Ralph wrote about the virtues of solid foam paddle floats - always instantly ready, and they don't puncture or delaminate. He wondered why anyone but a folding boater would use an inflatable paddle float. IMHO, inflatable floats have one major virtue - their huge volume/displacement (assuming they haven't leaked) provides incredible stability. There's now another option, reviewed a few months ago in Sea Kayaker, The Back-UP self-inflating rescue aid. (I will digress to declare that my employer sells these units. I have no desire to share the dreadful fate of a certain "booster" of another inflatable rescue aid, who maintains his units are all things to all people. So I note that: a) the Back-UP is not all things to all people b) I get no direct benefit from their sale c) I am not a spokesperson for my company or for the manufacturer d) many other paddling retailers carry them as well. Please, oh please, do not stone me to death in a murderous and malodorous hail of Canadian Ballast Rocks™ and righteously packed-out, used, unburnt toilet paper. Now back to your regular programming.) The Back-UP is basically a single chamber inflatable pillow, with a CO2 cartridge inflator similar to those on diving Buoyancy Compensators. It lives in a plastic housing on your deck, and in the event you fail to roll, you yank the handle and pop the unit out. The inflating bag actually pulls you to the surface, where you hip flick up, having avoided a wet exit. It has straps to allow it to be used as a regular paddle float as well. The pros as I see 'em: Possibility of avoiding a wet exit Less likely to delaminate from sunlight or abrasion, since it lives in a housing until needed. High volume if it must be used as paddle float. The cons as I see 'em: Expensive - about $195.00 Canadian, which is nearly $75.00 American I believe. C02 cartridge is about $10.00 a pop (literally). Inflator mechanism must be maintained (In my diving experience, the vast majority of inflator mechanisms were allowed to deteriorate to the point of uselessness. However, the Back-UP will not be subject to full immersion as much, and it is partially protected by its housing, so I suspect it will be more reliable.) (Note to John Winters: you'll be happy to hear the manual for the Back-UP stresses the importance of judgement, and not using possession of the unit as an excuse to venture into places beyond your ability. He recommends the roll as the first line of defence if you do capsize, but stresses it's better to avoid the whole situation in the first place.) Philip Torrens "The opinions expressed in this posting are not necessarily those of my employer, or indeed, of any sentient being." **************************************** Mountain Equipment Co-op 1655 West 3rd Avenue, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6J 1K1 Tel: 640-732-1989 Fax: 604-731-6483 email: pid_at_mec.ca Visit our website at: http://www.mec.ca ***************************************** *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************Received on Tue May 05 1998 - 11:26:19 PDT
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