RE: [Paddlewise] Safety gear on PFD's - will it work when needed.

Rob wrote: -
>with 3 small aireal flares individually heat sealed
SNIP
>The strobe and krill lights are diver quality

G'Day Rob, Jolie and Paddlewise,
						Well I'm learning the hard way! Buying stuff and finding its weakness!
Rob's point about carrying backups in the day hatch seems right on and using
a divers strobe and lights sounds exactly what I need. Hope I can find them
in Oz. By the way what is a krill light?

I'm sceptical of carrying flares for long periods on a life jacket even if
they are 'hermetically' sealed. I've carried 'hermetically' sealed flares in
a deck bag and found the seals broke down after a few months and the bag had
condensate in it along with rust on the metal parts of the flare. Hermetic
sealing is very hard to do - its one of the reasons beer still comes in
glass bottles and heart pacemakers are encapsulated in welded titanium. Rob
did you make up special bags for the flares? Also the VHF radio can be
tested but how do you know if an EPIRB is OK - the self test facility
doesn't necessarily tell you?

Maybe there is a difference between cold and warm water kayaking as far as
safety gear maintenance is concerned. Is getting soaked by surf or rolling
on a regular basis (every trip) exceptional in cold climates, for safety and
comfort reasons? I've no real conception of what its like to kayak in cold
water though its clear from the Paddlewise posts that great care must be
taken compared with conditions in New South Wales and I doubt very much I'ld
tolerate regular soaking in the sort of cold water described in Paddlewise.
IE maybe the water exposure my PFD is getting is excessive for carrying gear
compared with normal practice in colder conditions.

All the best, PeterO


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