Try on some quality life jackets and see what you like.
Inflatables are not dependable. When you end up in the water it is all at once and often you can’t see it coming. You need floation when you enter the water, not after awhile when you gain your bearings and inflate one.
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I am in the same boat with you (I love puns) in some regards. I am cruising bayous, the marsh or a narrow scenic River, I am not wearing a PFD, it is tucked under my legs as a cushion, so I would not be using an inflatable there. If I am in more dangerous water, open water, fast moving water, I am going to have the best conventional PFD I can find (looks like a Stohlquist) strapped on, so I wouldn’t be using an inflatable there. I was going to go that route but after thinking about it decided to get one really good conventional PFD that is stoned reliable especially for dangerous situations.
Thanks
mjac
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I came to the same conclusion, inflatables are just not practical, even good ones and good ones are darn expensive on top of that. A very experienced paddler/ instructor just flat out said in his opinion inflatables are not suited for paddling. Going to use the Amazon dressing room, bought two Stohlquist PFDs at a good price and try them on and pick the one I like the most. Their return policy makes everything possible. The Stohlquists look good to my inexperienced eye, so we shall see.
Thanks
mjac
Regarding wearing a PFD, if your PFD is strapped to your boat or behind a seat, if you lose hold of your boat in conditions that might have caused you to capsize, you’ve likely lost everything. Besides floatation, you’ve likely lost any communication devices you normally carry.
Even if you retrieve your PFD they’re normally extremely difficult to put on once you are in the water. Even more so if you are trying to hold onto the boat, paddle, and any loose gear.
I also do not trust inflatables. I’ve seen them inflate when they shouldn’t and fail to inflate when they should. If you do depend on an inflatable in waters where USCG rules apply, they must be worn at all times, not just carried.
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I put my PFD under my knees as a pad when I am not using it, may start tethering it to my leg. Now a very experienced paddler/ instructor pointed out basically what you are saying. Have you tried to put it on while in the water trying to hold on to your paddle because that is what you will have to do when you need it. I assumed it would be a piece of cake to don a well made PFD while in the water, I don’t know, I will have to try it. As for the paddle, I will either attach it to the boat or retrieve it after the PFD is on or carry a spare. We shall see what happens when I try and put it on in the water. There are times when I am not wearing a PFD, dangerous water yes, cruising a bayou or narrow river, not going to do it.
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mjac
You have mentioned quite a few times you will be wearing your PFD when you deem the situation becomes your level of desired danger to warrant it.
Most here I believe are of the mindset it shouldn’t be an option and the best advice is always wear it as no one knows when it will truly be needed.
The river I live on can be deep and cold and fairly wide. Even though 99% of it would be considered slow moving and no problem to a good swimmer it also has a fairly high probability of being swept into entrapment situations at any time in the form of strainers etc. Even though every few years we hear of a fatality and many more close calls it is known as a party river and the vast majority of paddlers have poor skills. Old beat up cheap boats with little to no flotation and PFD that have seen their better days and live year round stuffed under the deck just incase a safety inspection is happening at the launch site they can prove they have one. About the only exception is parents with kids and the kids are required to have one on but what I mostly see them wearing the cheap type II collars. While the adults wear none. Now in a capsize the adults are trying to save themselves, the kids and the boat all at once.
I find it similar to seat belts it is just easier to always wear one rather than deciding when I’m likely to need one.
What I commonly see here is a group of teens say decide to do a float to the next town down river. A couple of them have some boats and have done it enough to feel comfortable. A few of them don’t have a clue, but how hard can it be. The leaders don’t wear a PFD so the rest follow suit. Last year in the spring I was out the water was right around 60F the air was 70F + and two young girls paddled up to me in Wal-Mart kayaks saying hi wearing nothing but swimsuits and getting the first sun of the season. I said hi and asked them if they were good swimmers and they both said not really. I told them you know this water is 10’ deep and ice cold and if you fall in without a life jacket it’s going to be a tough swim when that cold water shuts your arms and legs down. They both looked a little shocked and like it was the first time they even thought about it. Most of the time I don’t say anything but on here I am a bit more vocal.
Finding something comfortable and cool is a good goal and once you have that solved it shouldn’t be a problem just always wearing it and setting a good example for those you come in contact with on the water. We are all adults and it is really not my place to do more than make a suggestion and we can all set our own course and follow it.
