life jacket on outside of clothing
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Should you wear a life jacket under a coat or clothing?

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Every spring as the lakes melt and people head out onto lakes, there are accidents involving cold water paddling. Many of the fatalities involve paddlers not wearing life jackets or using immersion gear, such as wetsuits or drysuits. Each spring there also seems to be discussion about whether or not you should wear a life jacket under a coat or under clothing. Because removing a life jacket is more difficult than putting a coat over the jacket, some paddlers wear their coats over their life jackets. That’s not the correct way to use a life jacket.

To get a direct answer to the question, I reached out to the United States Coast Guard. According to the USCG, “Life jackets are designed to be worn as the outermost garment and because of safety concerns and possible performance issues should not be worn under any other clothing.” When worn under clothing, those items of clothing could alter “performance variables, as well as negating any detectability feature, such as color or reflectiveness, and hinder access to items attached to the life jacket such as whistles, lights, or PLBs.” While a garment worn over the life jacket won’t affect the buoyancy, the other performance issues are the biggest concern.

canoeist portaging in snow with a life jacket on

Another related safety concern arises for inflatable life jackets. Inflatable life jackets “should never be worn under clothing or any other item that could impede the outward movement of the life jacket during inflation due to the risk of bodily injury. Your ribs will give before the stitching in your jacket.”

When you hit the water this spring prepare by dressing for immersion and wearing a life jacket. Make sure you wear your life jacket as the outermost layer, and avoid putting clothing or your coat over your life jacket.

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Bryan Hansel is a freelance writer, award-winning photographer and a former American Canoe Association L4 Open Water Coastal Kayaking Instructor. His home port is on Lake Superior in Grand Marais, Minnesota. He also teaches photography workshops.

2 Comments

  • Douglas A Stephens

    Well, despite what the USCG says, there can be benefits to wearing a jacket over the PFD with the primary ones being flexibility and warmth. It’s common on some trips I do, eg: Arctic rivers, to don a shell jacket in the morning, then one’s PFD. When the wind picks up and the rain descends, put a rain jacket on over the PFD for weather protection and warmth. Rain stops, rain jacket comes off. I judge the flexibility and warmth to be more important the detectability or ease of reaching items on my PFD.

    Rather than a fixed “do this, don’t do this” rule, I suggest analyzing the pros and cons vs. one’s own paddling situation and making an educated choice.

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