Auto Inflatable PFD

[lowe rider]

See, this is my problem with inflatables. How do you know they are going to work? How can you say one is better than any other one? I guess it's just a crap shoot based on trust? If you've had one for several seasons, to me, it would be wise to just jump in the lake to see if it is still functional, instead of just relying on blind faith. You can always re-charge the vest and testing like this, every few years, should give you enough confidence. JMO!

I have the Cabelas 3500 inflatable vest and it has a tube that allows you to blow it up by mouth to test it or to add air to it if you're in the water for an extended period of time.

[Crestliner08]

I have the Cabelas 3500 inflatable vest and it has a tube that allows you to blow it up by mouth to test it or to add air to it if you're in the water for an extended period of time.

Do you really believe that if you are accidentally thrown overboard, that you will have the presence of mind to blow up your life jacket by mouth? Good luck with that. Seconds count. JMO.

[TeeDee]

I think the value here is in being able to "top it off" if necessary during a long time in water. From my experiences (plural) NO you probably won't have a lot of time or presence of mind to react the best.

[1750outfiterss]

I have 2 Onyx and 2 BPS. My son and I were fishing the Illinois River for sauger and walleye welllll Ikeep my boat in the garage and normaly dont pull the plug on it. This day was not normal. Got to our spot and started pulling cranks,we usually pull 1/4 -1/2 mile .When we got about 200 yards into our 2nd pull my son says Dad were taking on water !OK put the plug in son. HE did or so we thought .Turn on bilge get on plane drain water fish some more.Weelllll He plugged the live well drain pretty soon . DAD more water this time worse got all the way into front storage.Let me tell you not alot of storage in my boat to start with even less when 2 Automatic PFD's (we had ours on) deploy. The boy said "Dad something just Exploded!" THEY WORK LOL.Had to share

[wannabe fisherman]

Do you really believe that if you are accidentally thrown overboard, that you will have the presence of mind to blow up your life jacket by mouth? Good luck with that. Seconds count. JMO.

no no no it's auto inflate,the valve is for testing to make sure it holds air and to add air if your in the water for too long.

[Babweiner]

After owning one for all of two weeks, I am far from an expert. Academy has/had the Onyx auto/manual on sale for $69. The reviews seem good. Fortunately, I have not had the opportunity to test it for inflation!!

I just bought this 'jacket', glad to see it got at least one recommendation on here.

~J. Babcock

[Slow Retrieve]

I have went through a few of them over the years but for my last one I finally just spent the money on a Mustang with HIT technology. While they are expensive I reasoned that with all the money I have spend of fishing "gear" over the years by comparison it was a small amount considering. Especially when you look at the importance of it. A new fishing rod never saved anyone's life.