One of the most important things you should never forget when doing your favorite water sports no matter what it is from kayaking to jet skiing, you will need a life jacket. We investigated some of the very best vests and evaluate them for you so that you can decide which is best for you. With dozens of outdoor water activities for you to do and thousands of life jackets to pick from we selected a variety of jackets, so you can have an idea of which vest is best for your water sports. Regardless of which water sports you part take in, we have actually located the ideal life jacket for you so you can be safe out there while have the best time of your life doing the things you love on the water.
When you own a boat and/ or the captain, you must make certain you have the right kind of life jackets for you and your staff. You will have to make sure everyone knows where the life jackets are in the boat. The life jacket needs to be authorized for usage on open water by the United States Coastguard.
Even the greatest swimmers that you know of will still need a life jacket when they are boating out in the open sea. The cold water of the open ocean can make anyone suffer from muscle cramping which will make it hard to swim so a life jacket is a must. This just shows how much life jacket is important when anyone is doing water activities.
What to Look for in a Life Jacket
You will need a life jacket that is comfortable for you to wear for extended period. The vest must support your weight. You will also look for the thickness of the life jacket so that its not too bulky for you to wear because it may get in your way for certain activities.
Some of the best life jackets are the ones that auto-inflate because it’s not bulky and it only inflate once you are in water. The auto-inflate is way better than the manual inflate ones because once you are in the water you may be in too much shock to inflate your life jacket.
If you are not a strong swimmer or don’t know how to swim, you’ll need to purchase a life jacket that will instantly transform you onto your back must you land face down in the water. This is important because it will help lift your head above the water. The life jacket should also have couple of solid bands so that people can conveniently grab onto to carry you back into the boat.
After showing you why life jackets are important in any water activities, we have created a list of life jackets that are the best in varies water activities. Below is a list of the leading life vest that you should purchase.
This life jacket is Coastline Guard approved for inshore sailing because it’s not that great for cold water. This life jacket instantly inflates once it hit the water but if it does not inflate for some reason you can fill the life jacket with air manually.
This is a lightweight life jacket and comes with a full CO2 tube. The instructions for setting up the CO2 tube and connecting it to the life jacket is a bit hard to understand and do. But once you get the hang of things it will be easy.
This life vest is comfortable and permits a full series of typical water activities without being in your way.
Pros
- Coastline Guard approved
- Comfy, won’t be in your way while you do your water activities
Cons
- Not good for cold water usage
- Hard to follow the instructions for connecting as well as preparing CO2 tube at first
- A bit pricey
- Must buy replacement CO2 tube when it runs out
This is a Coast Guard authorized life jacket that’s suitable for usage in all waters, as well as will certainly pump up on immersion. It is also possible to pump up the vest manually, offering you extra peace of mind if you’re stressed your vest isn’t blowing up promptly sufficient.
The vest is made from hi-vis, ripstop fabric, meaning you’ll be quickly seen in the water, and also your life jacket will not be harmed if you’re thrown against the rocks whilst in the water this means you will have a layer of protection against the rocks.
This is a lightweight life jacket with big armholes for any types of movement without being in the way. It’s great for boating because it feels like you are not wearing the life jacket for the most part. One of the best parts of this life jacket is that there are huge storage pockets, so you can conveniently and also safely lug necessary items with you while doing your water activities.
You should get one size larger than you would wear because this life jacket tends to run on the smaller side. You will need to set up the CO2 when you get it before using it.
Pros.
- Authorized by the Coastline Guard
- Ripstop material make it hard to be damaged
- Hi-vis help others see you in the water
- Storage pockets
Cons
- Grab straps is a bit weak
- Need to be CO2 prepped before heading out on the water
- Need to buy a size larger or else sizing runs little small
3. Onyx MoveVent Dynamic Life Vest
The Onyx MoveVent Dynamic Life Vest adapts and stick to your body like a perfect glove, yet its cutting-edge vented channels help to keep you cool down while paddling. This life jacket is sturdy, made of 200-denier nylon ripstop and nylon oxford. This life jacket is great for leisure paddle sports, like canoeing, kayaking, and stand-up paddleboarding. It has ventilation in front and back allowing for maximum airflow. With all the paddling you will do, you’ll get sweaty but with this life jacket and its ventilation you wouldn’t be. The soft, comfy flotation foam is shaped to fit your body perfectly. The mesh at the lower back fits high-back seats and sit-on-top kayaks. It has the SOLAS-grade reflective material so it’s perfect for low-light problems. This life jacket is US Coast Guard approved with Type III efficiency.
Pros
- It got pockets with zippers
- Adjustable side belts
- It comes with a whistle so that when you are in the water you can get people’s attentions
- Good ventilation
Cons
- May seem too bulky
- The mesh on the back may get caught on something
- Zipper may be hard at times to unzip
The Stohlquist Fit is a life vest that is surprisingly comfortable throughout the variety of dimensions it manages to accommodate to fit everyone. Both huge as well as little people across genders find this vest very easy to wear as well as simple to adjust to the appropriate dimension to fit them. Women like this life jacket because the thinner top section of the front side allow this jacket to flexible than a lot of others. Other similar lifejacket is too close and uncomfortably tight around the neck and collar bones. It has huge armholes so that you can paddle without being uncomfortable.
You can tighten the straps for thinner individuals. This is a perfect life jacket to get for your boat so you don’t have to worry about if the life jacket fit the people you bring onto your boat.
Pros.
- Fit women with bigger breast
- Larger armholes
- Universal sizing
- It cost around $30
Cons.
