All of the care that you give to your PFD will prolong its use. There is no expiry date for a personal floatation device and/or lifejacket, but it becomes void if it has been repaired or altered; therefore, it is no longer usable and must be replaced and discarded for recycling.

According to NOAA, over a 10-year average, rip currents cause 46 deaths annually in the United States, and 64 people died in rip currents in 2013. However, the United States Lifesaving Association “estimates that the annual number of deaths due to rip currents on our nation’s beaches exceeds 100.”

It is possible to drown while wearing a “life jacket”. This generally requires rough water conditions, strainers or cold water. The “life jacket” does make survival much more likely for someone who inadvertently ends up in the water but it’s not a guarantee of survival.

Here are five easy tips to get you started.

• Stamp of Approval. The lifejacket must be United States Coast Guard (USCG) approved.
• Size. Make sure the life jacket is the correct size.
• Condition. In order to work properly, the life jacket must be in good and serviceable condition.
• Style.
• Wear It!

Keep these factors in mind when making your selection:

1. Choose a life vest based on chest size for adults and weight for children.
2. Loosen all straps, put it on, and secure closure.
3. Tighten all straps, starting with the waist belt, and work your way up to the shoulder straps.
4. Pull vest up from shoulder straps.

NRS Vapor

• #1 – Onyx MoveVent Dynamic Paddle Sports Life Vest.
• #2 – NRS cVest Mesh Back PFD.
• #3 – Stohlquist Trekker PFD for Kayaking and Rafting.
• #4 – Onyx Curve MoveVent Paddle Sports PFD.
• #5 – Stohlquist Edge Kayak Life Vest.
• #6 – Astral V-Eight Life Vest.
• #7 – Stohlquist Rocker Personal Floatation Device.
• #8 – NRS Vapor.

Under 13: According to California state law, every person under 13 years of age must wear a life jacket on any recreational vessel. 16-feet or Less: On any boat, 16 feet long or less—including canoes and kayaks of any length—Coast Guard-approved life jackets must be carried for each person on board.

Kayak life jacket law: Anyone on a kayak or canoe must wear a personal flotation device the entire time they are in the vessel.

California boating law requires that all boats 16 feet or more in length, except canoes and kayaks must carry one wearable life jacket (Type I, II, III or V) for each person on board and one throwable (Type IV) device in each boat. PFDs must be readily accessible.

Inflatable PFDs These can be used for kayaking, canoeing or stand up paddle boarding. Their slim profile when uninflated makes them very comfortable to wear. These are labeled as Type III or Type V USCG-approved PFDs, depending on their design. The automatic design inflates when submerged in water.

Because inflatable life vests take time to inflate once submerged in water, they are also not suitable for children under the age of 16 or for non-swimmers. Because of their sleek design, inflatable life vests offer little to no protection against hypothermia.

Automatic Inflatable PFD This option is a better fit for paddling lakes or very slow moving water in a stable kayak where you have very little risk of entering the water or being hit with a big wave.

A life jacket works in a similar way. A life jacket is filled with a very light foam material. If you’ve ever worn one, you know the life jacket increases your volume but doesn’t increase your mass by much. This causes the person and the life jacket together to be less dense than water, and therefore float.