I paid more for my Kokatat fisherman PFD that has useful compartments in the front than I paid for my used OT canoe. I don’t even notice it is on anymore.
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Keep them both in case you like change 
Weight loss?
she’s not allow to bake
eat slower so stomach has time to connect to brain
one or no snacks in house
sometimes sandwich diet,
what ever fits on two slices of grain bread is dinner.
bought bicycle when covid hit.
never get on a scale I go by my belts only. Can’t make first hole in belt easily it’s a light day of eating.
think before I eat what I am going to eat. Think how much better I feel thinner. Think how much easier it is to do everything like get in a kayak.
retired from my masonry business, now work for someone else HARD. Run jobs, layout walls, love competition in my trade and can still shame younger people laying brick and block at 71 with excellent quality and neatness. If not laying out or supervising may put 15,500 lb. of 8" x 8" x 24" block in 7 hr. day or 700-800 brick in straight walls.
Biggest tip for me is think before I eat. 10 minutes of happiness is not worth hours of regret following the consumption. Lost 3.5 -4" on my belts probably 4" .
Doctor said simple math can’t eat what you don’t burn. Blood pressure is great for my age it was bit high before weight loss.
New work at Jones Beach theater.
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I apologize for repeating the same sentiment many times, it was not an attempt to be redundant, but I have a habit of answering every post directly and sometimes they overlap and repeat themselves, but I am talking to that one person, not everyone. If someone posts, they deserve a direct response, not be taken for granted, that is just how I feel.
As I told an extremely experienced paddler/ instructor who has experience in all types of water (who agrees with you) that I have gotten to know a little bit from here, I can not be responsible or answer for the grossly unqualified, unprepared paddlers paddling Roto-Mold sit on tops from Dicks who have never seen a bulkhead. It is a sad situation, but there is nothing I can do about it. This is not a careless, reckless pursuit, it is studied, quantified and understood. The risks are identified, understood and compensated for as best as possible. Dangerous water that is deemed beyond that safety margin, the best conventional PFD that can be found will be strapped on. Floating a bayou, marsh or down a narrow scenic river, it is tucked under my knees perhaps with a tether to the leg. What is the purpose of a PFD?To prevent certain POSSIBLE circumstances. If I am wearing a PFD in the three areas I described it ABSOLUTELY will cause me some discomfort and diminish the experience with every single paddle stroke. If the risk is low enough the reward is worth it. There is a line somewhere. Do you wear your PFD all day long, then go to bed with it in case it rains and causes a flash flood? There is a line. I paddle to be free, not confined.Besides that, the Eskimos did not wear PFDs, they my heroes.
Thanks
mjac
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That is definitely your choice. Just be sure that if you tether the thing to your leg, the fact that it’s floating and your leg won’t be doesn’t tend to make it more difficult to keep your head above water. And that the tether can’t get wrapped around your neck. The length of the tether would be very important. For your own well-being, please don’t make it more dangerous for yourself. And it will definitely be more difficult to put on once you are in the water, but I see that you plan the test that out ahead of time.
Ski board, I have been joking around with you, but I have to be honest, I am not going to pretend otherwise. Somebody went behind my back and censored a post of mine on that thread about roller launches, I do not tolerate that type of behavior and you were one of the antagonists on that thread…
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mjac
Not only is a PFD harder to put on in the water, but if it is with the boat and you capsize on a windy day you risk the kayak slipping out of your grip and heading off downwind with your PFD. That kayak will likely move a lot faster than you can swim. It shouldn’t happen, but it does.
Tethering the PFD to you would work, but as others have said be careful that the tether cannot wrap around you or the PFD and tether does not snag on something in the water.
I’m sure that there are places where wearing a PFD does not seem to be necessary, like a shallow river. I paddle mostly in open water and am so used to wearing a PFD I don’t even think about or notice it. It’s when we start to make excuses about safety that we sometimes get into trouble.
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No I don’t wear my PFD to bed or even when sitting in my hot tub.
It is an individuals choice just as dressing for immersion is a personal choice.
