Blog RSS

Maintenance and care of your buoyancy aid is of the utmost importance. Doing so will extend the life of the buoyancy aid and ensure it performs as it was designed.   If used in salt water, rinse the buoyancy aid with fresh water after each use. Rinse off any mud, sand, dirt, stains and sun cream. Dirt on buoyancy aid can develop into mould which can damage the fabric and foam, risking reliability and performance. A more thorough clean can be beneficial using washing detergent and a brush. But never use use chlorine based bleach or your washing machine. Check...

Maintenance and care of your lifejacket is of the utmost importance. Doing so will extend the life of the jacket and ensure it performs as it was designed. If used in salt water, rinse the lifejacket with fresh water after each use. Rinse off any mud, sand, dirt, stains and sun cream. Dirt on lifejackets can develop into mould which can damage the fabric and the jacket's components risking reliability and performance. A more thorough clean can be beneficial using washing detergent and a brush. But never use use chlorine based bleach or your washing machine. Check the lifejacket for...

Foam lifejackets A foam lifejacket, such as our 100N lifejacket, is made of buoyant foam which keeps the wearer afloat in the water. The foam is specifically placed to turn the wearer on their back if in the water face down, and the jacket contains foam around the neck in a supportive collar to keep the head above water. You can read more about our 100N lifejackets here Gas lifejackets Gas lifejackets consist of an outer cover with a florescent inflatable lung inside which fills with air from a small gas canister when the user falls into the water to...

Bouyancy aids will often have 50N on them and lifejackets 100N, 150N or 275N. But what does this mean? The 'N' The 'N' on each stands for 'Newtons'. A newton is how much force is required to make a mass of one kilogram accelerate at a rate of one metre per second squared. 1N is the force of Earth's gravity on an apple with a mass of about 102g. On the Earth's surface, a mass of 1kg pushes on its support with an average force of 9.8 N. In lifejacket terms the 'N' indicates how much buoyancy is offered. As...

The purpose of a buoyancy aid is to simply aid the wearers buoyancy in the water, unlike lifejackets which are life-saving devices. Lifejackets offer a higher standard of performance, turning the wearer on their back and fully supporting them with their face out of the water. Using a buoyancy aid assumes the user is able to help themselves either by swimming to safety or to tread water while assistance arrives. Buoyancy aid use They are most suited to dinghy sailing, windsurfing, kayaking, jet skiing, and other activities where there is a high chance you end up in the water. The...