Infant Life Jackets

[Johmas50]

Does anyone have any suggestions of infant life jackets that they would recommend. There are a bunch on the market, but it's tough to pick one online without seeing it and I would prefer one that someone has had experience with personally.

 

[Zeus2013]

I bought the one from West Marine for infants, my daughter was 6mo. sorry the website does not show the infant one, but I would recommend it. It has the floatation pad at the back of the head also.

 

[GiddYupJoe]

We purchased this one last year for my 14 month old at the time and one for our friends infant (6 months). They worked fine. Just went out on Sunday and my now almost 2 year old can still fit in it. It supports him very well. So somewhat dual purpose.

http://www.amazon.com/Stearns-Infan...1398774073&sr=8-2&keywords=infant+life+jacket

 

[Wake08]

 

[Wake08]

View attachment 4869

We really like the neoprene jackets and so do the kids. It is comfortable and not as bulky so they don't mind wearing them!

 

[Volffas]

The problem with infant life jackets is that the Coast Guard only recognizes jackets made for "under 30lbs". You can buy smaller, better fitting life jackets but they will not be Coast Guard approved.

Last year when our son was only 1 year old, even the smallest jackets were way too big and uncomfortable for him to wear. Now that he is almost 2 he fits a little better, but still not great.

Here is a picture of him from this past weekend. I would suggest any life jacket you purchase for a child has floatation behind the head, and the one that we have also has a loop that you can grab to pull them into the boat on top of that floatation. Also make sure it has a line running under the crotch to keep the life jacket from sliding up over the child's head.

 

[Murf'n'surf]

I've used Mustang Survival PDF's for infants and youths. Never a problem.

 

[billyb]

I take my kids to the store to get a proper fit. It sucks, but worth it.

 

[Zeus2013]

The problem with infant life jackets is that the Coast Guard only recognizes jackets made for "under 30lbs". You can buy smaller, better fitting life jackets but they will not be Coast Guard approved.

Last year when our son was only 1 year old, even the smallest jackets were way too big and uncomfortable for him to wear. Now that he is almost 2 he fits a little better, but still not great.

Here is a picture of him from this past weekend. I would suggest any life jacket you purchase for a child has floatation behind the head, and the one that we have also has a loop that you can grab to pull them into the boat on top of that floatation. Also make sure it has a line running under the crotch to keep the life jacket from sliding up over the child's head.

View attachment 4882

I thought the loop was to hang the kids out of the way when they took naps, or to hang kids to dry? Glad my wife is not on the forum.

 

[Papa]

We bought the body glove infant vest. The most important thing is, float flap that comes up automatically behind their head and keeps them on their back face up. Second that it has a handle on the flap to lift them out of the water with a strap under their crotch to keep them in the vest. Third is visibility. We got yellow with the reflective strip on it. Those are the things we used to pick out the one for our grand daughter.
Papa

 

[jdonalds]

For the kids a bit older than infant class there is another option. Our 4-year-old wears the Puddle Jumper which is coast guard approved and very comfortable for him. It will force him to float on his back in the water. We don't have a hassle with him wearing this one.

Here he is at age 3.

 

[CarFanatic]

walmart actually has a nice one. It's made by sterns. ITs super light and made out of a neoprene like material. I use it on my 7 month old. Believe the material is called hydroprene.

 

[Joshb723]

We bought ours from wal mart. It flips them over if they land upside down in the water. I think most of them do now a days though. It's nothing fancy but it definitely does it's job. My son is 7 months in this photo. It fits him well. At first he cried and didn't like it. After the second outing. He doesn't mind it at all.

 

[CarFanatic]

thats exactly the one I was talking about. I have the same one, in a different color.

 

[mtnv900]

We had this for our daughter and it was recommended to us by another friend. We both loved the jacket.
http://www.outsideonline.com/blog/o...orlds-best-infant-lifejacketsalus-bijoux.html

 

[Johmas50]

Thank you all. That definitely gives us some places to look.