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Need advice on best / favorite Life Vest for SOT Yak


Michael Gillig

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Well I'm ready for a summer of kayaking in my new Cuda 12. I was up at Cabelas around Christmas and said I was going to use my Co2 vest for comfort. The sales guy asked me to reconsider as the chances of getting wet in a yak are quite a bit higher than in my bass boat.

 

He told a story of having a Co2 vest deploy on him and having his mouth slammed shut, cutting his tongue pretty good. Sounds more like an air bag explosion than the slow deploy I thought a Co2 vest would do.

 

So now I'm trying to find something that will do the trick for a sit-on-top with a therma-rest seat.

 

Tried a couple, one with a high rear pad that was supposed to ride above the seat. Had trouble getting it high enough (I'm a 5'6" midget). Then I hit the 20% off sale at REI today, grabbed an Astral Ronny. Nice thin back which was very comfortable. Had a nice feature with a quick access knife tab for cutting anchor line and avoiding the submarine maneuver ;)

 

The trouble with all I've tried is that the front is pretty bulky and rides up, Seems like it would get in the way for fishing.

 

Any feedback is appreciated: what you like; what you don't; what's your favorite; what features you like.

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I'm fine with a bulky front so I can have a thin back panel on the vest. I don't find the bulky front a problem. main thing is a vest comfortable enough while paddling that you will actually wear it.

I promised my wife I would wear the vest all the time on rivers while kayaking which I feel is a good idea. Don't always wear it on ponds. I prefer a vest designed for paddling comfort rather than one designed to hold lots of fishing lures etc.

EricG

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Well I'm ready for a summer of kayaking in my new Cuda 12. I was up at Cabelas around Christmas and said I was going to use my Co2 vest for comfort. The sales guy asked me to reconsider as the chances of getting wet in a yak are quite a bit higher than in my bass boat.

 

He told a story of having a Co2 vest deploy on him and having his mouth slammed shut, cutting his tongue pretty good. Sounds more like an air bag explosion than the slow deploy I thought a Co2 vest would do.

 

So now I'm trying to find something that will do the trick for a sit-on-top with a therma-rest seat.

 

Tried a couple, one with a high rear pad that was supposed to ride above the seat. Had trouble getting it high enough (I'm a 5'6" midget). Then I hit the 20% off sale at REI today, grabbed an Astral Ronny. Nice thin back which was very comfortable. Had a nice feature with a quick access knife tab for cutting anchor line and avoiding the submarine maneuver ;)

 

The trouble with all I've tried is that the front is pretty bulky and rides up, Seems like it would get in the way for fishing.

 

Any feedback is appreciated: what you like; what you don't; what's your favorite; what features you like.

this is very much like the one that I use:

 

https://www.steepandcheap.com/nrs-vista-personal-flotation-device?ti=QlNXaWRnZXQ6QmVzdCBTZWxsZXJzOjE6MTI6

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