Whatever happened to "canoe" life jackets?

Canoe life JACKETS used to be fairly thin, have a tie around the waist, and come down almost to your hips. They were not like the "kayak" life vests that now proliferate with high cut flotation so that they will fit above a kayak cockpit skirt, nor did they have big protuberant front humps like those kayak life vests. Like an actual sleeveless jacket, canoe life jackets also functioned as a legitimate warmth layer for one's entire torso in cold weather, unlike the asymmetrical cockroach shapes now so prevalent.

I miss those once-typical canoe life jackets. Seda made the best with lots of body-molding short pieces of foam. Extrasport used to make similar ones out of longer pieces of foam, some of which helpfully arced over the shoulders for portage padding. Here are pictures of three. I miss them. Does any manufacturer still make them?

Yeah the tiny things that are popular today especially the mesh back type, not a fan. That said I'm not a fan of the the type shown in Pic #3 either, don't like the small arm holes but appreciate the extra warmth they provide.

The old style can still be found, places like Bass Pro carry them, mostly sold for fishing, using as a cushion in motorboats and rafting. They are still the cheapest you can buy.

I have an older (but still serviceable) Extrasport PFD that I use in cooler weather. The fuller fit is like wearing a "waterproof" down vest. But I prefer the "kayak" style, with less body contact, because they are a bit cooler in the summer.

I would love something like this for cooler weather. I wonder if we could band together and get a limited run. They are usually at Canoecopia as well.

I bet they would be a lot pricier than most will pay, however.

My first "real" PFD (not the old style, orange horse collar style) was from LL Bean and was made by Stearns. This was back in the mid to late 1970s. By the time I opened by my small guiding service in 1990, I purchased all Extrasport PFDs. They still had the tubular designed but the lower skirt tubes were long gone. Most of my early work was with canoes but eventually the kayaking craze caught up with my business so the majority of my trips and lessons revolved around kayaks. When that happened, the PFDs I had were still very usable since there was no lower skirt area.

I still have those PFDs today. They are stored out of the sunlight and kept dry. All straps are flexible and the zippers work without fail. I've added a Fox 40 whistle to each zipper pull tab as well. In my opinion, they remain a piece of gear I'm willing to lend people in our group that need something better than a cheapie PFD to bring their paddling up to the next level of enjoyment.

That's all for now. Take care and until next time...be well.

snapper

Like these...



I still have them, but I never wear them. The problem is if you swim the PFD doesn't stay in place - it rides up making it difficult to swim. I do have one that has a strap that runs down between the legs to keep the PFD in place. The new ones with multiple adjustment points can be snugged up and stay in place so much better, but I do wish they were a little longer in the torso.

My first PFD was a Seda "Full Length" type, as was the fashion among C-boaters in the early 80's. It wore out; we are talking big holes in the fabric.
Next was a "Kayak Length" Extrasport; it still had the vertical foam strips. Still have it. Don't use it, but have it.
I followed that with a Lotus Design kayak style PFD of the late 90's or early 2000s; the model is long forgotten.
I currently use a Stohlquist "Ebb".

In winter I do miss the old long Seda though, even with the funky nylon belt that tied around it.

I still have my venerable SEDA jacket, purchased direct from SEDA during their annual holiday sale years ago. SEDA was sold long ago and the new owners dropped all products other than boats. And I will probably be picking up my brothers jacket since he seems to have retired from paddling.

eckilson said:

The problem is if you swim the PFD doesn't stay in place - it rides up making it difficult to swim.

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Maybe it depends on body size and shape, but I never experienced that problem. The waist tie, particularly if supplemented with a rescue belt, helps prevent "riding up" as do the smallish arm holes. The minor riding up did not interfere with my rescue swimming, especially with the Extrasport Hi-Float life jacket, designed by Charlie Walbridge, which I wore for almost my entire whitewater career. In fact, Hi-Float variations such as the Ranger life jacket, once made by Extrasport, used to be the standard for swift water rescue teams.



Another benefit of the full canoe jackets is the foam padding all along the back and spine, from neck to coccyx, which would help prevent impact injuries when swimming on your back, feet downstream, in rocky whitewater. Some of the new-fangled kayak vests with front-loaded flotation have little or even no foam cushioning on the back.

Glenn MacGrady said:

Like an actual sleeveless jacket, canoe life jackets also functioned as a legitimate warmth layer for one's entire torso in cold weather, unlike the asymmetrical cockroach shapes now so prevalent.

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Glenn MacGrady said:

I miss those once-typical canoe life jackets. Seda made the best with lots of body-molding short pieces of foam. Extrasport used to make similar ones out of longer pieces of foam, some of which helpfully arced over the shoulders for portage padding. Here are pictures of three. I miss them. Does any manufacturer still make them?

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I too am interested in longer jackets, that are ideally less bulky. So I started searching and came across these that may fit some of your criteria. They are not designed for paddling, but rather for wake boarding or jet ski racing. Those sports also require mobility as a key feature, and most of the ones I found have small “cells” of flotation padding similar to the ones you’ve shown, although they are oriented differently. I am concerned that some don’t have large enough arm cutouts for paddling, but they are longer and therefore less bulky than many of the kayaking vests, and mostly made of neoprene which may help with the warmth you were looking for. They are all coast guard approved (if you are on the websites don’t look at the “comp” vests as they are not).

The ones below are made by Ronix, JetPilot, and O’brien. Has anyone here used these for paddling?

ABT said:

I started searching and came across these that may fit some of your criteria. They are not designed for paddling, but rather for wake boarding or jet ski racing.

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That style has been around for a very long time, originally for water skiing. Canoeists like to have some pockets and lash tabs. The early Old Town, Seda and Extrasport canoeing life jackets had no pockets or only one chest pocket, later adding a second chest pocket. More modern PFDs do have the benefit of larger and more pockets. But there's no reason why the old type of life jacket couldn't be made with modern pocket space.

You can find quite a few old style life jackets on eBay, here is a sample search:

Glenn MacGrady said:

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The ones I have are a lot skimpier than that. Here they are showing lots of wear. I also have a newer version with a pocket and side adjustments in addition to the belt. I'd wear that one if they still made it. Unfortunately, I picked this one up when I bought a boat and it doesn't fit me.



I've been looking for a new PFD for a while. Most of the kayak PFD's are too short, and I definitely don't like the half-back. Fishing PFD's are a little longer, but I'm not big on the style. So for now I'll just stick with what I have.

Glenn MacGrady said:

That style has been around for a very long time, originally for water skiing.

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Interesting. I grew up going to lakes in Illinois every weekend in the summer, with skiing as the main activity and still go fairly often, and I have never seen any pfd’s exactly like the ones I posted. Must not be popular around here. I only ever see the traditional recreational pfd’s with the larger foam panels. I do see neoprene ones, but they also are without the segmented cells, and are often not quite as long.