Fishing Vest Life Jacket | Multi-Pocket Vest

The PFD is in the boat, not on you.

Everyone knows why. It is bulky, it goes over the top of your fishing vest, you cannot reach your pliers or your leader, and casting in it feels like casting in a sleeping bag. So it sits under the seat, which is exactly where it is no use to anybody.

This is the other way round: a proper multi-pocket fishing vest with EPE foam buoyancy built into it. One layer instead of two, your tackle where your hands already go, and foam in the panels so you float if you go in.

What It Does

Carries your gear and adds buoyancy at the same time. Front pouches take lures, leader spools, pliers and a PLB, all closable so nothing empties into the drink. Reflective patches and striping pick up a spotlight after dark. The high wind collar zips off when the sun comes up. Five colours, sizes L to XXL.

Key Features

• One layer, not two: the flotation and the tackle vest are the same garment, so there is nothing to wear over the top and nothing to take off to reach a pocket.
• 9.5 kg of buoyancy: EPE foam through the panels. The supplier's figure, and it is the number that actually matters — see the Limits tab for what it does and does not mean.
• Pockets where your hands go: front pouches with closures, so your leader and pliers are on your chest instead of in a box sliding round the floor.
• Reflective patches: striping and patches that light up under a spotlight or a head torch in the dark.
• Detachable wind collar: high collar for a dawn run across the bay, off again by mid-morning.
• Polyester shell: handles salt, fish slime and being dragged across a non-slip deck.

Limits

No Australian Standard approval is published for this vest, so do not count it as the PFD your state requires you to carry. There is no AS 4758 marking, no certificate and no approval number in anything the supplier has given us. Every state has carriage rules for approved lifejackets on the water. Carry an approved one, and treat this as the thing you actually wear while you are fishing.

• It will not turn you face-up: there is no collar behind your head and no head support. A certified Level 100 lifejacket is built to roll an unconscious wearer onto their back. A vest cut like this cannot do that. If you are knocked out going in, it will not save you.
• 9.5 kg of buoyancy is a foam figure, not an approval: it is the supplier's number and we have not tested it. It tells you the foam is real; it does not tell you the vest meets any standard.
• Sized to 95 kg: XXL tops out at a 95 kg wearer. Above that, this is the wrong vest.
• Foam does not last forever: compressed, torn or waterlogged foam loses buoyancy, and with no rating you cannot tell how much is left. Check it each season.
• Load the pockets and you lose float: everything you put in it has weight. A vest packed with lead and tools works against the foam.
• Sheltered and coastal, not offshore: rocks, estuary, bay and kayak work with a conscious wearer. Offshore, an approved lifejacket is the only sensible answer.

Q & A

Can this be the lifejacket I am required to carry?
No. No AS 4758 approval is published for it. Carry an approved one as well — this is the one you will actually keep on.

What does 9.5 kg of buoyancy mean in practice?
It is how much upward force the foam provides. A person in water is close to neutrally buoyant, so that is enough to hold a conscious adult's head and shoulders up. It is not the same as a rated, tested performance level.

What size should I take?
L suits 170–175 cm (1700–1750 mm) and 65–75 kg, XL 175–180 cm (1750–1800 mm) and 75–85 kg, XXL 180–185 cm (1800–1850 mm) and 85–95 kg. Size up if you wear a jumper under it in winter.

Is it any good for kayak fishing?
That is one of the better uses for it — the pockets sit where you can reach them sitting down, and there is no bulky collar to fight the seat back. Carry your approved jacket as well.

Will it fit a PLB?
The front pouches take a PLB, and that is where it should live rather than in a hatch. A beacon in the boat is no help once you are not in the boat.

Specs

Free delivery to Australia and New Zealand. Allow 10 to 14 days from the day you order, and up to 3 weeks.