#PFD

Matthew Chebatoris Paddling tips for river paddlers Paddling down a river or stream is a fun way to cover a lot of territory and add a bit of distance to your paddling regimen. You’ll gain a whole new perspective on your surroundings once you get out on the water as a new world opens up and reveals itself. I grew up paddling marathon canoes on creeks and rivers in Nebraska. The conditions ranged from narrow and generally shallow creeks near my home, the broad, but still shallow Platte River, to Matthew Chebatoris Water safety is an ongoing topic in the SUP community, and rightly so. Multiple accidental deaths as a result of drowning have occurred around the world. Most, if not all of them, were preventable. The bulk of the conversation has centered around wearing PFDs and leashes. This is perfectly reasonable as the two items, when used correctly, offer paddlers a good chance of staying afloat. water safety But what if a paddler needs to do more just stay afloat? First it is important Matthew Chebatoris The Onyx M-16 belt pack PFD is a well thought out, comfortable and attractive, low profile design which provides the necessary degree of safety for paddlers who are comfortable in the water and know how to swim. The model is a USCG approved Type V user assisted manual inflatable PFD with Type III performance when worn properly. Unique Attributes of the Onyx Belt M-16 Belt Pack PFD During the course of my testing, I found two main distinctions between the Onyx M-16 belt pack P Matthew Chebatoris Astral Designs Belt Pack PFD Just as board designs have changed, so to have the belt pack style PFDs on offer. The Astral belt pack PFD, with its attractive low profile style, is a far cry from many of the boxy shaped models produced by some manufacturers. As the name suggests, this PFD is designed to be worn at the waist. The straps are easily adjustable for a wide range of sizes and the excess can be tucked away out of sight. Like most belt pack PFDs, the Astral model is ac Matthew Chebatoris Dawid and Nikki Mocke, the founders of MOCKE Paddling, are world champion paddlers from Fish Hoek, South Africa. Their athletic careers began on the beach and in the surf as “Nipper” lifesavers, and progressed until they had the opportunity to represent South Africa in Ocean Lifesaving competitions around the world. During this time they also competed in flat-water marathon, river marathon and flat-water sprint paddling, as well as open ocean surf ski racing and have enjoyed Matthew Chebatoris Australian paddle sports apparel manufacturer Vaikobi has thoughtfully engineered a lightweight, vest style PFD to meet the growing market for performance oriented safety equipment in the stand up paddling community. Their Ocean Racing PFD was designed by paddlers for paddlers. It is intended to provide a high degree of comfort and performance while meeting Australia’s safety standards and was used by a large number of paddlers last year during the “The Doctor”, Australia’s c