What happened to all those died recently from the kayak , were they wearing their life jackets ???.
I thought about getting one ,but with all the recent death on the water from kayaking I had put it off.
What are your thought on this ???

I don't think, but don't know for sure, that any of the drowning victims were wearing pfds.

Start off in calm waters until you feel comfortable. Always wear you pfd. Go out with others, especially in larger waters that might be rough. Start off in easy water until you feel comfortable. Practice getting back on your yak if you go over. If you are uncomfortable with the conditions, don't go. Make sure that your kayak is right for you and the types of conditions you go out into. Don't exceed the weight limit of your kayak, don't overload it. You will learn a ton of good info and techniques about safety, about characteristics of different kayaks, about rigging your kayak, and about handling different water conditions by reading this board.

Some common sense, a little bit of knowledge, and a bit of caution and you will be fine...and you will very likely get hooked on it.

Ditto to the above comments. The first several times I had mine out was on the stock tank at our farm, just practicing and getting comfortable. Now on the lake, but a small lake and stay out of the high traffic areas. Patience, Practice and ALWAYS a PFD

Thanks for all the input. I was thinking of getting the ASCEND FS12T SoT from Basspro.
Have anyone used this kayak ??? .

Act responsibly and use common sense and you more than likely won't die. A flooded river is very powerful and personally I don't thing a pfd will do a lot for you in a river flowing out of its banks. It will prolong your death, not prevent it. This is my opinion not a fact

Bump for a great thread

PFD=Personal Flotation Device

Life Jacket is a BS term. A jacket won't save you're life. It just helps you float.

For starters, wear the damn thing. It doesn't matter how good of a swimmer you are when you get run over by a jet ski.

Second of all, it only makes you float. You still have to get yourself out of harry situations if you happen to be unlucky. If you've never swam in swift water, you probably shouldn't be out on a river near or above flood stage.

Strainers are a HUGE hazard when rivers flood. What may look like a harmless pile of debris can kill you real quick.

If you're worried, just paddle flat calm water, wear your PFD, and you'll probably be good to go.

Don't get on a fast moving river or creek. If you're wearing a PFD, you can flip your yak on a lake or pond and it's not a big deal (if the water isn't freezing). But a flooded river is way, way more dangerous. When the rivers are high and flooded, there are strainers all over the place.

People need to be safe!

Of all the reports of drownings I have yet to read that they drowned while wearing a pfd.
Maybe I missed it, but I surely don't recall?

There were 2 cases of recent drownings, that I can remember, where the victims were wearing life jackets. Both involved a strong whirlpool because of the floods. Why they were trying to float/swim the river at that time is beyond me.Life Jacket and common sense will solve 99.9% of your drowning problems. One of those is really really easy to do. Wear the lifejacket. Simple as that.

Note to self!....Avoid whirlpools!