Panhandler80

So, we have a pretty beefy 13 month old. He's probably pushing 30 pounds by now. A month ago he was like 98th percentile height and close to same in weight. He's been running since about 9 months. However, due to covid, we have not enrolled him in any type of swim lessons. We've played around in the shallows out in the boat a little bit, but probably not as much as we should have by now. Anyway, the boy can't swim, that's for sure.

We're about to spend 4-5 days on a boat and there will be some scenarios during which he'll need to be wearing a life jacket. Until now he's been wearing USCG approved little floatie things that also incorporate a flotation band that goes around mid-section.

Anyway, does anyone have any first hand experience with the ones that claim to be self-righting... ie: he goes in and he'll come back up with face out of the water? There may not be such an animal, but if there is, I'm all ears. EDIT: I can see where the design of many would keep head out of water ONCE they are on their back, but are there any jackets that will actually encourage / aid / ENSURE that they wind up on back with face out water?

Looks like the Mustang Survivor Lil Legends is pretty well thought of.

jtdchucktown

Conversation starts and ends with Mustang. My (also beefy) 6 month old wears it and while I haven't dropped him in the water to test it I wouldn't trust any other brand. Their stuff is military grade and legit.

Also, the "scenarios during which he'll need to be wearing a life jacket" should be 100% of the time on a boat.

Panhandler80

I should have known I'd catch some flack for that. We'll be on the boat for 4-5 days. I'm not going to have him sleep or shower in one. ;-)

From the Helm

Mustang, I've seen it work on my kids a bunch of times, usually with a lot of laughter.
They don't like them when they first put it on because of the elizabethan collar, but that's part of the solution, floats on front an behind head. Then they fall asleep laying on the collar and it's all good.
They have a great handle on them to pick kids up too, which usually involves laughter too.
Good times.

Panhandler80

I assume we're talking about this guy? https://mustangsurvival.com/products...nt-vest-mv3250 . Seems like the child, if for example landed on his stomach, picture a belly flop... he would need to help roll himself over. Or does torso weight on top of heavy chest flotation actually topple over and render the face looking skyward?

NedLloyd

That Mustang looks good. However, realize it is UL 1123 and does not appear to be a USCG approved life jacket. There also appear to currently be no USCG Type 1 approved life jackets for infants.
I would probably go with the Mustang, and also have a USCG approved life jacket on board to meet the requirements if I were to be stopped and checked.

Edit,.... once I find my login for the UL site I may be able to find the difference between the UL Standard and USCG approved, without spending $$$$ for the Standard.

bigshea

Agree with Mustang. My 19 month old is 37lbs only one he’s worn since 4 months.

autobaun70

Mustang or Stolquest. Both are good. If swimming is involved really need 2, to always have a dry one for on deck.

Big Island Lifer

We used http://www.salusmarine.com/ for our kids. When they start swimming as a toddler size or swim on their own we use the Stearns Puddle Jumper.

the PJ is a legal life jacket but we would swap out to the Salus once they get out of the water. Keeps them from spending all day in a wet life vest.

Gamahooch

I have had my son in the Mustang Little Legends since day one he got on the boat.

I would say it self rights. When he was younger he would jump in the pool and found joy in letting it flip him on his back.

However, I wouldn’t count on it to always to self right. I don’t believe in letting life jackets substitute for life guards.

Clinker

I'm not sure a discussion about life jackets begins and ends with Mustang - they appear to be about 10 years behind the latest developments from companies such as Crewsaver, Secumar, Mullion etc - but the child's lifejacket linked to has all the features you would expect of a lifejacket to self-right a toddler. And the OP is correct in not having him wear it all the time, especially if sleeping in a cabin - a lifejacket that is non-inflating would pin the wearer to the roof of a flooding cabin - a scary prospect but you'd want to be able to pull him under the water in such a scenario. The OP might have a self-deploying liferaft for all we know. Perhaps a second lifejacket for the toddler packed into the raft at the next service would be a good idea if that is the case.

WPBTH

same situation here 98% in height and weight, The baby has 2. If I am making the 2-3 mile no wake run to the sandbar I use one from amazon that was like $30 it is UL certified. Its much more comfortable due to the back side not being so "high". I also have the mustang legends one. That claims it goes up to 30 pounds but good luck getting a 25 lb one in it. Watch the below video. They will float lol

SeakeeperWPB

Went through this a few years back with two of my kids. There are a few good ones out there like the ones mentioned above. The most important thing is to get them in the water and see how it really works. Some dont just flip the kid over on his/her back as we found out. A few times, my daughter was rolled onto her stomach face down even with the head rest. Have them practice and get comfortable with it and teach them how to roll back over if they get on their stomach. I practiced with my kids quite a bit to make sure that they could handle themselves in a bad situation.

Panhandler80

Thanks folks. I'll look into some of these newer designs in addition to the Mustang.

autobaun70

Agree with this. Also, particularly if the baby in question were smaller, would recommend looking beyond USCG approved designs. USCG specs are not all that great or flexible, and have a very broad spec. Canadian vest in particular are far superior up until they break the 25lb mark. Above that the USCG approved stuff comes back inline.

From the Helm

Mustang is USCG approved "USCG - UL1123 - Marine Buoyant Devices 160.064 (Meets minimum buoyancy rating of 7 LBS)" and it works, I've had two kids in them, multiple kids in the friend group, they work, I've seen it first hand and they are really well made.

Go to "Beyond USCG approved" when you are an able swimmer and looking for a buoyancy aid, like for paddling, sailing, PWC or whatever. When you have a 0-4yo get the stuff that works when you need it to.

Have fun out there.

PERSISTENCE_22

We started our guys with the west marine pfd with head float. The onto mustangs when they were 3ish. 5 and 3 now and they like them. Key is comfort, they dont mind putting them on and the little one takes it to the beach sometimes.

NedLloyd

Please correct me here if I am wrong. I believe "USCG Approved" and "USCG UL 1123" are two different things (that is certainly the way it looks on PFD's I have around here). One is an approval by the USCG and the other is approval by UL. Does the CG accept PFD's that are only UL approved and not USCG approved? --- Everything I can find says "Must be Coast Guard Approved". So, as I mentioned above you should probably have another USCG approved PFD aboard, ... just in case you get stopped.