Life jackets or PFD's are something of an issue on cruising sailboats...
Truth is, most of us don't wear them unless conditions get heinous and some of us are inclined to avoid them even when conditions warrant their use as trying to work encumbered is sometimes a safety issue in itself... The bottom line is that a PFD only works if you happen to be wearing it and not a lot of good in a locker.
I've been looking at a lot of PFD's lately as I've become more and more disenchanted with inflatable products which, for me, seem even more uncomfortable than their non-inflatable brethren in terms of chafe but have still been the PFD of choice on "So It Goes" simply because they are easier to work in. Another reason that inflatables are less than my first choice these days is when I did the yearly inspection and test on our last set of inflatables (visual inspection, manually inflating, and letting them sit for a day). They failed in such a way that made me realize that somewhere since the last test all of the adhesive seams had ceased to exist. For part of the year we had been wearing PFD's that were not functional but looked in excellent condition.
To put it mildly... I don't like that sort of surprise!
Which makes the new crop of sea kayaking and kayak fishing PFD's very attractive as you can tell at a glance that they are workable and not going to fail with no rocket science involved. Better yet, a lot of the kayak fishing life jackets are designed with the idea that you need to do things like cast a lure or paddle and that means that you can actually do stuff like grind a winch or other sail related travail.
Right now the Calcutta by MTI is at the top of my list for new PFD's for "So It Goes". I like the pockets, it's got a tab for my strobe/PLB and the built-in sheath for a pair of pliers is a lot more useful than you might think... While not perfect (it could use some reflective patches) it's as close as I have come so far to a PFD I'd wear more often than not.
On the other side of the coin, no matter how good your PFD is, the best means of staying safe aboard is to stay aboard and not find yourself in a spot where you need a PFD. Lifelines, tethers/jacklines, and being careful are your primary safety systems and PFD's are, at best, a last resort best avoided...
