WhiteWater LifeJackets
If you are thinking about going whitewater kayaking and not wearing a lifejacket, think again! Whitewater Kayaking is one of the most dangerous sports in the world, if not the most dangerous when you don’t wear a life jacket. Its not about how good of a swimmer you are, its about maintaining your ability to float no matter what happens. If you are knocked out, injured or somehow prevented from swimming then what will happen to you.
The whole point of a life jacket is that it will keep your head above water so that you can breathe. If your life jacket is not buoyant enough then you will be underwater and there is no point to it. Life Jackets are designed based on some simple math. Depending on how heavy or skinny you are, when you are floating in water you only weigh around 10 pounds. If you add anything that floats to your body, your weight will decrease making it even easier for you to float. When you go shop for a life jacket the first thing you need to consider is making sure you have picked a jacket that has the appropriate amount of floatation for you! Your local whitewater paddling store will be able to help you out with the complicated aspects of this but don’t forget to calculate in things like the added weight of your wetsuit, what type of river running you will doing (the higher volume the river, the more buoyant you will need to be) as well as any other factor you can consider
Once you are certain you have a life jacket that will keep you afloat it is now important to find one that is not only comfortable but will stay on in all sorts of bad conditions you are likely to find on a river. When you put on the jacket it should fit around your body comfortably and snugly but not too tight. It should not be able to rise up to your face or head when you get in the water. Try out several different life jackets from several different brands to make sure you are getting one that is just the right size for you!
