mrbacklash said:
One thing that is pretty cool is a mustang float coat for winter cost around $100 or so I use one in winter when duck hunting would love to spend the cash on the camo one they have not a bit of wind goes through them
That's exactly what I wear in the winter time, a Mustang type 3 float coat, in OD green, basically the same vest that DNR and the Sheriff's Dept around here use. I love this vest! Not only is it a PFD, but it is extremely warm. I also have the hood that snaps onto the collar of the coat. Initially, I had problems with the positioning of the factory snaps, they only had 2 on the back of the hood, but nothing along the front bottom edge, so I had an upholstery shop put snaps on the front corners of the hood, and on the front corners of the collar, now, the wind doesn't catch it like a sail and try to peel it off my head.
The float coat keeps my upper body warm. To keep my legs and lower body warm, I usually wear a pair of black snow skiing bibs/pants made by Columbia. They're somewhat water resistant, and very effective at blocking the wind. Not sure what kind of buoyancy they might provide, but I would think the insulated layers would prevent hypothermia, in fact, I know they do, because I fell overboard while gigging one cold November night, it was about 25 degrees outside. Fortunately, I only fell into about 2 feet of water, and I scrambled back in the boat so fast, my buddy didn't even realize I had fallen out. I think the only thing that got wet was my feet and my hands. My cell phone and my cigarettes didn't even get wet. Like I said, I scrambled back in the boat real quick fast and in a hurry!
During the summer, I wear a type 5 Mustang inflatable (manual type) I know, the automatic is really what I should wear, in fact, I had one, but took it back and traded for the manual type, as I had concerns that moisture/humidity in the storage locker on my boat could set it off.
I also wear my kill switch whenever possible, because, even with a life jacket, if you fall overboard, the boat can begin to circle, and will run you over, especially so with tiller handles. I saw a guy that fell overboard on the Waccamaw river a couple of years ago, another boat managed to pull him from the water before the boat chewed him into catfish chum, but the boat was still circling. Finally, the boat circled closer to shore, and hit a cypress stump, which shut it down. If that other boat had not rescued the guy, though, he might have been another statistic. That made me a believer about kill switches.
