Life jacket

243Xpress

Can anyone recommend a life jacket that isnt bulky and you could use for duck hunting from a boat.Something that wont get in the way when you try and fire a shotgun.
Seen this one on lractive. 150 N Gas Fishing / Shooting Jacket
Anyone have any experience of using it.

Tackleberrywho

243Xpress wrote: »

Can anyone recommend a life jacket that isnt bulky and you could use for duck hunting from a boat.Something that wont get in the way when you try and fire a shotgun.
Seen this one on lractive. 150 N Gas Fishing / Shooting Jacket
Anyone have any experience of using it.

This is what I use

243Xpress

What make is it and what price was it and does it get in the when your shooting.Thanks

J.R.

Tackleberrywho wrote: »

This is what I use

looks the same as the one I have......cost me €90 4 years ago.

It doesn't really get in the way....you get used to it......as it lies flat & doesn't inflate until triggered.

When buying one like these there are two types:

auto-inflate:

it self inflates from a tiny gas cannister as soon as you hit the water. There's a salt tablet in the trigger that dissolves when wet & triggers the gas. These are dearer. They advise that you should chose one of these If you go out on your own as you could fall overboard & be unconscious in the water but it will self - inflate & keep your head above water. You cannot test these for leaks unless you want to wet it and use the gas. Then you have to buy new salt tablet & gas.

manual-inflate:

There's a string on these that you pull to trigger the gas cannister. These can also be inflated by blowing through a 'pipe' if needed, so you don't have to use the gas. Mine is one of these. As I never go out alone I reckoned if I could inflate it by blowing into it I could test it every so often to see if it had any leaks. These are usually cheaper.



I see the LR Active one is a vest with life jacket built......never used one of those.

http://www.lractive.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=0&products_id=129



Good selection here:


http://www.lifejackets.ie/

and their angling/fishing section is:

http://www.lifejackets.co.uk/categories/8/angling-and-fishing-lifejackets

243Xpress

J.R. wrote: »

looks the same as the one I have......cost me €90 4 years ago.

It doesn't really get in the way....you get used to it......as it lies flat & doesn't inflate until triggered.

When buying one like these there are two types:

auto-inflate:

it self inflates from a tiny gas cannister as soon as you hit the water. There's a salt tablet in the trigger that dissolves when wet & triggers the gas. These are dearer. They advise that you should chose one of these If you go out on your own as you could fall overboard & be unconscious in the water but it will self - inflate & keep your head above water. You cannot test these for leaks unless you want to wet it and use the gas. Then you have to buy new salt tablet & gas.

manual-inflate:

There's a string on these that you pull to trigger the gas cannister. These can also be inflated by blowing through a 'pipe' if needed, so you don't have to use the gas. Mine is one of these. As I never go out alone I reckoned if I could inflate it by blowing into it I could test it every so often to see if it had any leaks. These are usually cheaper.



I see the LR Active one is a vest with life jacket built......never used one of those.

http://www.lractive.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=0&products_id=129



Good selection here:


http://www.lifejackets.ie/

and their angling/fishing section is:

http://www.lifejackets.co.uk/categories/8/angling-and-fishing-lifejackets

Thats great,thanks alot.....

Tackleberrywho

243Xpress wrote: »

What make is it and what price was it and does it get in the when your shooting.Thanks

I'd rather feel safe in a boat than have some designer gear.
Shannon is deep in the middle

civdef

Whatever type you buy, get it serviced annually. An awful lot of the CO2 lifejackets are purchased then never looked at again, which is not a good plan.

session savage

I have a boyancy aid. its like a vest. really snug. However this will NOT keep your head out of the water if you were unconcious. it just keeps you floating. means you could swim for hours if you had to.

Tackleberrywho

session savage wrote: »

I have a boyancy aid. its like a vest. really snug. However this will NOT keep your head out of the water if you were unconcious. it just keeps you floating. means you could swim for hours if you had to.

If the shannon is rough you have waves crashing over your head if you go in the water.

Prevention is better than cure:eek:(watching a program about titanic last night, and Hypathermia symptoms are as dangerous as teh water itself :eek:

Boat safety is paramount.

I'm not very experienced on a boat, but I generally go with seasoned fishermen; however; we always are careful.

Not a year goes by that someone is not taken unawares on Irish waters

session savage

Fair enough tack.
I'm used to it though. Originally got the boyancy aid for coasteering. If your concious then the boyancy aid is fine (for me anyway)

Tackleberrywho

session savage wrote: »

Fair enough tack.
I'm used to it though. Originally got the boyancy aid for coasteering. If your concious then the boyancy aid is fine (for me anyway)

I've only ever driven (or what ever teh correct terminology is) twice.