- Some straps are difficult to pull tight.
- It’s kind of bulky
5. Astral Ronny
The Astral Ronny is one of the most comfortable life jackets for fishing. If you are a fishman this life jacket is a must have. It has narrow shoulder sections as well as large armholes to keep your arms totally free for fishing. This life jacket has a thinly cushioned back and vented areas in many locations of the life jacket. This life jacket is great for fishing kayaking because the back is thinly cushioned so that you can rest back onto your seat.
This life jacket has multiple pockets to put your fishing gear in but if you are the one who would bring all your fishing gear then this life jacket won’t be enough. This life jacket is great to carry a couple of fishing gear only.
Pros.
- Comfortable fit while fishing
- Good size armhole for mobility
- Back of the life jacket works with boat seats, its not bulky on the back
Cons.
- Pockets are small, not enough room to storage for a lot of fishing gear
6. NRS Zephyr
If you’re a good swimmer, and you want to paddleboard you still need a life jacket. You may not want to wear a life jacket all the time while paddle boarding because it’s uncomfortable and bulky, so NRS Zephyr is the product for you. You would wear the NRS Zephyr like a fanny pack while paddle boarding and when you fall into the water you would pull a cord and a floatation device will inflate for you to put around your neck. It has a very small pocket enough to fit your lip balm. This product is for people who don’t like to wear a full-on life jacket while paddle boarding. This product does not get in the way of paddle boarding unlike a full-on life jacket.
Pros
- It’s a comfortable belt, wear it like a fanny pack
- Easy to repack the life jacket and use
Cons
- Its bulkier than other inflatables like it
- It got a small pocket that can’t really hold anything besides a lip balm size item
7. Astral Bluejacket
The Astral BlueJacket Kayak Life Vest is one of the best lift jackets that have big arm holes so that your arms aren’t restricted from moving a lot.
If you have ever paddled a kayak or canoe while using a bulky life vest, you recognize it’s very hard to move your arms around and it doesn’t feel natural. With the Astral Bluejacket you won’t have that problem, you will be able to move your arms naturally and there is a lot of ventilation.
The Astral BlueJacket life jacket is made with adaptable foam that will let your torso turn and flex. This life jacket will stay firmly in position on your body while you walk around, kayaking, fishing and any other activities.
The Astral BlueJacket has a built-in hydration sleeve where you can store a water bladder. If you don’t use it as a water storage, then you can use it for snacks or phone storage.
Most people who get this life jacket are using it for kayaking and canoeing, but really you can use it for any water activities.
Pros
- Huge arm holes for any type of movement
- Built-in hydration pocket
Cons
- It’s expensive
The NRS Chinook Fishing PFD is one of the best fishing life jackets on the market, perfect for going on a fishing kayak adventure. This life jacket has a lot of reachable pockets, these pockets can fit a lot of fishing gears.
This life jacket has 7 pockets of differing dimension, so you can conveniently prepare your tackle for easy as well as quick accessibility. The amount of pocket in this life jacket might be the most that you can find on a life jacket. This life jacket also has multiple D-ring attachment points for extra supply storage. It also has a pair of rod holder loopholes where you can put your fishing poles and on the back of the life jacket it has a strobe holder loophole so people can see you in the dark. On the back, half of it is mesh so that you can sit and lean back without having to feel like you are leaning with a life jacket.
Pros
- Several pockets
- Accessory loopholes
- Large armholes for movement
- Rod holder
Cons
- The life jacket sometimes rides up the torso when you are in the water floating
9. Driftsun Universal Fit
Driftsun life jacket is a lightweight life jacket with a slim style look to it. This life jacket is made from high-grade, resilient, ripstop textile, to offer full protection and is comfortable. The life jacket comes with a whistle so that if you are in the water and people are not close enough to hear you yelling you can use the whistle to get their attention. It will use a CO2 cartridge to inflate itself when you are in the water.
Pros.
- Universal fit, Slim, comfy & lightweight
- Comes with a whistle
- Fully adjustable fit
- Uses CO2 cartridge, once its under water it automatically uses the CO2 to inflate the life jacket
Cons.
- It’s expensive
- Need to buy new CO2 cartridge when it runs out
If you are into boating or are already out at sea a lot then it’s clear that Driftsun is perfect for you. The whistle will come in handy if anything bad happen to the boat and need to get other boats attention.
If you are into fishing on a boat or kayak fishing, then the clear choice is the NRS Chinook Fishing PFD. It can carry a good amount of your fishing gears.
The Onyx MoveVent Dynamic Life Vest adheres to your body like a glove, with great ventilation to help keep your body cool while paddling. This is great for kayaking, paddle boarding, and canoeing. Another great life jacket for these activities is the Astral BlueJacket Kayak life jacket, it has big arm holes so that the life jacket doesn’t get in the way while you paddle.
If you don’t like to wear a life jacket that covers your body all the time then NRS Zephyr is perfect for you, is very comfortable because its like a fanny pack and it only activate when you hit the water.
When you just need a life jacket that fit anyone then the Stohlquist Fit is the one. It can fit a huge range of different body size, its great to have on board in case people don’t have their own life jacket. It’s the standard life jacket that most people use while do water activities so its not expensive to get.
If you can’t decide which life jacket you want, just buy one that is not expensive so that you at least have a life jacket to wear while you are doing your water activities. Being on the safe side is better than not when having to deal with the ocean or any other water places because mother nature can be scary at times. A life jacket could really help you in dangerous situations even if you are a good swimmer, so wear a life jacket because it will save your life and have fun doing your water activities.