I have a nephew who is an auto mechanic and he disconnects all the air bags in his cars and or removes them. He says if you ever detonated one as he has at work you could never drive with knowing there is a bomb facing you. I would think he would then be a stronger proponent of seat belts but he also disarms the buzzers and such and never wears a seat belt. His theory is in a side impact he wants to be free to move over and feels his survival rate will be better being able to duck and such. We have talked about it many times and I always tell him it is America and it is still somewhat a free country to do as we want and even though I don’t agree with him I support his right to do as he likes. The funny part is he religiously wears a helmet on his motorcycle and I tell him how that extra mass will often break your neck along with loss of awareness inside a helmet. I don’t ride anymore but even though my Harley friends tell me helmet laws suck I would still likely wear one. I never heard of a bike helmet when I was a kid and I seemed to make it thru ok. Today I wear a bike helmet when I ride around town.
It is all personal choices and I respect you doing what you want.
I personally don’t want any part of my body tethered to any gear. I tether my paddle to the boat and my gear to the canoe etc. The last thing I want is a tether snagging a submerged tree limb or rock and the current sucking me down. The Coast Guard guy last year when doing a safety inspection saw I had my whistle hooked directly to the zipper on my PFD and told me I needed a 12” tether even though I showed him I could blow it just fine. I told him why would I want that thing getting tangled on a stump under water. He said well its good you have a whistle. Meanwhile a dozen people paddled by with no PFD and I doubt any whistle.
Many times experienced instructors and paddlers at least on here I have read they wont paddle with others in a group unless they follow a mandatory PFD rule. I gather the thought process is if someone needs rescued they are putting themselves in greater risk. I paddle in groups where people are not using PFDs and I carry a floating seat cushion PFD in my canoe. I figure I can throw them that if they need some help.
Huh? A) Not an antagonist, and b) It wasn’t me. And c) what does this have to do with PFDs?
When people try to help you, you might want to either listen or ignore, and not make rash accusations. I believe you were the one accusing me of being illogical and some other things. I never said one antagonist thing.
I have to be honest, I have no idea how hard it is to put a high quality PFD like a Stohlquist Trekker or Edge on in the water. Perhaps you know better than me and what you are saying is for my own good. I did not think it would be a big deal and the tether does not have to be on the leg, it can be at the waste with a Carabiner for easy detachment. Perhaps I will find out differently WHEN I ACTUALLY TRY IT. I am kind of hard headed. Perhaps I should expand the areas I do wear it and shrink the areas where I do not. There are times I should have had it on and I didn’t. I was paddling all along the inner harbor along the Industrial Canal and I was not wearing it because of habit perhaps. But, I have made an effort, all last night, to secure a first class Stohlquist PFD, give me credit for that. It is a start. One of the reasons I have such a bad impression of paddling with a PFD is because I was using a Stearns Infinity Series Vest.
Thanks
mjac
I’m fine with others not wearing a PFD no skin off my 
. Newbies I’ll warn but I’ll never paddle with others not wearing one. I have enough to handle with myself no other burdens required. Not that I have paddles with anyone last few years
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“Set to ignore for two weeks…”
Someone crosses me, I write off everyone involved, that is the way I have been my whole life, right or wrong. That is you, willowleaf and kayakerbee. That is just the way I feel right now, I am you know what offed and that is not just talk. I do not want to talk about it anymore, what is done is done.
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mjac
What kind of water? I am ALWAYS alone, so it is not affecting anyone else. Maybe if I was in a group it would be different, but the way I feel about things right now that is not going to happen.
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mjac
I apologize. I should not have said it.
How many architects have you met that knew what they are talking about?
Simple rule for me, just eat good food, no junk, not too much at one time, spread it out during the day and don’t eat when you are in a bad mood. In other words, stay in a good mood.
I am going to tell you something, the bicycle is the key. Get the right bike for you and do that along with the Kayak for the upper body and the younguns at work will be afraid of you.
One thing, please explain this sentence, I couldn’t figure it out, “ My partner loves hers and she has driven me crazy over the years.”…What does that mean? I have been meaning to ask you that.
Thanks
mjac
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You don’t wear the PFD in the Hot Tub? Wait until I tell the Paddling Club about this.
It is not an either or choice. I don’t care which someone decides to do. I just want the decision to come from a thoughtful process, not done automatically because this one says this and this one says that. Know the reason you are doing what you are doing. That way more people will wear PFDs when they should instead of being turned off by being told what to do. More compliance is the goal, not preaching for 100% compliance all the time and getting 30%. All those young people you described would respond better being talked to with respect. I am just glad your wife didn’t find out about you flirting with those two young girls.
I don’t paddle in groups, strictly alone, better experience and no one can bother you.
Thanks
mjac