Can of worms: Prepare to be opened....

[lba_dillon]

So, the ongoing debate over NON-CGA and CGA vests!!!!! I am not sure if this topic has been beat to death on this site or not and if it has been then please let me apologize now.........


I personally wear the JetPilot Falcon vest and I love it!!!!! It's my first NON-CGA vest and I don't think I will be going away from them anytime soon! I love it b/c I hardly notice I am wearing anything!!!!!!! But just wanted to know what vests everyone else are wearing and what your thoughts are on this MUCH debated topic! Cheers, Brandon

[chpthril]

So, the ongoing debate over NON-CGA and CGA vests!!!!! I am not sure if this topic has been beat to death on this site or not and if it has been then please let me apologize now.........


I personally wear the JetPilot Falcon vest and I love it!!!!! It's my first NON-CGA vest and I don't think I will be going away from them anytime soon! I love it b/c I hardly notice I am wearing anything!!!!!!! But just wanted to know what vests everyone else are wearing and what your thoughts are on this MUCH debated topic! Cheers, Brandon

I'm not going to dedate the fit/comfort of a non-uscg V's a uscg vest, but for those of us that are on public lakes, we dont have a choice but to outfit our boat and riders with uscg vest.

If anybody wants a good fitting, comfertable vest, Sams Club has Obrian neo's for $39. they have big arm openings and a deep V neck and not very bulky. And yes they are USCG.

[lba_dillon]

I'm not going to dedate the fit/comfort of a non-uscg V's a uscg vest, but for those of us that are on public lakes, we dont have a choice but to outfit our boat and riders with uscg vest.

If anybody wants a good fitting, comfertable vest, Sams Club has Obrian neo's for $39. they have big arm openings and a deep V neck and not very bulky. And yes they are USCG.

I live @ a private lake so obvisously we don't worry about it there.......but even on every public lake/river we go too we always wear our NON-CGA vests.....now we DO have CGA vests onboard and more then enough to go around...........but I personally have never seen or heard of anyone getting stopped by DNR for not wearing a CGA vest! I have never tried on a CGA vest that comes close to fitting like a NON-CGA.......I just don't think it is possible with all of that padding the thing ends up weighing like 5lbs or more! Now I do have a Nevin SWAT CGA vest and when we cliff jump and go CRAZY tubing I wear it for when I just KNOW I am going to take impact........But I just can't flex in that thing @ all...... Just my experiences and I know everyone is different.....

[larryueckert]

i bought the same vest for the wife and i pink and grey $40 bucks cant bet them.sams club specials.

[my86stanggt]

Like chpthril said, no option here. I didn't even know there were non approved vests out there. The game and fish guys periodically do random stops on the lake for numerous reasons and I wouldn't want to take the chance of being caught and ticketed. A ticket costs about 3 days worth of gas.

[Tequilasun]

I wonder if I can get a more than CGA approved vest.

I'm not really into taking chances with my life over a little thing like style.

That being said, I don't care what you wear. As long as you have health insurance, and you are not with the same provider as me.

[yllw20]

cga all the way.....ncga are lighter and more flex...wait till you knock yourself silly and start to sink...I think you will reconsider, but may be too late. I have the jet pilot stance and more recently the cell block. They are comfortable and cant beat the lumbar support in the cell block.

[lba_dillon]

WOW, I am very surprised by all of the feedback...........I used to post on wakeworld alot and most riders there ride non-cga approved vests for the main reason of mobility and such...... I don't care either way what people ride I was just curious as to everyone's stance on the issue and see what people ride with.......... interesting

[evil0ne]

So what's the point of a vest if it isn't CGA? How much harder could it be to get it certified CGA? Is there really that much less bouyancy in the vest? I'm guessing they could probably pass but the manufacturer's don't want to get them approved because 1) Makes them "cooler" and more desirable by the wanna be pros and 2) Don't want to pay to have them certified. Maybe I'm missing something.

[lba_dillon]

So what's the point of a vest if it isn't CGA? How much harder could it be to get it certified CGA? Is there really that much less bouyancy in the vest? I'm guessing they could probably pass but the manufacturer's don't want to get them approved because 1) Makes them "cooler" and more desirable by the wanna be pros and 2) Don't want to pay to have them certified. Maybe I'm missing something.

I have no idea..............Mine will float me but not with quite the buoyancy of my Nevin Swat vest. I have no idea what the "tests" are for a life jacket.....not sure if it costs anymore money or just what! I mean I am the first one to say I ride NOTHING like a pro rider.......I mainly like it b/c of its comfort........

[mtnsmith]

In the salt water, cga vests cause we have florida fish and wildlife, county sheriffs, city police, and coast guard that all like to stop you for regular PFD checks. On the lakes, we hardly have any water patrol so non-cga are usable most the time.

[Lucky 275]

Years ago, I wouldn't wear a vest at all. One day, I was talking to Greg Nelson at a clinic and he was telling me about a friend of his who drowned on the same lake, where I used to board. He wasn't wearing a vest and crashed on a raley attempt. They rushed back to pick him up, but couldn't find him. So I started wearing a non-cga vest. Last year, I cracked my ribs and now I wear a CGA with alot more padding... I like to call it progression

[my86stanggt]

Guess that's why we call you "Lucky"

[Lucky 275]

I didn't even tell you about the time, my "buddy" ran over me with the boat, the prop chopped my board up and missed my feet by about 1/2 inch...

[evil0ne]

I didn't even tell you about the time, my "buddy" ran over me with the boat, the prop chopped my board up and missed my feet by about 1/2 inch...

Hopefully his prop took a beating too.