Alex
I am not a pilot but hope this info is useful. I only took an interest to see
what type of Life Jackets were being talked about.
In the past I have worn an RFD Version in the military for water ops activities
- Port Phillip bay, Bass Straight etc for significant lengths of time both in and
out of the water including the odd time in aircraft. The majority of time this
included wearing additional heavy "kit" that you obviously won't be wearing.
All was good except when wearing one for some time, you often ended up with sore neck from where the life jacket occasionally touched or was rubbing the skin. This included through light cotton shirts. I notice on the one's recommended by your fellow pilots that some have sheep skin around the collar which IMHO
is a good feature as it should alleviate rubbing marks.
I would suggest making sure that they have a whistle and a light
although most seem to have them. Manual top up valve is very useful.
Re use, I have been held up in water. At the time I was 85kg and probably
had 12 - 15kg of additional dead weight on me in kit plus a 3.5kg dead weight in my hand.
They really do keep your head above the water and then you just need to worry about the waves.
(I'm being serious, waves crashing into you is a problem in the sea).
A crotch strap or waist strap is important to stop the life jacket floating up
and away (over your head).
One thing I always found useful when wanting to make sure you have
the life jacket (ie not forgetting it) was you can reverse the RFD
so the strap is still around your waist but he RFD points down and
then you strap it to your leg. This keeps it out of the way but "on you".
When you put the PFD away, you can back the gas bottle out a bit (unscrew it)
to make sure you don't get accidental inflation although personally
I take it right out so it is obvious. That way you won't forget it.
As suggested, I would try the on if possible.
As an aside and not 100% sure of your need but Cyalume light sticks
are worth carrying, light, don't require batteries and can be "cracked"
when required.
Anyway, hope that helps.
Last edited by 500N; 25th Nov 2013 at 06:01.