What kind of life jackets do you guys wear? I'm going to get an auto for the summer but wanting to buy a couple new ones for winter/hunting. I don't wear one while I hunt but I do wear one all the time out on the water. Just looking to find some that have a good fit.

Med, I'm only 180 lbs so a traditional life jacket fits me fine , I have several in the boat. Sterns in Camo size Large what I mainly wear and a small for my daughter . Have several buddies that have the co2 inflatable versions. . Haven't spent the coin yet.

With what just happened to those young hunters in Oklahoma. . I will probably start wearing it more often. Sad to hear about tragedys that might of could been avoided.

H Finn

Yeah that was a bad deal. Never understood why folks don't wear them especially in the winter/hunting season. In the cold they may not save you but then again it might. Worse case scenario it allows rescue to find your body. I'd much rather that be the case vs my family never finding me or having to wait several days..

I've been using the onyx from academy. The cheaper ones actually float me in a better position, while the one more expensive but slightly more comfy version doesn't roll me over, or float my shoulders and head as high in the water due to where the flotation sits. I'm 255 in my waders and jacket, and know my waders provide some float themselves, so I use the cheaper ones to keep my head out of the water if I ever (god forbid) go unintentionally swimming for whatever reason. It's not something to take lightly, for sure. Hence my experiments with the ones I own.

If you get water over the top of your waders you might as well be wearing concrete boots. I almost drowned in waste deep water just by falling over. My waters filled up and I went under couldn't get back up. I was carrying my gun and a blind bag over my shoulder filled with 4 boxes of shells for everyone. Luckily I was with someone and not by myself. My buddy saved me ass

It's simple. get a mud motor. shoot ducks in the face.

I always wear my self inflatable. I have not as of late but definitely will start wearing it again !

I've got an onyx I like but admittedly I don't wear it as often as I should. I want an inflatable to wear but after seeing my brothers blow up while he was driving down the river, I want the manual (pull cord) instead of the auto. His is auto and while we were running 50mph down the river in the rain, his blew up lol. Not something you would want for duck hunting considering the conditions we tend to operate in. I have gotten that cold chill down my neck running down the river in the fog or through the woods I know are full of stumps, all the while in the dark and I've never until recently had driving lights worth a damn. Just a bad bad recipe. It could get real bad real quick.

Self inflatable.... Just don't leave them in your "dry" storage box. The humidity will make them auto inflate.

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Been thinking about getting some type I PDFs to wear while on the big river


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Its your life don't cheap out, cough up for a Hutchwilco inflatable ddoesn't matter what style they are the best money can buy.
Wear my round open water, on the boat or just hunting streams.

Don't think they sell them on this side of the pond

Thinking about getting a Mustang Survival next time made for off shore. Extra flotation may be a good thing while trying to get rid of waders and rubber boots. I wear my PFD nearly 100% of the time.

Now for all y'all that are fashion conscious and want to make a political statement and show y'all pride, y'all can get this one. viewtopic.php?f=7&t=65143

I wear a cabelas auto inflate vest everyday. It has lasted for five years of daily use. I buy a couple recharge packages and about once a year I toss it In the water and let it work. Works like a charm. A couple times after pulling up on the trailer I would take it off and lay it on the front deck to have a big gust lift it up and land in the river. Poof it pops out costing me 20 plus bucks. I endorse the auto vest from cabelas.

I wear a kayak style vest. It fits well and is not too bulky to get in the way of movement.

I wear an extra sport with a personal epirb in one pocket and a strobe in the other. I also race sailboats and wear an auto inflatable offshore. I wear a pfd if it is dark, I have on waders or foul weather gear and in bad weather. You think you can swim in waders or boots? Think you can take them off in the water? Jump in a pool one day and try just make sure someone is around to save you.

Forgot to mention, you need to change the "trigger" for self inflating vests every once in a while. Most are like an aspirin that dissolves allowing the CO2 to be punctured. High humidity and time in the rain will over time dissolve the "trigger".

I just purchased one of the Cabelas 3500 guide edition inflatable life jackets to wear when I'm running to and from the spots I hunt. I hunt a lot by myself and have been thinking more and more of these sorts of safety measures now that I've got a big boat and hunt bigger waters.

Its good to be safe and be prepared as you can.

Is the 3500 comfortable? It looks to have the most buoyancy out of the inflatables.

Mustang all the way

Float coat for those nice cool days....and it has a tuck-away hood zipped up in the collar. I've had this dude for prolly 15 years or more.



Most liberals seem to suffer from the same mental condition....it's called stupidity!

So after all this talk about our pfds I got to thinking that mine has been on the same co2 and trigger button for a couple years. I pulled the manual and poof worked like a champ. So I go to reload it and somehow popped the bayonet on the co2 and poof . So these kits for the 3500 cables are 28 dollars plus cabelas rip off shipping. I looked at the co2 and seen they are made by Leland. I looked them up and called them about the co2 cartridges. 12 bucks each. Bought 4 and the we're shipped within a hour of ordering. I have two of the buttons so all I needed was the co2.
They told me they have co2 for most makes of pfds. Just letting guys know to save a few bucks.