopped by the OPP?

[Steve]

manual vs auto is irrelevant. they are legal if they are being worn.

[AKRISONER]

are these types of PFD's no longer valid if you take them off?

[Old Ironmaker]

The inflatables must be worn to be considered valid, if you take it off you need another PFD within reach to be in compliance with legislation. Happened to me last year actually. I had caught a hook in the mesh of my inflatable, I took it off and hung it on a seat. I put on a spare vest. During the safety check by the OPP it was explained to me and the 2nd young cop took the hook out for me, that's good service.

[Acountdeleted]

100% of the time. Ever since I got dumped in the water by that idiot in Edmonton and was thankful I was wearing it then I make sure I have it when I go out. Swimming with clothes on was hard enough as is.

[HTHM]

I usually wear it, the one time I didn't the same thing happened to me as happened to Beans. Some seat gave way and over the side I went.

Both Beans and I survived, but lessons were learned.

[FloatnFly]

for the amount of times im on a boat, yea i wear one, im only on a boat a couple of times a year, so to me, its a no brainer, it only takes one idiot to fly close by you at a high speed to knock you off balance.

 

bottom line, its just common sense to wear it. as the saying goes, ' that idiot must have a lot of common sense, cause he never uses any'

[kickingfrog]

At least we don't have these anymore:

 

Edited September 12, 2014 by kickingfrog

[FloatnFly]

At least we don't have these anymore:

 

 

 

haha true enough, but something is wrong with that picture....why is the older kid the only one with a life vest on?

[kickingfrog]

I was the one out in the boat fishing.

[xxgoaler]

Haven't worn one in years, need to start getting into the good habits

[NANUK]

I wear my inflatable PFD every time I step in a boat,

[Rod Caster]

This isn't justifying not wearing one, but I like what my brother does.

 

He constantly practices, flipping, falling out and getting back in his canoe, spring, summer, fall. I think he normally wears a PFD, but regardless, he's more prepared than most if his canoe should actually flip over. Also he's taken recent swimming lessons.

[moxie]

Will wear one when I'm fishing alone or on big water otherwise its below deck.

[turtle]

Always in the kayak and canoe. I have a stable 14.5 ft boat and mostly fish a good sized cottage lake. I wear the PFD in the boat when the water is cold or is rough. On big water with a 2 mile swim to shore I wear it always. When its really cold I put the floater jacket or full suit on.

[gordy28]

I never used to but 2things changed

Got a mustang auto inflate and I barely notice its on

Became a dad and don't want to be that tragic story

[Entropy]

I never used to, back when I had a big boat with windshield and no kids.

BUT, now with 2 kids in a smaller boat, and doing a lot of canoeing, I wear a camo inflatable.

One of the biggest realizations was when I had a structural malfunction of a canoe on a back lake in the spring.

I learned that it is impossible to foresee all of the possible or impossible or freak accidents/things that can happen on the water.

I need to live for a while longer to see my kids off. Don't want to cut it short.

 

Entropy

[Big Cliff]

It is simple folks:

 

Want your daughter to have to ask some other man to walk her down the isle because dad didn't wear a life jacket?

 

Want your son to have to go to a father and son banquet and tell everyone that his dad couldn't come with him because he didn't wear a life jacket?

 

Want your wife to have to figure out how she is going to bring up your kids because her husband didn't think he needed to wear his life jacket?

 

Who is going to hold your first grand child, great grand child?

 

When you quit thinking about yourself and start thinking of those you could leave behind, you'll start wearing a life jacket, buckling your seat belts, wearing bike helmets, quit smoking.......

 

Life doesn't come with a reset button!

[Old Ironmaker]

Well said Cliff, always the voice of reason. Better than me saying " Buddy are you stupid?"

 

Albert good to hear the vest is on and not in the VW. I don't want to see that again, it wasn't funny then and still isn't funny now. Wow what a thing to witness. By the way that butt seat sits in my shed and I put one of the seats from the boat up there and the rope is never near that post holder again

 

"Experience is a lifetime of mistakes, wisdom is knowing how not to repeat them"

JAD, 1993