"Darryl" <Darryl.Johnson_at_sympatico.ca> wrote <Snip>>>>>The inflatables take longer to get into "working" condition. Several people have mentioned that it is difficult to control your breathing and to get a good seal on the inflation tube with your lips when you are in freezing water. So even if you can get the float inflated, it's still going to take several seconds longer to get the float ready. I've been in really cold water, once, and if it happens again, I want out of the water RIGHT NOW. I don't want to be wasting time trying to get an inflatable float ready for service. Then there's the danger of the plastic splitting or cracking in the cold. An inflatable with a leak is of no use at all.<<<<< You seem to be missing the fact that an inflatable can be stored in the inflated or semi-inflated condition if one wants to do it that way for any reason. For those without a reliable roll this can allow it to be used to do a float roll so they don't have to bail, reenter and pump out. Of course, if inflated in advance, it now has the bulk disadvantage of a foam float (but also the advantages--except for the chance of somehow puncturing it while doing the rescue). Stored this way one also knows that the inflated chamber is capable of holding air, so testing happens naturally. The rescue float I designed had two separate chambers and each was plenty large enough to work just fine even with sloppy technique. In fact, inflating both chambers didn't increase the volume much at all. Also, the urethane coated nylon used in the better inflatables does not get excessively stiff or crack in cold conditions (as does the vinyl coated material). The valves in vinyl coated material can rip out much easier than in urethane coated nylon material as well. If the valve stems are red where they connect to the fabric it is probably made with the better urethane coated nylon. Even with a single chambered paddle float, unless the leak is a fast one a paddle float rescue would still be possible. Matt Broze www.marinerkayaks.com *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Tue Oct 17 2006 - 23:43:52 PDT
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