Life Vest recommendation?

[JenAndDan]

Does anyone have a good life vest recommendation (the brand)? We are taking our son to Bermuda in April (he'll be 13 months then) and on a Southern Caribbean cruise in August (almost 18 months). I am looking for a 20-30lb vest.

 

Thanks!

[iamaqt2]

Any sporting goods store will carry them. I've found that brand really matters very little, except you pay more. I would recommend for that age that you get one with the high collar in the back which has it's own little "pillow" back there. As long as it is US Coast Guard approved, it will be fine.

[JenAndDan]

Great! Thanks so much. I had only seen one brand on here (Salus?) and found it was over $80 which is a little much since he'll grow out of it most likely after our summer cruise.

[PILGRIMS]

Try a boating or marine store. We also were looking for a life vest. We tried the sporting goods stores and felt they were expensive. We then went to the boating store and found exactly what we were looking for at about half the price.

[highbridge5]

There are 4 different types of Coast Guard approved life preservers/PFDs.

 

Type I and Type II are the ones you'll find for personal use. (Type IVs are special ones - like whole body suits that commercial fisherment use etc. and Type IIIs are things like rescue rings and such.) You should research whether you want a type I or a type II for your son.

 

The kind that goes around the neck (like a "U") and has a flotation type headrest is designed to flip a person over and keep the person face up in the water. This is one of the types. Your traditional "vest" is not necessarily designed to do this and is your other type. Most of what you will find on-line is the "vest" variety.

 

If you are looking for something that your child can wear playing at the beach, the vest type is probably more comfortable will be easier for them to swim in. The one designed to keep your face above water is the kind that I prefer when my kids are on a sailboat and I want to make sure that if they go overboard, their heads will stay above water. If you are playing at the beach, these will flip kids over onto their backs constantly and might not be the best for playing around.

 

hb5