A game warden told me that the auto inflate life vest does not qualify as a life preserver unless you wear it all the time in the boat.

For any of you that wear the inflatable, spend the money and jump in the water with it on. It's worth every penny to know what to expect. I fell out of the boat with an auto inflate on. The water was about 55 degrees, the cold knocked my breath out then the right side of the vest blew up in my face which knocked my head to the left the a second later the left side blew up and smashed my head back the other direction. It was disorienting on top of the cold water shock. As for the aftermath, the vest held me upright and above the water as I had to sit still for a minute to re-orient myself.

I trust the vest but I highly recommend knowing for yourself what will happen when the emergent situation takes place.

that is correct....you also HAVE TO HAVE a regular PFD on board for each auto inflate being used. It isn't either/or.

No not at all. My Dad being concerned for me bought me a Mustang for X-mas a few years ago. And even though he is 77 wears his and likens it to the "Mae West" when he was in the Navy. I wore it a few times and stored it in the rod box and after a rain it blew up.

But I don't trust it and will stay with the KISS (keep it simple stupid) principle. Wearing my normal STERNS PFD its dummy (and Chinese) proof.

Too many things can happen at 60-70. Floaters etc. My neighbor fast idled into a cove at Fork years ago and ended up rolling out of his boat when he hit a stump on the left side.

I wouldn't trust mine for high speed accidents. I wear it when I'm by myself and the trolling motor's in the water. I have a neoprene water sports jacket I wear when the gas engine is running.

As a side note, as my oldest daughter is getting older I am realizing it's hard to explain why mommy and daddy don't have to wear a life jacket, but she does. Maybe there's something to learn from that...

Weird seeing a post about LKG on TFF... I was up there Sunday and the conditions were really bad. I stayed at the dock, but could see the white capping rollers goin from Eaton's Ferry bridge down lake to where the accident was.

Prayer's for the families. I understand that the gentleman that was found was wearing a life jacket, but may have still sustained pretty severe injuries. Don't underestimate the danger of cold water.

WRONG, total misinformed BS. Don't get your info from public forums, more misinformation than fact. It depends on what coast guard classification your inflatable pfd is.

neverenuf is correct. When this discussion came up previously, I spoke directly with the boating enforcement group for TPWD in Austin. I was assured that any inflatable with the proper classification (specifically, not TYPE V) counts in and of itself when in the boat. It does not have to be worn to count if it is TYPE II or TYPE III, for instance. They even wanted to know if I had been told this by a game warden, and they wanted his name if so - so that they could give him correct information.

The old wives' tale about "you gotta wear it for it to count" applies if your PFD is a TYPE V product. The label will tell you, and it will also point out that it must be worn to count as a Type III PFD in recreational use. The earliest inflatables years ago were all TYPE V. While there probably are still some TYPE V PFDs in use, and even sold, most of today's leading products are Type III or TYPE II. The dated info some of you have doesn't apply to TYPE II or TYPE III PFDs.

It may be that they must be readily accessible if not worn, where I understand that "accessible" means "not locked in a compartment", but I didn't have a discussion with them about that specific requirement that applies to all PFDs equally.

If you have his name, call Austin TPWD and they'll be sure to inform him of the actual regulations.

Thanks for the clarification guys! I can now pull two old moldy [censored] jackets out of my boat. Lol. Space for more stuff!

You wear a seat belt in your vehicle, correct? I bet you really count on that to contribute to saving your life if in an accident? That seat-belt has an inertial reel that must lock during sudden acceleration or deceleration. If you don't trust mechanical features, you need to get a race shop to install the old type that you must manually adjust - get rid of that inertial reel. Oh, and those air bags - rather complex mechanical feature there too - their failure is extremely rare....

Ever been on an elevator? Better start taking the stairs!

You certainly have a choice, and I respect that. But, the assurance of operation is taken extremely seriously by manufacturers and the Coast Guard, which regulates the products. It's not really any different than other safety measures we count on in our daily lives.

In my opinion, and from what I've read in reliable info, it seems the most likely problem with high speed boat exit is coming out of a PFD, which can happen to many types. It can depend on how you use it. The best fix for that is one I see racers use, but rarely recreational boaters - a crotch strap. My better grade traditional flotation vests came with them, but I rarely used them. Maybe I should add them to the inflatable vest I use.

I read a USCG report about accidents/drowning, and one topic in there was one not often discussed - those who drown WHILE WEARING a PFD! Sadly, there were more than I expected. Some of them drowned due to being unconscious or incapacitated when they entered the water; their PFD failed to turn them face up. NOTE: TYPE III PFDs, which includes virtually all sport vest PFDs, may not turn the wearer face up. You can readily drown wearing such a vest, as the report pointed out. Many of the better inflatable vests sold today are Type II, which has a higher classification for righting an unconscious wearer, so they are actually BETTER in this respect. Most traditional flotation sport vest PFDs also are near the minimum buoyancy while the better inflatables have about double that buoyancy. The report said those with PFDs that have a higher freeboard are more likely to survive longer in rough waters. Some of those PFD users who drowned did so because of exhaustion and water accumulation in their lungs when not immediately rescued - they eventually succumbed by drowning due to waves splashing in their face. I kinda like my 35 pound buoyancy TYPE II vs. my 18 pound buoyancy TYPE III for reasons such as these.

A type II inflatable is much better than a type III wearable that most boaters wear. Much more buoyancy and will turn most face up if unconscious. I'm willing to bet no one reading this wears a type I or II non-inflatable.

I recommend wearing a regular PFD when the boat is running and an inflatable (it must have an indicator or don't purchase)when fishing with the trolling motor down. I have been throw out of the boat twice while fishing as well as running at 40 mph, so each time the jacket saved my life to fish another day.

The inflatables have to be better, have you ever flown in a 747, that is all they have on board for you to use in case the plane goes down.

Seat cushions

I've got a question, who has time to write a 3 and 4 paragraph answer? Really not a slam on anyone just can't find that kind of time. Just wear some type of PFD any is better than nothing!