-- Last Updated: Mar-13-12 5:05 PM EST --
I bought a new PFD and if it works out i would like to add an extra lashtab to the front. Has anyone done this successfully and if so what did you use and where did you buy them?
Thanks in advance.
carabiners!
Although I occasionally sew a D-ring to the PFD edge, I prefer to get some cheap carabiners from the dollar store and clip them around the PFD.
How would that work for a radio or
rescue knife though.I will need pictures to help me understand what you mean.Sorry if i sound dense.
biners
Something to consider with biners clipped to your PFD … if they’re not locking models, you could accidentally get clipped into something at a bad time.
sewing on lash tabs
I used to make custom outdoor gear and also did repairs for customers and on rental equipment at the outfitter I worked for. You can often buy lash tabs at outdoor shops that sell backpacking and climbing gear (the small specialty stores, not the "big box’ retailers.) That said, it is not easy to stitch them to PFD’s because of the flotation stuffing. You can do it with heavy upholstery thread and a curved harness or upholstery needle, but it is tricky. Not something I can easily explain. You might check locally to see if there is a luggage repair shop or shoemaker that can do it for you. It’s actually a little simpler to stitch a back to back strip of velcro on than a lash tab.
If you are confident enough with sewing, you can open a seam on the PFD, remove the flotation pads from one section, pull the lining out of the way and sew a tab on by hand or sewing machine, then restuff it and resew the seam. Lotta work though.
There’s a risk even with locking biners.
It’s a reduced risk, but they can still hook onto branches and things.
True
As an aside, what really scares me are knives on the front of a PFD, especially ones that really stick out. It just scares me to think that my last struggle could be “@$#$E my freaking knife is stuck … I can’t climb up … and if I go back down I’m done …”
My knife is on the front, but it’s really pinned down flat at the top where it could potentially snag when you’re trying to get your chest up onto something.
I was thinking that there was a really
super strong industrial type glue that was used, now i will have to go home and look to see if the other one is sewn or glued. I have lots of odd and ends of d-rings and plastic clips. I will just have to get my creative juices flowing.
I’ve done both of these
Removed the foam and sewn and used a curved needle and founf both to be more work (for me) than it was worth.
When I sew, I find sewing a D-Ring to the edges to be easier for me, then I have a clip-point.
But then, I carry so much safety gear on my PFD that it is only the air trapped in that gear that keeps em afloat sometimes.
Source
I knew I had seen lash tabs for sale somewhere - finally found them at Seattle Fabrics:
http://www.seattlefabrics.com/sewable_hardware.html
There are four different types, as well as D-rings, etc. You might ask them to do the sewing, while you’re at it, as they are pros.
Thanks for the link.
Sewing onto a brand new PFD makes me a little nervous though. Maybe i will give it a season and see how i feel lol.
you may get a
summons from a coastie , if the pfd has been altered and is planly seen it would make the pfd illegal I’m pretty sure .
goodluck !
Not to worried about the CoastGuard
but i will most likely find something that will work and end up wondering why i thought i needed it in the 1st place.
there use to
be a lash tab sold that used a Velcro strap around the shoulder strap . no sewing, so it didn’t alter the PFD.
Kept the PFD legal {not allowed , by law to sew on a PFD}
I don’t remember who sold them…might have been NRS or Stolquist or cascade
Best Wishes
Roy
Thanks Roy…
Maybe i make one of those myself.