Good water sports jacket for big guy.

samt

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jun 5, 2013
Messages
113
Hey guys. I won't try to say I'm not fat, but I guess I'm denser than most fat guys. I'm 6'4" 300-320. I have 3 3xl life jackets and all of them just barely float me. It makes it extremely challenging to get up on anything when you start with your chin in the water. I've had some success wearing 2 life jackets, but that's no fun. We go to the lake almost every weekend so I'm willing to spend some money on the right on. The one I have that fits best is an Obrien zip up, but it's the least boyant and some times I wonder if I'm gonna surface from a big wipe out!
Also I prefer something in bright colors, too many idiots on the lake for black life jackets.
 

alldodge

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Mar 8, 2009
Messages
40,539
I would suggest looking for Type I life jackets, they have the highest buoyancy lift of all and are commercial rating. Most are orange so they can be seen. For the most part they are in most cases comfortable to wear, just no fashion statement
 

gm280

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Jun 26, 2011
Messages
14,585
Maybe, and I honestly don't know, you could find somebody in your area to sew up a life vest that uses twice the floatation material then any one size uses. And if there is an industrial manufacturer that can sew quality webbing with certified stitching, you would be good to go. An idea place would be either an aircraft parachute manufacturer or even a seat belt manufacturer. I do remember decades ago there was a parachute repair facility in one of the shops I had to pass through to get to my shop in electronics. They had sewing machines that easily could do the job without issue. And they could fix most anything that used quality webbing as well. Just something to think about. :noidea:
 

samt

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jun 5, 2013
Messages
113
That's an idea. My wife repaired several life jackets a few years ago when we had a rat infestation. I still have a few that are damaged beyond being worth fixing that she may can rob the foam from.
 

mjf55

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jun 17, 2014
Messages
462
So what happens to the USCG approval on these heavily modified jacket. They may work for your intended purpose, but how about the law enforcement angle?
 

samt

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jun 5, 2013
Messages
113
So what happens to the USCG approval on these heavily modified jacket. They may work for your intended purpose, but how about the law enforcement angle?

Nothing in my neck of the woods. Everytime I've been stopped (small lake so if he is there you plan on getting stopped) he is just looking for an excuse to give a sobriety test.

I've seen a guy hold up a little girls life jacket that wouldn't wrap his leg and pass. As long as there is a jacket for everyone, a whistle (horn is too quiet for them) fire extinguisher, throw float thing, and current tags your good to go. The 2 jackets my wife has repaired have never been an issue and one even has some hippie flowered patch work.

So if your driver is sober your probably good to go. But I won't use a jacket that isn't just a strong as new. The point is to improve it here. I guess when she stitches on it the uscg certification probably dies, but I don't thing that concerns me if as long as it's excellent stitching.

I've been looking at some type 1 jackets and there is really some pretty nice ones out there. I wish I lived near a big marine dealer where I could try a couple on.
 

jetboater

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jan 13, 2004
Messages
119
Mustang Survival makes the PFDs for the US and Canadian Coast Guards as welll as many military and commercial applications.

They make a recreational PFD that fits 40-60 chests. I have one ---they're available on eBay for about $40-50 shipped.

https://mustangsurvival.com//recreat...ion=recreation

If you order one, be sure to get the "super large" size (40-60) rather than the "universal" size (34-54)
 
Last edited:

David Young

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jul 12, 2015
Messages
485
Like this?
couple-standing-in-innertube-by-lake-picture-id77932637
 
Top