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In the above post I'm trying to talk about it with a sense of humor, but the deal remains that with a standard kayaking PFD you don't have to mess with it to get it to work, and it's simply more practical for kayaking.
A kayaking PFD protects you as soon as you put it on. and when you hit the water it's there keeping you afloat. You can be in and out of the water all day long as much as you want and it's still 100% effective.
You don't have to deflate it, recharge it with a new cylinder after every use. Since you don't have to mess with it, start it, or inflate it so you can instantly take care of other things like grabbing your paddle, turning your yak back over, and fighting in that forty pound fish you hopefully still have on, if you do end up in the water.
You can also swim paddle and do everything you could do normally without having to reset it, or mess with it, and since it is designed for freedom of movement you can swim fish or paddle in it with total freedom of movement and comfort wet or dry day in day out.
Climb in and out of your yak, fall in the surf multiple times, do a handstand on your yak and flop over the side, with that Kayaking PFD it all doesn't matter. It's there and your safe, and you don't have to worry about damaging it punchering it or it getting in the way of what you want to do.
Inflatable PFDs are designed for boaters and rescue. Your boat sinks it's there for you. You fall out of your boat and it keeps on going it's there for you. When you fall out of your boat or it sinks it's a major catastrophic event, that inflatable is there so you can pull the cord then float around with your face up until the coast guard finds you and rescues you.
Boats don't roll very often, and when they do it's a huge deal. It's not like your going to climb back in a boat after it flips and then fish out the day.
Rolling a kayak is just part of ocean kayaking. It happens all the time. In sit insides you learn to Eskimo roll so you can just turn right back up and keep going. Rolling or falling out of your kayak is just part of kayaking so you want to wear gear that not only protects you but also allows you to get right back to kayaking with minimum effort and maximum safety.
Jim
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