[Beginner] Impact+Life vest advice?

[oto212]

Not extremely confortable in ocean sessions, I'm looking for something that would give some buoyancy when I'm ashore trying to relaunch my kite.
And if it can protect me for the impacts it's a plus.

I've found this NP Surf Rise vest on the cheap side that looks good, but not sure about the buoyancy though

Do you guys have any preferred vest ?

[Greenturtle]

If you wear a seat harness then get a life jacket designed for whitewater kayaking.

If waist harness, use the product you found or similar.

Also
I have seen people thread a section of that foam pool noodle with the hole down the middle onto the handlepass leash attachment/grab handle on the back of the harness...

[Matteo V]

If there are no laws requiring life jacket use, then you make the choice.

Personally, I use a full flotation vest at all times in fresh water. I am a bit dense, may be from eating too many paint chips as a kid, so I sink pretty easy in fresh water and thus flotation is a must for me. You should go to a pool and see how comfortable you are swimming long distances without a flotation device.

In the ocean, I am usually sans the life jacket. Life jackets can pose a danger to you when you find yourself in the break on the face of the wave. If you are floaty enough, you could get picked up on the face of the wave and dropped from a height. If the wave is breaking in 1.5m of water, that wave typically can suck the depth out in front of it to less than .5m. If you get dropped from height into .5m of water, you can be seriously injured.

The above is not to get you to not wear a life jacket. You make that decision. Just be careful with one on in the break. And make sure you have good swimming skills if you go without one on the outside.

If you do not choose to wear a life vest, limit how far out you travel from shore to a distance you are comfortable swimming in.

If you do choose to wear a life vest, be aware of the dangers that choice presents in the break.

Go to a pool and brush up on your swimming skills regardless. Swimming skills are as much a life saving device as a life jacket or proper warmth wetsuit.

[Greenturtle]

With a typical (not high float) kayaking type life jacket on I can duck under waves very easily. Heck I can dive down to the bottom of the deep end of a pool with it on. Certainly true also with impact vests as they are even less bouyant.

Not saying the wave danger thing isnt real.
but the floatation will likely help your situation more than it hinders.

[iriejohn]

Have tried several impact vests but when needed now wear an ION Vector impact vest because:

- it's comfortable

- the front zip makes it easy to get on and off

- it only minimally restricts movement

- it has a little flotation

- and very importantly, it has side impact protection in the rib area which most impact vests do not.

[jeromeL]

Impact vest aren't life vest but they still give you plenty of buoyancy.

[Slappysan]

This vest isn't high enough floatation IMO.

I would get the NP Surf High Hook if you ride a seat harness. I've been kiting since 2004 and it's the one I wear for all my sessions besides the shallow water ones.

If you wear a waist harness get the Dakine Surface or LF Supreme vests.

[Greenturtle]

Slappysans advice is solid.


Im amazed that with a zillion models of waist harness on the market there is not a single one I know of with any substantial flotation incorporated as a design feature. Sure they have some foam padding but bouyancy was not the aim, a lot of them soak water up almost as bad as a sponge.

[Archer77]

check Dakine Surface vest too, has very good buoyancy, better than common impact vest

[Da Yoda]

Not extremely confortable in ocean sessions, I'm looking for something that would give some buoyancy when I'm ashore trying to relaunch my kite.
And if it can protect me for the impacts it's a plus.
Do you guys have any preferred vest ?

You didn't state if you're using a waist harness, a seat , or a shorts harness.
For a waist harness, you'll want a vest that's "half filled" with foam so it can fit comfortably under the harness : NP, Mystic, Ion, LF, Prolimit, Promotion, and Dakine all offer this type. There are also some "sailing" type vests that sit above the waist harness like the NP High Hook mentioned. These "sailing" vests are usually CE50 rated, but are not CGA.
If you require a CGA foam filled vest that will work with a waist harness like the ones I mentioned above, currently there's nothing in existence.
For seat and shorts harnesses, you can use any CGA float vest. Avoid non-CGA type impact vests like the NP Rise you posted because they're not designed for floating. Yes, they will offer some added float, but they're design primarily for protection. CGA wakeboarding vests are better imo due to being super lower profile, but some kayak vests can work well too. Good fit is key!
For use with a waist harness, I really like Promotion's because it has an adjustable velcro closure around the waist that secures much better imo.
http://stores.wetsuit.com/kite-vest-black-f27/