PFD sales?

R

Rehack

Active member
Joined
Sep 5, 2020
Messages
37
Fluid Motion Model
C-242 C
Non-Fluid Motion Model
Sea Ray 180 Sport
Vessel Name
Selkie
Has anyone spotted recent sales on Type V/Type II performance automatic inflatable PFDs? Upgrading for ease of use and comfort, to the tune of $500 for two, it looks like. Mustang seems to be a top choice?
 
I imagine a sale might be hard to find at this time of year. However, as for Type II PFDs, we have and like the West Marine yellow offshore version with harness: https://www.westmarine.com/buy/west...inflatable-life-jacket-with-harness--17069154.

It is very comfortable, easy to put on, and seems quite secure. Personally I would try some on in person if at all possible. I tried a few others that bothered me in various ways, such as how high the necks were, but that was just me.
 
We've had good luck with Deckvest LITE2s and have 6 of them. They are extremely comfortable and a bit less bulky than the Mustangs that I've seen. They are so comfortable that I've twice done all my post-cruise chores, walked to my car and gottne in before I realized I still was wearing it.
 
Thank you both. It’s not urgent so I will wait to do my shopping and will check into both of these.
 
We have both the West Marine Offshore pfd and the Mustang HIT Automatic pfd. Just rearmed the Mustang after it’s 5 year cartridge and valve expired. Glad to only need to do that every 5 years! The WM Offshore just has a green indicator to show it’s still good with no specific period for rearming.
The rearm kit for the WM Offshore is half the cost of the Mustang HIT.
They are both comfortable to wear. When we dinghy onshore they both go in a carry bag - too expensive to just lay sitting in an unattended dinghy!
 
Rehack":2auc6k2x said:
Has anyone spotted recent sales on Type V/Type II performance automatic inflatable PFDs? Upgrading for ease of use and comfort, to the tune of $500 for two, it looks like. Mustang seems to be a top choice?
Click to expand...
I purchased 2 West Marine brand vests for $100 during one of their sales. They run them half off every few months.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
There are basically two types of inflatable life jackets: bobbin style and hydrostatic. The hydrostatic are generally more expensive to both purchase and to re-arm (e.g., West Marine makes an offshore bobbin style for $180 and an offshore hydrostatic for $250). Theoretically the hydrostatics, which require immersion in water, prevent a problem of them going off in wet or humid weather; in practice, accidental inflation in high-quality bobbin style PFDs is rare -- though OP is in Georgia, where humidity might be a real problem (it never was for me in humid NY summer or soaking-wet PNW winters -- have spent many hours sailing in rain with a bobbin-style vest outside my foulies).

scross":fzp48na1 said:
We have both the West Marine Offshore pfd and the Mustang HIT Automatic pfd. Just rearmed the Mustang after it’s 5 year cartridge and valve expired. Glad to only need to do that every 5 years! The WM Offshore just has a green indicator to show it’s still good with no specific period for rearming.
The rearm kit for the WM Offshore is half the cost of the Mustang HIT.
They are both comfortable to wear. When we dinghy onshore they both go in a carry bag - too expensive to just lay sitting in an unattended dinghy!
Click to expand...

The West Marine with the "green" indicator uses a bobbin style inflation valve. The indicator is not a 100% foolproof/safe way to determine whether it needs to be re-armed. You can disassemble the inflation mechanism and remove the bobbin to check its expiration date; after that, they should be replaced. I usually do this during my annual pre-season PFD inspection (fully inflate with manual tube, check for leaks, etc.)

Additionally, (and this is a nice thing about the bobbin-style mechanisms) the CO2 cartridges never expire. You do, however, need to check them annually to make sure they are still fully charged. This isn't hard: they have a weight printed on them, so you just use a good kitchen scale to check they are within +/- a percent or two of spec weight. More fastidious boaters/sailors will keep a log of annual weights; I do not.
 
FlyMeAway,
Thanks for the info on the West Marine!
The West Marine pfd is 4.5 years old now and I inspected it over two years ago. I spoke to West Marine today trying to get the correct Leland rearming kit after doing an inspection on the pfd this morning. Per West Marine, the date on the yellow bobbin is the date of manufacture rather than an expiration date. The bobbin was in pristine visual condition but I’m replacing it anyway. I ordered 3 additional spare bobbins as well. I’ll keep the old CO2 cylinder and one well sealed new bobbin as an emergency spare. The old CO2 cylinder gross weight exceeds it’s minimum weight of 140 grams per the decal on the cylinder so it’s still good to use.
Thanks again!
 
scross":xtmlbrme said:
FlyMeAway,
Thanks for the info on the West Marine!
The West Marine pfd is 4.5 years old now and I inspected it over two years ago. I spoke to West Marine today trying to get the correct Leland rearming kit after doing an inspection on the pfd this morning. Per West Marine, the date on the yellow bobbin is the date of manufacture rather than an expiration date. The bobbin was in pristine visual condition but I’m replacing it anyway. I ordered 3 additional spare bobbins as well. I’ll keep the old CO2 cylinder and one well sealed new bobbin as an emergency spare. The old CO2 cylinder gross weight exceeds it’s minimum weight of 140 grams per the decal on the cylinder so it’s still good to use.
Thanks again!
Click to expand...

You're quite welcome! I'm going to give you info overload on bobbins, hope that's ok. FYI, the OEM for nearly all of the bobbin-activated, bayonet-style inflators is Halkey-Roberts, regardless of who makes the vest.

The Halkey-Roberts inflator bobbins used to packaged with a manufacturing date and a shelf/in-use life. Originally, most bobbins for recreational use had three years on the shelf and then three more years once in service, for up to six years total at the max end. Then at some point the Leland bobbins sold by West Marine went to three years total from date of manufacture, though Leland bobbins I'd purchased elsewhere still had the 3+3 labeling.

There are newer Halkey-Roberts bobbins that are supposed to be labeled with an extended five-year simplified life from date of manufacturing. Landfall currently sells these: https://www.landfallnavigation.com/h-r- ... ellow.html

In case you really want to geek out on this, here's the Halkey-Roberts sheet on the bobbins: https://0c283e26-cc08-4e87-bbaf-2ee2540 ... 345a63.pdf

Note that the shift to 5-year bobbins is so recent, even Halkey-Roberts' materials don't fully reflect it. For example, the servicing instruction sheet for their inflation mechanism (https://static.wixstatic.com/ugd/d19a0d ... c2dda7.pdf) still lists a 3-year bobbin life!

Note that Leland brands bobbins, but (at least to my knowledge) Leland doesn't actually manufacture them. Leland does make the gas cylinders, however (they're one of the largest US manufacturers of those), and so at some point they got into the complete rearm kit business.
 
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