Packraft Lifejacket

[teamvit]

We will be using packrafts for a spring bear hunt this year and I haven’t figured out what life jacket to use. I’ve thought about not bringing one but that seems like a bad idea.

What life jackets have you used when backpacking with your raft?

 

[TagEater]

Are you floating down river for a distance or just crossing?

 

[rclouse79]

I am surprised some of the water YouTubers go across with no life vest. Seems like a light weight self inflating one would be the ticket.

 

[AKDoc]

Good question you're asking OP...and great clarification/response questions asked from others above. That said, regardless of your answer to the above questions, I encourage you to get a truly reliable PFD.

I've absolutely enjoyed many remote Alaska floats in pack-rafts and other lite rafts for the past decade. The first few years that I started doing my adventure float trips and hunts, I used a self-inflating PFD. My adult children, who are very experienced rafters/kayakers pushed me really hard to dump the self-inflating PFD and get something more reliable. I listened to my children and got an NRS Ninja PFD several years ago (see below).

I really like the NRS Ninja, and my G-20 fits comfortably and accessibly in my Kenai holster beneath that PFD. It likely saved my life a couple years ago when I surprised a female grizzly with a cub that charged me as I came around a very tight river braid on a remote 10-day float. I tried to quickly paddle to the far shore, but inadvertently hit a sweeper, flipped my raft, and I was completely submerged in a very, very deep pool. My Ninja PFD helped me quickly resurface to find that the sow and cub had run away...ended well for all of us.

NRS Ninja PFD

Designed for athletic performance, the NRS Ninja PFD is the ultimate low-profile jacket for paddlers of all persuasions. We've concentrated all the flotation into a smaller surface area for unbeatable range of motion, so the Ninja stays out of your way and off your mind.

www.nrs.com

 

[Ferrulewax]

if I remember correctly, Astral makes some lightweight PFDs suited for packrafting. I’ve seen some modded down to very light weights.

 

[teamvit]

Are you floating down river for a distance or just crossing?

We’re floating for distance. Just crossing I’d be less concerned

 

[MudBugVa]

Definitely wear a life jacket. I also have used the NRS ninja for rafting, white water kayaking, and pack rafting. Its great. The low profile is nice. And they are pretty affordable.

What ever jacket you get make sure its coast guard rated type 3 or 5. Avoid the inflatable ones as they are not meant moving water. Also if the river is gnarly you might want to consider a helmet.

 

[Nickofthewoods]

PFD laws vary from state to state but most only require you to have a pfd "on board" each vessel and that it be "readily available." That's pretty ridiculous when you consider how impossible it would be to put on a pfd once you fall into a river, or even a lake for that matter. Get a good properly fitted type 3 and wear it at all times while on the water.

 

[Johnny Tyndall]

Another definitely wear a lifejacket here. If you haven't swam in cold, moving water with all your clothes on lately I think you'll be surprised how intense it is. I'm a good kayaker and swimmer and I'd never get in a packraft without one (especially in the spring).

I'd recommend one designed for kayaking (NRS, Astral, etc...). Even the cheap ones will cost you $100+, but they work really well. You could probably survive with a walmart special, but it will suck in every way.

Whatever you buy, you need to be able to cinch it down so that when your buddy pulls up on the shoulder straps it stays mostly in place.

Edit to be more actionable: if I couldn't try them on and wanted to keep cost down, I'd buy this one or this one. The extra $25 is worth it for a side zip for me, but not necessary. If I wanted to get something nice that I expected to use a lot, I'd get the NRS Ninja recommended above (the low-profile design is nice and is standard for kayakers). If you can find a similar style by a reputable manufacturer on sale, I'd buy that.

 

[teamvit]

Thank you for the recommendations. I have one ordered

 

[Crusader]

Another definitely wear a lifejacket here. If you haven't swam in cold, moving water with all your clothes on lately I think you'll be surprised how intense it is. I'm a good kayaker and swimmer and I'd never get in a packraft without one (especially in the spring).

I'd recommend one designed for kayaking (NRS, Astral, etc...). Even the cheap ones will cost you $100+, but they work really well. You could probably survive with a walmart special, but it will suck in every way.

Whatever you buy, you need to be able to cinch it down so that when your buddy pulls up on the shoulder straps it stays mostly in place.

Edit to be more actionable: if I couldn't try them on and wanted to keep cost down, I'd buy this one or this one. The extra $25 is worth it for a side zip for me, but not necessary. If I wanted to get something nice that I expected to use a lot, I'd get the NRS Ninja recommended above (the low-profile design is nice and is standard for kayakers). If you can find a similar style by a reputable manufacturer on sale, I'd buy that.

Why the side zip preference--comfort?

 

[Johnny Tyndall]

Why the side zip preference--comfort?

Yeah, just a minor personal preference. I find it less obtrusive and the jacket fits better with it on the side.

 

[WV Mountaineer]

PFD laws vary from state to state but most only require you to have a pfd "on board" each vessel and that it be "readily available." That's pretty ridiculous when you consider how impossible it would be to put on a pfd once you fall into a river, or even a lake for that matter. Get a good properly fitted type 3 and wear it at all times while on the water.

No more ridiculous than a man suggesting it be law that another grown man wear a life jacket. Just sayin’.


If it were me, I’d definitely wear a pfd. I spend a lot of time on sone of the worlds best whitewater rivets. Water rafting and fishing. In the water dressed in hunting clothes is no where you want to be if living is high on your list.

 

[Nickofthewoods]

No more ridiculous than a man suggesting it be law that another grown man wear a life jacket. Just sayin’.

I wasn't advocating for life jacket laws. My point was that only requiring people to have a life jacket somewhere on the boat is ridiculous because they don't really help save anyone, so why even have those laws?

 

[WV Mountaineer]

I wasn't advocating for life jacket laws. My point was that only requiring people to have a life jacket somewhere on the boat is ridiculous because they don't really help save anyone, so why even have those laws?

With that being the case, I 100% agree with you.

 

[7mm-08]

We will be using packrafts for a spring bear hunt this year and I haven’t figured out what life jacket to use. I’ve thought about not bringing one but that seems like a bad idea.

What life jackets have you used when backpacking with your raft?

Like others, I've seen videos on YouTube of guys just crossing high-water rivers in packrafts without PFD's. Just watching those videos make my palms sweat. They are obviously skilled rafters, but take it from me that the speed at which something goes south in those circumstances is astounding. Please, for your personal safety and in consideration of your loved ones, wear a PFD.

 

[Jon Boy]

Glad you got one ordered. Use it. Im not one to be a sissy but flipped my raft on a mellow stretch in the spring one time and was held under for some time. It's real. Especially on a swollen spring River. Another thing to take in consideration is the river conditions can change quite literally over night. So be prepared. Have a great hunt!

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