Normally Just the passenger, not a great swimmer either.:o
I believe that wellies are better over boots; as if you do fall in your wellies will fall off but boots will weigh you down.

never tested that theory though


We dropped anchor on lough Ree last year and it went 120ft, allowing for drift etc that still was out of my depth if I fell in.:eek:

243Xpress

Thanks all i think ill pick up one here,prices seem good.

http://www.lifejackets.ie/

Tackleberrywho

243Xpress wrote: »

Thanks all i think ill pick up one here,prices seem good.

http://www.lifejackets.ie/

http://www.lifejackets.co.uk/products/64/englands-doctors-flyfishing-lifejacket-waistcoat

This one looks like a good Dual Purpose jacket

Serious price though.

There is a shop on the banks of the shannon in Athlone that sells them, can't remember the name though

Tackleberrywho

Ah Bless

There even is a jacket fo rteh Mutt

http://www.lifejackets.co.uk/products/422/premium-sport-dog-buoyancy-aid-orange

Half-cocked

I'd recommend a manual inflate type rather than auto inflate. Auto's can go off in heavy rain, or if you fall into shallow water where you don't need it. Then you have to get a recharge. Sailing types wear the auto's because they run the risk of being bumped on the head by a yard arm and falling into the water unconscious. I've bought a few good manual inflates for around €65. XM Quickfit are good and reliable. Just keep them away from curious children, that rip cord is very tempting, my 2 nephews couldn't resist:mad:

Vizzy

243Xpress wrote: »

Thanks all i think ill pick up one here,prices seem good.

http://www.lifejackets.ie/

243

They have a good range alright.
If I were you I would go for an automatic inflation at the very least.
That way if you fall in and end up being knocked out they will automatically inflate.They will also spin you onto your back so that your face is out of the water.
If you are feeling really flush go for the automatic one with the Hanmar system( they start at about £70 on the site).
The difference with this system is that it is activated by pressure and not by moisture.
What happens is that if you fall in and sink to about 2 feet underwater they activate.
Advantage is that they never accidentally inflate if they get wet(you can put them in a barrel of water with no problem.)
The other ones can go off ( rarely I'll admit) if you were fishing/shooting on a very wet day for instance.

Quiet you

Just to throw my two cents in.

I've had a number of the auto inflate system for years now and have never had an issue with them. I fish on the sea in all weathers so it's not just rain I get hit by but spray as the boat cuts through the waves.

The way they work is they allow water into the compartment that holds the salt tablet via holes in the bottom of it. I honestly don't see a time where enough water can get in to disolve the tablet bar being submersed.

You can inflate or deflate them manually by the way and are easy enough to inspect and maintain. You should really check the gas canistar annually though. They can become corroded and leak the gas through a pin hole.

FISMA

civdef wrote: »

Whatever type you buy, get it serviced annually. An awful lot of the CO2 lifejackets are purchased then never looked at again, which is not a good plan.

This is soooooo true.

Used to work at SNN. We would have to take the old life vests off of the plane after their expiry date.

The kids loved this as rather than throwing them out, we would take them home. They would all line up and we would pull the cords!

It was kind of shocking to see how many would inflate - about 50%.

kay 9

FISMA wrote: »

This is soooooo true.

Used to work at SNN. We would have to take the old life vests off of the plane after their expiry date.

The kids loved this as rather than throwing them out, we would take them home. They would all line up and we would pull the cords!

It was kind of shocking to see how many would inflate - about 50%.

:eek::eek::eek: 50%....Was it Ryanair.

bang2

I've used this one below, although good for fishing would not be any use for your op - duck shooting , made from a very noisy plastic material.
it does hold you high out of the water though we tried 2 of the 3 canisters that came with it.:D
Rory's have them too at same price in temple bar.
Bang

I see the LR Active one is a vest with life jacket built......never used one of those.

http://www.lractive.com/index.php?ma...roducts_id=129

243Xpress wrote: »

Can anyone recommend a life jacket that isnt bulky and you could use for duck hunting from a boat.Something that wont get in the way when you try and fire a shotgun.
Seen this one on lractive. 150 N Gas Fishing / Shooting Jacket
Anyone have any experience of using it.

243 SbS

Just make sure that the gas cannister isn't on the shoulder where you mount the gun. Some lifejackets have the cannister on the middle of the right shoulder.