Life Jackets

You can still have fun on the water while wearing a life jacket and boating responsibly. Here are the top 5 excuses not to wear a life jacket we hear from boaters:

1. “I have life jackets on board.”  

   Having life jackets on board the vessel is not enough. Accidents happen too fast to put on a stowed life jacket.

2. “I’m a strong swimmer.”

   Even a strong swimmer needs to wear a life jacket. During an emergency, clothing can become heavy or waterlogged while in the water.

3. “It’s too hot and doesn’t look cool.”

   Old-fashioned, bulky orange life jackets have been replaced with new styles, like inflatable life jackets that may resemble a pair of suspenders or a belt pack. These are much cooler in the warmer weather.

4. “It gets in the way.”

   There are life jacket styles available for any recreational water activity – fishing, water sports, hunting, paddling and more. There are New "Wear It!" Infographic Take a look at our new infographic and share on your social networks to raise awareness of the importance of wearing a life jacket and boating responsibly.

5. “Nothing is going to happen to me.”

   Face it, accidents happen. Boating can be a fun, safe and enjoyable activity, but when the “Wear It!” message is ignored, the consequences can be grim.

---National Safe Boating Council. For more information, visit:  SafeBoatingCampaign.com.

   If you haven't already seen them, new life jackets now display a new style of label on the inside.  Eventually, all Coast Guard approved life jackets available for purchase in the United States will have the new style of labels and icons.  It is part of an effort to make selecting the right life jacket and your intended on-water activity, easier.  This new labeling process is also referred to as life jacket label harmonization, which is an effort to make them more universally understood and accepted, especially in Canada and Europe.  The goal is to simply the labels, with less writing and more icons.

  In 2014, the U.S. Coast Guard removed the “Type” codes from the Code of Federal Regulations. As you may recall, life jackets and personal flotation devices had been referred to as Type I, II, III, IV and V, each of which corresponded to a certain performance or designated use. Going forward, these devices will be referred to as either “throwable” or “wearable” and have a performance category indicated by an icon.

   Performance, Buoyancy and Turning Information – The first thing you’ll notice is a bold-faced number. It could be 50, 70, 100, 150, or 275. This a measurement of gravitational force, which in the case of a life jacket is essentially buoyancy. Simply put, the higher the number, the greater the flotation. For the time being, most all of the life jackets on the market today in the United States are Level 70 life jackets.

Let’s go over an example.

   Level 70 Label Decoding - The bold 70 means it’s a Level 70 life jacket which provides performance similar to the Type III life jackets previously available. Life jackets that are rated lower than 70 are not U.S. Coast Guard approved. This is a metric measurement in Newtons (70N is roughly 15 lbs. of flotation). Newtons are used so that it’s consistent with European and Canadian standards.

   Also, on a Level 70 life jacket label, you’ll see a dock and an extended hand with some slightly wavy lines indicating fairly calm water. This means this life jacket is suitable for near shore use in relatively protected water where rescue is likely to be near at hand. You’ll note that the higher the number on these icons, the farther away the dock and background is, and the bigger the waves are in the icon.

   The curved arrow indicates the turning ability of the life jacket. Turning ability is whether or not a life jacket is capable or designed to turn an unconscious person face up, unassisted. A Level 70 life jacket will not turn a person right side up, that’s what the curved arrow with a slash through it indicates. If there is no slash, it will turn most wearers face up. The higher the level number the more turning ability.

   The next thing you’ll notice are warnings and exclusions. In this example, this life jacket is suitable for general boating. However, there are icons with activities and a slash through it. These symbols indicate this life jacket is not suitable for towed sports such as skiing and tubing, nor is it for personal watercraft operation or whitewater paddle sports.