Question about lifejacket?

[Bo_Beck]

Alex or someone.......I'll be doing a 9 day trip in October and needed to purchase myself a lifejacket. I ordered 2 vests from NRS. A Vista Class III and the Big Water V Class 5. Both fit very well, but the Big Water V is definately bulky. Ok, so here's the plan. We'll be putting in at Potash on the 11th of Oct. and canoeing down the Colorado arriving at Spanish Bottom on the 15th. Our group will hike up and campout at the Dollhouse the night of the 15th. 3 of us will waken early and get back down to the canoes and get our packrafts ready and shove off sometime on the morning of the 16th. (the canoes will go back upriver with the others in our party that don't want to continue) I know the water will be pretty low, but I'm sure that in those little Alpaka Packrafts I stand a good chance of swimming some of the rapids in Cataract. My concern is flotation. The Vista is 16 lbs. and the Big Water is 25 lbs. Put yourself in my shoes and give me your feedback as to which vest you'd prefer? BTW...we'll probably spend the next 3-4 days through Cataract and pulling off at Hite.

http://www.nrsweb.com/shop/product_list.asp?deptid=1682

Surely would love to hear your feedback!
Thanks,
Bo

[moab mark]

Cataract in a Packraft, can't wait for the TR.

[ibenick]

Cataract in a Packraft, can't wait for the TR.

x2 :haha:

[denaliguide]

how much is your life worth? 16 or 25 lbs.? i have always thought 22lbs was the minimum for me. anything below 22lbs and you are going to need some help if you are unconcious. obviously depends on how much you weigh. not sure if a type 3 is supposed to turn an unconcious swimmer face up and you are heading into big water. if you weren't doing cataract then the class 3 would be fine.

[CarpeyBiggs]

fairly certain alex will say 25. thats what he uses. however, if it prevents you from making efficient strokes in the raft, that could be an issue too.

i've flipped a packraft twice in the colorado river, and both times the swim was scary. i had 25 pounds with alex, and 16 when i flipped in the grand. if the bulk doesn't change your stroke, i'd definitely get more floatation.

[Bo_Beck]

how much is your life worth? 16 or 25 lbs.? i have always thought 22lbs was the minimum for me. anything below 22lbs and you are going to need some help if you are unconcious. obviously depends on how much you weigh. not sure if a type 3 is supposed to turn an unconcious swimmer face up and you are heading into big water. if you weren't doing cataract then the class 3 would be fine.

You pretty much sum up my thoughts. Last night I tried them both on again and fiddled around and I think I've decided to keep them both since I'll be doing class 3 stuff again in the future. I know Cataract will be running pretty low, but I just can't help think that within the 20 or so miles of rapids that first day I'm gonna get wet. The Class V has an additional flotation flap sewn on the back of the neck plus a lot thicker front side so I'm pretty sure that it would keep me face up in the event I were to get knocked unconcious. (I got knocked for a loop in Deep Creek 2 1/2 years ago even with my helmet on)

[Bo_Beck]

fairly certain alex will say 25. thats what he uses. however, if it prevents you from making efficient strokes in the raft, that could be an issue too.

i've flipped a packraft twice in the colorado river, and both times the swim was scary. i had 25 pounds with alex, and 16 when i flipped in the grand. if the bulk doesn't change your stroke, i'd definitely get more floatation.

I hear you! I swam the first rapid on the San Juan at Mexican Hat a few months back and also swam a riffle below Havasu Rapid a few years back and both times was pretty worried. I had on Type III vests. I think I'll stick to the class V for Cataract. It really doesn't impede my paddling, it's just bulky in front of me. Thanks for the input!

[Alex]

Sorry took me a while to see this post. I only wear MTI Big Bouy 26.5 lbs of floatation. After swimming a couple of class 4 rapids, I am done with the small PFDs. It is bulky sure, I just learned to row with the pfd in my way. I've swam in different PFDs and what you should look at first is the fit. If the life jacket doesn't fit correctly, the floatation is not going to save you. It needs to fit completely snug, so when someone yanks on your shoulder straps, it shouldn't move more than 2 inches. Most deaths on the river happen to inproperly latched pfd, which usually come off when you get sucked under and lift your arms to swim to the top.

If your pfd is loose, you will be fighting it the whole time with your arms and trying it to keep it off your face, instead of trying to swim the rapids.

That said, I'd definitely vouch for 25 lbs pfd, ESPECIALLY in Cataract! 16 lbs are a minimum requirement for creeks and smaller rivers, where you can get out of the water quick. If you swim Cataract, you will be swimming a while and big water, even at low flow. You want all floatation you can get. Wear a dry suit or a wet suit for extra floatation and warmth.

Dan can vouch for swimming in cold water, his swim in Westwater was about 15-20 seconds, but he was spent by the time he was back in the boat.

Alex