PFD’s. Short for personal flotation devices, and also known as life jackets or buoyancy aids. You used to get those big orange foam ones. And now everyone is looking for the sleekest PFD with the best safety rating. But what do all the bells and whistles actually count for? It’s hard to know. You can read every brochure, watch every shiny product video, and still not truly understand how a lifejacket works until it’s inflated around your ears. Which is the situation we want to avoid generally, right?!
So we thought we would test one out!
Disclaimer: We are not reviewing a particular brand. And we are not here to tell you what to buy. The purpose of the video was to demonstrate what happens in real life when a PFD goes from a neat little package on your chest, to fully inflated, loud, bulky, and suddenly in charge of your body position in the water.
Most PFD demos you see online or even at a training course are tidy and controlled: someone on deck is pointing at features in a very well-practiced manner. Or it’s a quick inflate in calm conditions with no real movement. I mean it’s better than nothing AND it skips the part that actually matters.
Once a lifejacket inflates, it changes everything: your posture, your mobility, how you handle splash in your face, and how easy (or not) it is to climb a ladder or help someone else. Because when you’re in the water, tired, cold, and possibly dealing with waves, you don’t rise to the occasion, you fall to the level of what you’ve practiced, what you ‘know’.
The uncomfortable truth: most sailors buy a PFD and never test it
We’ve met plenty of competent, experienced sailors who’ve never inflated their own lifejacket. Ever. It’s not because they don’t care about safety. It’s because it’s easy to assume:
“It’ll be fine.”
“It’ll inflate and I’ll float.”
“It’s just a lifejacket. How complicated can it be?”
And once it inflates, you learn very quickly that:
It changes your posture and movement.
It can push into your neck or face.
It affects how you breathe when waves slap you.
It can make re-boarding harder if you don’t know the trick.
And if you’re trying to help someone else, buoyancy rating actually matters.
A PFD isn’t just designed to float you. It’s a whole system: harness, straps, hood, light, and how it behaves when you’re stressed.
So here it is: a hands-on look at the Crewsaver Ergofit 290 EX, what we like about it, what surprised us, and the bits that matter more than the marketing labels. We looked at seven different things that matter in any scenario where you are in the water and need to deploy your PFD:
InflationThe hood/splash guard
Water-activated light
Buoyancy
Harness and PLB storage
Re-boarding
Crotch straps
1) Inflation: the moment everything changes
The first thing you notice isn’t comfort — it’s bulk. Inflation turns the vest into a big, solid collar. That’s the point. But it also means you want to know:
Does it sit right on your body?
Does it ride up?
Can you still move your arms well?
Can you keep your face clear of splash?
Things you simply cannot know or adjust unless you have inflated your PFD before you use it.
2) The hood/splash guard: not to be underestimated!
Don’t miss the importance of this offshore feature. If you’ve never been in cold water with even a small amount of sea (waves), you don’t realise how tiring constant spray is. Your PFD can do its job holding your head above water, and you will still end up exhausted simply from trying to catch each breathe between splashes.
That’s where the hood/splash protection becomes more than just a “nice extra.” In the video, you see how it creates a protected breathing space and helps you turn your back to the wave and settle.
For offshore, night sailing, or ugly weather, this is one of those features that feels bulky and unnecessary… Until you need it!
3) Water-activated light: small detail, massive consequence
When the light starts flashing, it’s a reminder: visibility is everything.
In the water, you’re low, the horizon is busy, and even in daylight you can be surprisingly hard to spot.
A water-activated light is one of those things that seems minor—until you imagine trying to find a head in chop.
4) Buoyancy: why “290N” is not just a number
This is where the conversation gets real.
A 290N lifejacket isn’t just about you floating comfortably. It can also help you support another person, especially if you’re trying to keep someone up while waiting for recovery or assisting a crew member who’s struggling.
In the demo, Nick talks through how he can maintain flotation for himself and another person, and even shows a simple body position approach. Not every situation is a textbook MOB drill. Sometimes it’s just: keep someone calm, keep them breathing, and keep them up.
5) Harness + PLB storage: planning for the “what if”
Does the PFD have an integrated harness that you can attach a tether to? Do you need it? Does it have a PLB (Personal Locator Beacon) and do you know how to use it? If you sail offshore, these are not gimmicks. They are serious safety upgrades.
(NOTE: If you carry a PLB, learn how it works, register it properly, and make sure your crew knows you have it.)
6) Re-boarding: the little deflation trick that matters
One of the most practical tips in the video is this:
If you need to climb a ladder, get into a life raft, or be recovered, you don’t always want the jacket at maximum inflation. Letting a little air out can improve mobility without affecting flotation.
7) Crotch straps: the feature everyone jokes about… until they understand it
Crotch straps aren’t there to annoy you. They actually serve very valuable purpose. Without them, a lifejacket can ride up ans shift when you’re in the water which can mean discomfort, loss of stability and, in a worst-case scenario, reduced effectiveness.
In the video, Nick turns this into a very memorable moment. Watch it and you’ll see what we mean! It’s funny. And also a perfect reminder that recovery is not graceful. It’s messy, physical, and it helps to know what your kit does to your body.
Offshore vs coastal: you don’t need “max features” for every sail
A really useful point in the video is the trade-off that happens depending on what situation you’ll be in:
Offshore/night sailing: you want the full setup — hood, light, harness, PLB storage, the lot.
Coastal/racing/day sailing: you might prefer something lighter and less bulky, because you’re moving more, looking up more, trimming and working.
There’s no one perfect answer. There’s the right choice for your sailing and your risk profile.
The best advice we can give: inflate your own PFD on purpose
Not in an emergency.
Not “one day.”
Not after a scary moment.
Now. On a calm day. In a controlled environment.
If you’re not sure how, here’s a sensible approach:
Do it in warm conditions, close to shore, with someone watching.
Choose a method appropriate to your unit (manual inflate training can be enough; some people don’t want to trigger auto inflators unnecessarily).
Learn where the pull tab is, what it feels like, how it sits, and how you’d move in it.
Practice one recovery move: ladder approach, holding position, or keeping your airway clear in splash.
The goal isn’t to scare yourself. It’s to remove surprises.
Because the ocean is very good at introducing surprises on its own. Make sure how to use your PFD isn’t one of them!
