Buying the right PFD Type 2 buoyancy vest

For the skipper and the crew, there are the familiar PFD Type 1 lifejackets, most likely inflatable, that support the head if you happen to end up in the water.

But there will be another type of personal flotation device, marked as a PFD Type 2, also known as a buoyancy vest.

These lifejackets are more like snug-fitting vests, providing buoyancy to your upper body but, unlike the PFD Type 1 lifejackets, offering no support to your head. They’re rated to a Level 50 flotation standard, which is half that of a lifejacket rated for offshore use, and have flotation at the front and back only that will keep your upper body up out of the water.

You can’t wear these lifejackets when you head offshore. Instead, they are meant to be used for enclosed and protected waters where waves and swell don’t get too big, or the water is completely smooth.

Rather than inflate, PFD Type 2 jackets have flotation cells built into them just like a conventional lifejacket so that they float all the time.

PFD 2 buoyancy vests are good if you need lots of movement, as they tend to leave the arms and neck free.

This is good if you’re skiing behind a tow boat, swinging a paddle from side to side or ducking under a boom in a small dinghy, as there’s nothing protruding on the jacket that can catch on anything and be difficult to untangle.

Type 2 buoyancy vests can either zip up at the front, or at the side. A jacket that zips up at the front is fine for skiing, wakeboarding or hanging onto a sea biscuit.

However, jet ski riders kayakers and sailors will benefit from a lifejacket that zips up at the side if its front is fitted with a pocket where you can store a few snacks or sunscreen in easy reach.

Buoyancy vests are rated as a “50” if they meet the Australian standard, which includes high-visibility colours to help spot someone in the water – great if you’re heading out alone.

However, there is also a secondary rating, “50S”, which is used for buoyancy vests that do not meet the Australian standard because they might be a different colour to what the standard calls for.