Welcome to Whitewater Warehouse - Life Vest Safety (in more ways than one!)

Life Vest Safety (in more ways than one!)

Something that has been on my mind the past couple of years is the role of my life jacket in carrying

equipment. This thought process came about on several multi-day kayak trips in Peru a few years ago. While paddling down some of Peru’s deep and remote canyons, I realized that if I were to swim and lose my kayak that the only thing that I would have to survive escaping the canyons would be the equipment that I had on my person. By carrying in my life jacket iodine tablets, collapsible bottle, laminated map of the area, compass, laminated copy of my passport, money, headlamp, and a fire starter could make the difference in surviving these type of canyons if I had lost my kayak.

After coming to the realization of the importance of the gear that I carry in my jacket, I decided to apply this ideology to day kayaking the whitewater in my local area. There might not be a need to carry survival equipment on your body while boating the rivers in West Virginia, but this concept can be applied to your rescue equipment. I’m not saying it’s not a good idea to carry a survival kit in your kayak, but if you were to lose your kayak on any river in WV you should be able to walk to some type of civilization within an hour. Most people already have a whistle and a river knife hanging on their life jacket, but what about a Z-drag kit? Having a Z-drag kit in your jacket can reduce your response time during a rescue situation by not having to dig into your boat. Also if you happen to swim and your boat gets pinned you’ll still have the gear needed to save your boat. I also like to hang a locking carabiner on the shoulder strap of my jacket for easy access. On countless occasions during a rescue situation I was glad I didn’t have to dig around to find a carabiner. Another neat piece of equipment that I like to have in my jacket is a NRS paddle biner. This handy piece of equipment has proved its value in returning someone’s paddle across the river on several occasions.

I didn’t write this blog to tell you what you “need” to have in your life jacket, but rather open up your mind to the advantages of having certain equipment on your body. I used to carry all of my equipment in my kayak, but the risk of losing that equipment can be detrimental to your trip and having it on your person can significantly cut down much needed time during a rescue situation. Today whitewater paddling gear companies recognize this and seem to be putting more effort in designing life jackets with pockets that provide plenty of storage capacity with easy access. Today’s life jackets are designed with bigger pockets, specialized placement for carabiners, and some jackets are even able to hold a throw bag.

~Todd Richendollars

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