I used a manually inflatable divers vest, for several years for snorkeling and scuba diving, and really liked it. Sadly, this safety vest met its demise, when it was necessary to remove the screw in CO2 cartridge to get thru airport security. Unfortunately, the mechanism was frozen (my bad) - I had not cleaned after diving in salt water (rip / RIP).
The reason that I would buy this type of vest again, is that it allows me to shallow water detect in waters deeper than waist deep with complete freedom of movement until the safety vest is inflated. So I can still use a mask/snorkel and hand fan to recover more difficult targets, while wearing a safety vest.
If I accidently get in too deep and cannot push back to shore, all I have to do is pull the lanyard on the vest and the vest will be rapidly inflated with CO2. Unlike a belt flotation device, the safety vest is designed to keep my head above water, even if I am unconscious.
When exploring underground rivers, I always remove the CO2 cartridge, from the safety vest and make it more difficult to release diving weights, as you often need to descend to exit.
As you are detecting small ponds a brightly colored vest may be advantageous especially if there is danger of getting run over by a boat/jet skie.
As I frequently swam where sharks/barracuda roam, I prefer a dull grey to black safety vest, without flashy buckles and stay away from colors that sharks seem to prefer such as the color of red, oh boy orange, and yum yum yellow.
I was wondering if anyone has used the inflatable life jacket. The reason I am asking is that I was out detecting in a small pond and stepped off into the deep end and that is all that I remember until I was in the ambulanced and they was telling me to open my eyes and to stay with them. My wife has asked me to get a life jacket so we are going to look for one at Bass Pro this weekend. So I was just wondering how they was can they be used over is it gets inflated or is it a one time thing. Thanks Matt
