Extrasport Children's Type II PFD (Red/Yellow, Youth, 50-90 Lbs)
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Product Feature
- Type II Coast Guard Approved provides chest-up floatation
- Segmented collar adds comfort while the collar mounted grab loop allows an easy secure handle to pull little ones from the water
- Reflective tape for improved visibility
- Crotch strap provides a secure fit
- Sizes (Weight): Infant child (under 50 lbs.), Youth (50-90 lbs.)
Product Description
A great value in a basic children's Type II vest. It's designed to keep a child floating chest-up, with a two-piece collar that cradles and supports the head. Adjustable leg straps with a single-buckle connection makes getting the vest on and off a snap. Technical Specs: Type: II, Design Floatation: Infant Child (9 lbs., 14 oz.), Youth (11 lbs., 4 oz.), Sizes: Infant child (under 50 lbs.), Youth (50-90 lbs.). Fabric: 200 denier.Extrasport Children's Type II PFD (Red/Yellow, Youth, 50-90 Lbs) Review
I bought this for a 9 year girl who is 4'9" and weights about 70 lbs meaning she is pretty skinny for her age. She outgrew her Stearns Heads-Up life jacket when she had a growth spurt and became too tall for it. We went to the store to try on some life jackets but whenever I picked her up by grabbing the shoulders of the life vest, all of the vests in her weight range would ride up above her ears. Many of them would slip right off of her if she held her arms up. I was afraid that if she fell into the water, the vest would slip right off.With this vest, we don't have that problem thanks to the crotch strap. At first I was afraid that it would be too uncomfortable for her but she wears tight fitting swim bottoms which help her from getting a wedgie and she hasn't complained about it yet. I also feel that she is safer in this vest with the extra flotation around the head/neck.
She plans on her wearing this vest when she is canoeing, kayaking, or rafting. The inside of the life jacket says that it is not for high speed activities but has been rated for 50 MPH impact so I have no issues with her wearing it while tubing or other higher speed water activities.
I want to give a better description of this life jacket since the current one to me is incomplete. Please note that even though you are buying this from Amazon, it is actually sold by Altrec. The Youth model is a Type II vest not a Type III vest like the Mustang Youth Lil' Legends life jacket. It is made up of a total of four of "Gaia" environmentally friendly foam pieces, two for the flotation collar and two for the front. The front foam is very thick, probably twice as thick as the foam on the Mustang Lil' Legends, but it's not quite as large area wise. It is shorter in length than other vests and the foam doesn't really go under her arms.
It might seem at first that this vest doesn't fit since it doesn't go down to the waist but it is more important for a life jacket to fit the chest so it doesn't ride up then the length of the torso.
On the inside right front of the vest there is a place to put the name of who the life jacket belongs to. There is large white grab loop at the top (a bit larger than the Mustang Lil' Legends) for easy fishing and storage. The white crotch strap buckles in the middle of the back with the excess just dangling. The white waist strap is fully adjustable and the female end is connected on the left side near the zipper allowing for easier buckling. The front large white teeth plastic zipper is easy to secure and won't corrode like a metal zipper. The zipper has a loop on it so if you wanted to attach something like a lanyard or whistle you could.
Some important things the inside of the vest says: US Coast Guard approved wearable device for uninspected commercial vessels less than 40 feet in length not carrying passengers for hire, and for recreational boats. Not approved for use on personal water craft, for water skiing, or similar towed uses. Strength tested at 50MPH - Not tested for personal protection from impact. Fasten all closures and adjust for snug fit. Excessive ride-up will impair performance.
Out of curiosity, I put the life jacket on her, buckled everything up, then doubled up one of the ties, pushed it through the opening and used the other tie to tie and secure it off. I then asked her to try and take off her life jacket. She was able to unbuckle her waist strap quickly but then to unzip it, since I had tied it using the ties near her chin, it took quite a bit longer for her to undo the knot and get it unzipped. It also took her quite a bit of time to be able to undue her crotch strap since it was high up her back and not easily reachable for her. Fortunately my daughter does not mind wearing her life jacket, in fact she still likes to swim with one even though she knows how to swim, but if we have anyone over that wants to take their life jacket off this would be a good model to use.
Pros: The crotch strap insures the life jacket stays in place under the water and not ride up above her ears which is difficult to find for her weight (50-90 lbs). The grab loop on top gives an easy way to "fish" her out of the water if need be (which we had to do when she was younger) and also makes for convenient storage mechanism. If you have a child that likes to take their life jacket off while you're not looking this has many features which deters them from doing that. Additionally, each of these following pros makes it a good choice for when she is paddling. It is a "shorter" vest which makes it much more comfortable when she is sitting down because it doesn't get pushed up to her chin by her legs. Since the foam is concentrated at the chest, this means there is a lot of room under her arms along with less material in the back making it retain less heat and easier to paddle. Reflective strips on the flotation collar and bright colors create good visibility of her in an emergency.
Cons: The vest is a bit more difficult to put on since the crotch strap buckles and adjusts in the back. She will have to leave the crotch strap buckled, step into the strap and pull up the vest up if she wants to put the jacket on herself. Also, if she is laying on her back the back buckle does dig a bit into her back. With the flotation collar, it does make it a bit more difficult for her to sit in a high back chair, she has to flip the collar up to be more comfortable and again the back buckle can be uncomfortable. Another thing, the ties at the top can "tickle" her chin. Finally, Amazon only sold it in one color but you might be able to find it another color somewhere else.
We tried this out at the pool and it did flip her on her back when she started off face down in the water or jumped in the pool and relaxed. This will be a good thing if we are ever in an accident and she is unconscious. She swam around in it and it seemed to fit her well and not ride up. After about an hour she companied that her back was hurting where the buckle connection was so we took of her vest and saw a small red mark there. She was just wearing her swimsuit without a rash guard or something like that which may have helped. She wanted to continue to swim so she put on her Mustang Youth Lil' Legends life jacket by herself and was good for the rest of the day. She said that the Extrasport vest would be best for when we went canoeing, kayaking or rafting but prefers her Lil' Legends for other water activities such as swimming and boating.
I hope this helps, and remember, buckle them up. Safety isn't always comfortable but it's necessary.
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