LIFE JACKETS
A lifejacket is a lifejacket is a lifejacket, right? They all conform to a similar set of safety standards (ISO 12402-3 for coastal/non-harness or 12401 for harness versions) meaning they must all do the following: turn a person over and float them in the safety position; maintain a minimum height of chin above water; have a whistle and a lifting strop; be constructed from a material that is highly visible and recognisable as a safety or distress colour (bright orange/yellow); and have a minimum area of reflective tape.
And yet all lifejackets have their own characteristics. The design of the casing and buckles, the position of the CO2 inflation bottle; the shape of the bladder; the location of the whistle, inflation tube and lifting strop, and other key attributes that can all affect how comfortable and practical they are to wear and use both in and out of the water.
To determine this we put a selection of popular 160-180N coastal lifejackets through a series of real world tests on a range of different body types carried out by nine experienced professionals at Western Maritime Training in Plymouth. Their comments are their own personal findings based on hands-on use rather than official laboratory tests. Needless to say, all the lifejackets meet the official safety standards required by their ISO ratings.
That’s why our scoring is based on ten other criteria which we feel are important to owners of motorboats:
In water – What it’s like to wear when inflated.
Adjustability – Ease of adjustment.
Buckle – Ease of fastening and unfastening.
Comfort – When worn uninflated over a foul weather jacket or a T-shirt.
Practicality – Do any parts snag or catch?
Equipment – Do all the accessories work and are they intuitive to use?
Visibility – Of the casualty in the dark.
Arming check – Ease of inspecting.
