What life jackets are people running at high speeds?

[baja200merk]

If my boat gets on plane, my lifeline is on. We are all the same...may say "I'm just going to take it easy" but if someone pulls up next to you, you're not gunna say "hey let's stop so I can put my jacket on" your gunna floor it.

Aint that the truth.... I'm guilty

I do try not to lie to my self "im gonna take it easy". 4500rpm might be easy on the motor but 90mph water is not easy on the body Chit, even falling off a jetski at a real 55mph ON gps HURTS...

[madtunnel]

I have a couple of questions.
1 Some one said earlier that the Life line vest are not Coast Guard approved is that true??
2 Some one said earlier that the mustange is only good for a couple of years and the life line are handed down to generations. Why is that?


I wear a piece of crap vest now{ but it is coast guard approved} and am going to get one or the other Life line or Mustange but as some one stated befor My boat goes on plane my piece of crap vest is on. It just seams to me that ALOT of you guys think Life line or nothing. ????????

[transomstand]

1 Some one said earlier that the Life line vest are not Coast Guard approved is that true??

True. The approval process is VERY expensive, needlessly adds more cost to the jacket, and is meaningless when it comes to saving your life. They are approved by every racing sanctioning body on earth.

[rgsauger]

This is a great thread and I really appreciate all the feedback. From a $ standpoint, it sure seems that the Mustang vest offers a lot of value at roughly $150. Mustang High Impact SAR Vest

[madtunnel]

Agreed I ordered 2 of them this week for me and my nephew who rides with me for less than the price of 1 non USGA approved life line. It's not how much is your life worth but rather how stupid do you plan on driveing your boat. I do not race but do like going fast and feel this jacket will be just as safe as the high dollar ones

This is a great thread and I really appreciate all the feedback. From a $ standpoint, it sure seems that the Mustang vest offers a lot of value at roughly $150. Mustang High Impact SAR Vest

[cb541]

Let me know when you get it in,I would like to try it one. I almost ordered one my self to try it out. I used have a LifeLine and it wasnt very comfortable for me.

Agreed I ordered 2 of them this week for me and my nephew who rides with me for less than the price of 1 non USGA approved life line. It's not how much is your life worth but rather how stupid do you plan on driveing your boat. I do not race but do like going fast and feel this jacket will be just as safe as the high dollar ones

[Scott in MN]

Doesn't look like the Mustang vest has leg straps......

[Li'l Toy]

I went with two Lifelines, but looked into the Mustang as a jacket when I have more people in the boat. That same jacket is marketed under two names, and it does have leg straps.

[Scott in MN]

I thought it odd that it would be 100 mph rated and not have straps, guess the description I read left that part out.....

[RussF]

I thought it odd that it would be 100 mph rated and not have straps, guess the description I read left that part out.....

the Mustage pictured does NOT have leg straps....................you have to add them yourself

[Fish]

i am another one who "if the ignition is on, the life line is on" (also kill switch).

if you are thinking about it in terms of "is this vest good enough?" you are thinking about it wrong. most of us who have been around a while have seen our share of crashes, seen friends hurt, seen friends die. Lifeline and srp have the rep they have for a reason, it can save your life.

first of all, these jackets are designed so that no matter how you enter the water, it will turn you over on your back and float you face up. this means even if you are unconcious you can still breathe. they will also stay on and not shred when you hit the water or go through part of your deck when your boat goes over. when you need a jacket is when the shi& hits the fan and there is no such thing as good enough at that point, you want something that will make the difference between life and death or at least give you better odds of it being one and not the other.

at blingmaster, one of our members and a good friend to many of us went over at about 70mph. he had a "good enough" jacket on. even though 70 is considered cruising to most of us, between contact with the deck and the impact of the water, his jacket shredded. had another member here not been coming the other direction with a passenger who dove in the water and happened to bump into the guy who blew over as he was sinking, he never would have come up.

another member a couple years ago was making passes at a get together. left his lifeline on the beach right next to his fiance because he wasn't gonna go that fast. he blew over. i and 4 other people spent well over an hour in the water diving down trying to find his body. it was deep, really murky, the current was really strong; we never found him. law enforcement finally found him late the next day. idk if he would have lived through his crash, but a lifeline or srp would have brought him to the surface where we could have found him, tried to save him, gotten him medical attention instead of what happened.

i am not gonna say you will automatically survive a bad crash with a lifeline or srp, but i will say you have a much better chance in a lifeline or srp than anything else. There are a lot of members on this board who can testify to that first hand. bottom line, is your life worth a few hundred or even the difference in price between a good enough jacket and the price of a lifeline or srp?

just my $.02, off my soap box now.

[rgsauger]

Sorry about your buddy, Fish. That story really sucks. Points made and taken...

[transomstand]

There are a lot of members on this board who can testify to that first hand. bottom line, is your life worth a few hundred or even the difference in price between a good enough jacket and the price of a lifeline or srp?

With some of absurd comments I've read here, it may not be worth the extra hundred for some, probably not worth saving anyway

We'll just have to continue on with those who know, and those who think they know.

[Dave Strong]

Most people are willing to spend $500-1000. on that " majic" prop. So its beyond me why anyone wouldn't spend the money on something that could save their life.

Dave

[mariawhitetrash]

Most people are willing to spend $500-1000. on that " majic" prop. So its beyond me why anyone wouldn't spend the money on something that could save their life.

Dave

That is a very very good point!

I'm surprised how many pictures and videos there are on here of people running big speeds without a helmet too. I actually prefer driving wearing one, no wind noise, you can see without your eyes streaming, and can talk clearly to the passenger/navigator through the intercoms