Comfortable pfd

Advice
#1

Don’t like wearing a PFD but there are occasions that I have to, so I am looking for the most comfortable, least restrictive, least confining vest for hot, humid weather I can find. Is Astral VE- 8 it?

Thanks
mjac

#2

Never tried one but the usual answer for hot weather is get an inflatable. High R-value foam is hot no matter what miracles the marketeers espouse.

1 Like
#3

How reliable are inflatables, are there some brands you have heard off? I would have to have a reliable brand with an inflatable. I read somewhere that when inflated, inflatables make a re-entry hard.

Thanks
mjac

#4

I live in Delaware. It gets pretty hot and humid for my taste. I have been using the NRS C-Vest for the last 10 years:

NRS cVest Mesh Back PFD

It has a lot of mesh and large openings. I never feel sweaty in it, never feel like “I can’t wait to remove this and cool off”. I tend to forget I am wearing it. Works well for me in the hot humid weather we have here and I recommend it and would buy it again, in fact this is my second one.

But I think there are a number that will work for you, and it is best to try them on and see how they fit.

1 Like
#5

This was all recommended to me, NRS was one of the brands and the other recommendation was get into a store and try some stuff on, don’t get fixed on one brand, see how they feel.

Thanks
mjac

2 Likes
#6

I have 2 PFD. I always wear the V8. Comfortable and cool and does the job overboard.

1 Like
#7

Me too…NRS cVest Mesh Back PFD

Also for hot weather wear tech shirt , sleeves and gloves. Get all wet. Use gloves to squeeze water down your shirt . Dip hat in water and replace on head wet. You will be cooler.

4 Likes
#8

I often wear an inflatable while sailing, and have had enough experience with it (I think) to weigh in on the pros and cons.

Much paddling is too wet for an auto-inflate PFD. They shed rain reliably, until after a very rainy summer they may soak in and randomly inflate. Paddling is less likely than sailing to knock you out while you go into the water, so a pull-to-inflate is probably ok. If you inspect it regularly (once a month open the zipper or velcro and make sure that the cartridge is properly attached), I’d trust it.

Having been overboard with an inflated pfd, yes, it would make it a colossal pain to get back in the boat. 35 pounds worth of displacement is a lot of volume up in front of your chest.

Having the options of an auto-inflator and a foam PFD, I wear the foam PFD when paddling, and, like @Bakerman suggests, “turn on the air conditioning” by soaking my hat when I get hot.

3 Likes
#9

I was looking at the Astral VE-8 and what else was recommended to me was Kokotat, NRS and Stolquist. I have to figure out which one will be more comfortable somehow. But I do want to get something nice. I just had a Stearns Infinity that I kept under my knees and it got stolen along with a bunch of other stuff when they broke into my truck. So I figured instead of investing $30 in an average vest I won’t wear, invest in something nice in case I have to wear it.

Thanks
mjac

1 Like
#10

I like wearing a Kinetic Compression Shirt or if it is really hot a Hanes Cool-Dri (I think they stopped making them), both long sleeve. Some of this water around here, you don’t want to be pouring over your head.

Thanks
mjac

1 Like
#11

We paddlers don’t need to be preached to but wear your hat and sunscreen. I’m healing from a 4" incision on my right cheek and jaw but have not been sunburned since my 20s. The left was done 3 years ago.

4 Likes
#12

I thought about it, the only time I am going to wear a PFD is when it is dangerous, open water, fast moving water, and in those cases I want a conventional PFD on. Rec paddle down the Bayou or small river, it is under my legs, maybe with a tether to my leg if I get ambitious. I am not going to buy a $250 inflatable to do that.

Thanks
mjac

#13

Melanoma?

#14

Kokatat Hustler for me super comfortable. 15 years I’ve had about 8 or 9 vest. Better than V-8 pockets are better and it stays down. Wide padded shoulder straps.

1 Like
#15

Someone recommended that brand to me, didn’t specify what model. So far we got three recommends, Astral VE-8, NRS cVest Mesh Back and Kokotat Hustler. Got to find which one is most comfortable for me somehow.

Thanks
mjac

#16

Buy a vest at a place yóu can return it to if you don’t like the fit. My partner loves hers and she has driven me crazy over the years.

#17

My go to place is Amazon, return, no questions asked, refund to Amazon Account within hours sometimes an hour, that is just the way it is. May do the same here. Pick the one that looks the most promising and start there. Look, I don’t know anything about them, but you honestly like the Hustler over the VE-8?

Thanks
mjac

#18

No, carcinoma thank goodness. Not good but I lost a good friend to melanoma.

#19

Does the sun cause carcinoma too? I was out in the sun with no protection for years and luckily never had a problem, my sister never spent 10 minutes in the sun at one time and had some kind of skin cancer on her face. Must have been a Carcinoma.

Thanks
mjac

#20

Stohlquist has gone out of business after being acquired by an investment banking firm last December. There is a chance that the brand may be bought by another company, but it’s unknown for now. Stohlquist PFDs and other gear my be limited to stock on hand.