very very good point roddholder. assume same would have been case with auto inflatable.
In your case a real plus for Manual inflatable jacket

krow wrote: Thanks I'll check mine tomorrow.

Well checked mine (red RFD) and as It all looked very good till I went to see if the cannister was screwed in and I found it was 1/2 unscrewed. Very scary when I've been using it on solo missions. I doubt it would have worked.
EVERYBODY check yours NOW.

We have 6 new jackets , checked them all and found 2x needed to be screwed in. . Thanks for the thread

expresso, i cant think of a worse place to tether yourself. if you fell over while underway you would be towed backwards?.
i had enough trouble getting out without a tether line as well.

the thing is it all happens so fast you dont really have time to think.
i got hooked up in a 60lb trace and hook. it caught in my shorts ant the arm of the seat.
i done a forward roll and left my shorts behind. lol.

when my feet touched the sand, my legs went to jelly for about 5 mins. i guess i was in shock.
a bloody scary feeling i can tell you.

rodholder when boating you always and i mean always have the lanyard attached to your wrist. so when you do go over, it stops the engine :) or you go one way and your pride n joy heads to china without you or if found hijacked and sold back to you at a inflated price minus the fishing gear :)

I marvel when i read all this.Is this for real?????. I suspect it is and that something is radically wrong.
Most people ,self included buy a life jacket,wear it so we dont drown if we end up in the water..
Cylinders that corrode or fall out. Not good.What is going on.?
Where are the years of knowledge on what to use in marine conditions. Has the global economy  caused a such downward spiral of quality to compete on price.?.
Why cant fittings in inflatable jackets be made of non corrosive material . Why not brass fittings & brass cylinders .Why not some sort of locking devise so the cylinders dont fall out
IMO jackets should have a label that says. "we make em cheep to compete".Wear this jacket at your own risk. Not guaranteed to work or save your life." Would not a label like that be closer to the truth.!
Maybe a niche market for a life jacket maker to make quality jackets ,quality fittings. A person who designs & makes them. No staff in giant factories off shore who may be the weak link to quality.
A person who does the whole job themselves or works with a trusted small team,focus on quality & durability  Designs, knows & makes a product well. Would cost more. But i would buy one.
Have right here a standard jacket. Its 12 years old. Canadian made ,comfortable and i like it in the winter for warmth. Brand name Mustang. But inside the label says.
"This devise may lose buoyancy over a period of time and become no longer serviceable. The in water performance should be checked regularly during each season to determine it provides adequate buoyancy."
Good helpful info. But what would be even more to the point would be type of foam used & average expected life span. There are many foams available, all  of various qualities with different life spans.
Testing it. Well right now i dont feel like jumping in the harbour to test it.

Kevin.S wrote: I think you're being a little unfair there Cirrus.  What this actually shows is that when you buy safety equipment you should read the instructions that come with it and make yourself familiar with it.  You should also regularly service this equipment, not just chuck it on the boat and hope it will be OK when you need it. The canisters are probably not fully screwed in to some jackets to prevent accidental inflation when being transported and corrosion would not be an issue if the jacket was checked every six months, as it probably should be.

tightlines2 wrote: Kevin.S wrote: I think you're being a little unfair there Cirrus.  What this actually shows is that when you buy safety equipment you should read the instructions that come with it and make yourself familiar with it.  You should also regularly service this equipment, not just chuck it on the boat and hope it will be OK when you need it. The canisters are probably not fully screwed in to some jackets to prevent accidental inflation when being transported and corrosion would not be an issue if the jacket was checked every six months, as it probably should be.   I agree Kevin, but the lesson that I have learnt from this is that most of us if we were truthful would think that we've just spent some good money on this flash new PFD and ASSUME that as long as we wear it while we are in the boat that "she'll be right" , don't worry about the instructions, they are for sissys. What I would have liked, is for someone to have asked me what my experience was with boating. When they discovered that I had only just bought a boat then perhaps a quick "do you know about the correct operation and maintenance of this PFD (or Personal Locator Beacon etc)?" would have alerted me to some "issues" that weren't obvious at the time.     I personally believe that it is good luck that we haven't seen major disaster with issue yet.   All I want to do is make people aware of the potential problems and check their gear regularly.

Agree with Tightlines 2,in that many people buy a nice jacket and expect it work. After all its brand new.No need to check it for 6 months-what possibly could go wrong with a new jacket.Attitude is ,will read instructions later ,i know how it works. Just pull the cord.No one has told them the canister may not be screwed in. Well they should be told ! Wouldnt be too hard for the retailer to check it for them ,show how it is done before they walk out the door. After being shown  it is the users responsibility to check and maintain the jacket. Easier to be shown than read  through pages of often difficult to grasp care info.
Possibly i was a little unfair ,possibly not.Was trying to make the point some jackets will fail. That Tomorrow or next week  there will be people out there wearing jackets that will let them down in  in a emergency. Does it need to be like this.?
When a boatie is out there solo, if he falls he falls alone. Nothing between him & Davy Jones except his jacket.
I didnt check my cylinder for several months after i bought a Manual inflatable PDF last year. Why would i ? .When checked in my case it was screwed in and clearly was screwed in when purchased.
I never leave mine in the boat . I hang it up on a coat hanger and keep indoors in a dry place out of UV light.
As for corrosion of cylinders . Any reason that these can not be made of material that does not corrode . After all, PDF jackets are worn in a corrosive marine environment. Looking on the web seems like this is a problem in other countries as well. Cylinders must be checked for dirt and corrosion.
Friend came out with me last week. He had a brand new -pricy conventional jacket. I asked if he got care info with it.He didnt. . Why he didnt get any care info i dont know. Either there wasnt any or he wasnt given any.

Just updated a couple of life jackets today @ $99.00 each...not inflatable ones either..I like to have more than a balloon for support...who knows what could happen.. bit late if it ends up with a hole somehow when your needing it to keep you afloat

krow wrote: krow wrote: Thanks I'll check mine tomorrow. Well checked mine (red RFD) and as It all looked very good till I went to see if the cannister was screwed in and I found it was 1/2 unscrewed. Very scary when I've been using it on solo missions. I doubt it would have worked. EVERYBODY check yours NOW.

And do you know if it has gas in it then?