I'm very surprised there hasn't been more testing done with inflatables. Heck, it's not rocket science. Give your phone to someone and have them video you jumping into the lake with yours on. I've never even heard of anyone doing this.

I promise y'all, when the water gets warmer, I will do it. You'll get a real life testimony of an inflatable.

Offshore model 35lb buoyant inflatable for me. Auto-inflate is extremely reliable when serviced an maintained properly, these models will roll you over and hold you face up in the water if unconscious.

There's a ton of videos of folks testing these jackets...
https://youtu.be/9eSBnMF7xhY
I'm still gonna look forward to your test though

I used to test mine every year, just before it was time to replace the auto-inflate device. But I tested mine by jumping off the side of the boat at rest, not by getting ejected at a high rate of speed.

I'm old school......I like my Skeeter PFD.....

No. I wear the full PFD.

Wasn't there a pro last year that was ejected and knocked unconcience while wearing an inflatable. , I remember something about him sinking to the bottom, he either got himself back up or it finally inflated can't remember which.

Neither scenario sounds appetizing, so big life vest it is.

John Cox, Cohlmeyer.

www.bassfan.com/docktalk_article/14632/cox-on-accident:-it-was-scary-#.VwQRCZwrJdg

Dunno why the link didn't work, but copy/paste to your browser and you can read about it. Cox was wearing a manual inflatable Mustang, not an auto-inflate.

In not a very good swimmer, in fact I suck! I think after reading this I'll go to a full PFD while running and still use my auto inflate on somewhat clam days fishing!

Ah that was it. Yeahhhh, I'll stick with my full size. Not going to trust that I'll be able to pull the lever if I get ejected running WOT.
I've had a couple of auto deploys blow up just sitting in the rod locker also. It's like wearing a time bomb.

Why like a time bomb? They don't hurt a user. I'd rather have one be too sensitive about deployment than not sensitive enough!

I would never wear a manual-inflate only vest; no tournament participant should be allowed to do so in my opinion. Ejection from a boat and entering the water at speed isn't a situation where a user can be aware enough to remember to pull an inflate cord.

BTW, the directions for care say don't store the vest in a humid environment (such as a rod locker, which gets humidity from the typically not dry bilge). The firing mechanism uses a water-dissolvable disc so sensitive that humidity will degrade it over time. Improper storage by the user who doesn't follow care instructions is why vests typically deploy unintended. There are also vests that deploy based on pressure from submersion, not the water itself. Those are far less affected by humidity, and don't fire if subjected to intense rainfall.

That's probably all that happened to mine. My full size doesn't explode and make loud noises that make me want to jump in the water. That kind of time bomb rather than physical harm time bomb.

Yes

For all you that prefer standard vests, stop buying my inflatable. Supply and demand can then get my out of pocket down!

Yes, I feel safe with one!

Explode?! Lol. Hardly.

I have a manual/auto HIT. It is perfectly safe....and dependable. I have an auto/manual disc style. It's perfectly safe too. It doesn't explode. Neither do. It's more like shaking a hot soda and opening the cap. Trust me. I've had the disc one go off slipping at a boat ramp. I looked like a fool....other than that, it was kinda nice to know it works well.

I don't like wearing a heavy, hot full PFD. I don't like wearing them so much that this is WHY I bought an inflatable in the first place. So I would actually wear it. It is light, easy to use, and I forget it is on. I forget is why it went off at the ramp! I obviously didn't need it on to load the boat. Habit and the fact that it's easy to wear.

I say this though.

The inflatable style does nothing to protect you from impacts in the event that you have a bad crash in the boat or get ejected into a tree stump. Lol the regular vest style, I'm sure, would probably protect vital organs better than nothing. The only negatives to them would be the heat and floating face down.

Not too smart....