I'm a sailor (yachts, not dinghys), not a kayaker. > Do you trust them as an adult? Yes. The alternative (ignoring the solid foam type of life jacket that you

I'm a sailor (yachts, not dinghys), not a kayaker. > Do you trust them as an adult? Yes. The alternative (ignoring the solid foam type of life jacket that you see kids wear) is a manually inflating one. They use the same CO2 cylinder with a bladder, but you have to pull a cord to inflate them. You can buy the exact same model of life jacket as auto or manual inflating. The auto inflating ones also have a cord you can pull if you need to. There is some debate in the sailing community as to whether the auto or manual jackets are a better idea but most people go auto-inflating. With the manual ones you can manoeuvre better in the water if you don't inflate the jacket so you have a chance to swim to safety, perhaps climbing back on your boat, but if you get knocked unconscious or you're in shock (or the boats still sailing) then that's going to be harder/impossible to do. Personally me and my immediate family have auto inflating ones, this model specifically: https://crewsaver.com/uk/products/16708/ErgoFit190N https://crewsaver.com/uk/products/16708/ErgoFit190N. We have some more basic models for guests. I figure I'm unlikely to be sailing single handed and the best chance of survival offshore is getting picked up by the crew of the boat you were just in. Plus, I'm in NW UK, cold water shock is a real thing. Staying afloat in the middle of the sea is going to be the main thing you're going to want to be concentrating on. > Or in some other context? What about kayaking makes you distrust them? I wouldn't wear an auto-inflating jacket anywhere that I'm likely to get dunked in the water as a matter of course. You'll just inflate the jacket when you don't want to, it will be completely in the way and you will have to deflate it and it's then mostly useless until it's repacked with a new gas cylinder. Plus, you're unlikely to be in the big seas that would make an auto-inflater safer. That said, it can get wet enough on a sailing yacht that jackets can get wet enough to be inflated, but that's very uncommon. Pretty funny though :) > Should I, a non-kayaker, trust them? It depends what you're doing. Sailing, going out on a pleasure boat, day trips, weeks at sea, then sure. Stick one on each of your family and guests, show them the pull cord and tell them not to pull it unless they need to, and you can pretty much rest assured that if they fall in they're going to float until you can get to them. You can also get beacons you can add to them, I've added them to mine. *edit* Here's someone testing the lifejacket I have https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09y_AM36v0M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09y_AM36v0M