Has anyone tried manually inflating this vest? Did it work well?
756228
Yes, absolutely, easy no problem. The only issue would be if the user panicked.
756229
Yes, I have one and tried the manual inflation and it worked very well. However. Have not spent the extra bucks to try the Co2.
1600691
Hm. I had a bike place inflate it last summer and it stayed pretty inflated all winter. I just squeezed the hole where the air goes in and blew into it and it filled up again.
1494768
See the handle hanging (lowest item in the photo) that is attached by a line to a small cylinder of air. You have to pull that handle to set off the air that inflates the vest. It is category III lifevest:" Good for calm, inland waters, or where there is a good chance for fast rescue." I was a little disappointed that the makers of these vests are not required to state that in their advertisements. I bought mine for offshore kayaking, and I really should have purchased a more expensive model. If you are doing any river rafting I would recommend something that does not require manual inflation. If you accidentally bump your head, you may be incapable of igniting this device. Good luck.
1071735
Yes, mine did but it is extremely difficult to fully inflate it with the included hand pump. I recommend a two-stage pump to get it to max pressure.
2232015
Yes, you really should use a pump. It takes a lot of air and certainly possible to blow it up with breath. Once inflated you can adjust pressure as temp changes using breath.
839251
I simply plugged it into the electrical outlet at my camp site and pressed the button. It inflated very quickly and stayed inflated. I then did the same, in reverse, to deflate.
1713597
I tried it but it was a little funky. We bought 2 thinner self inflating mattresses to put on there.
1564359
We haven't had a problem. Pay attention to the guidelines for inflating and you shouldn't have a problem. We've used this in lakes, on the Hudson and other small rivers. We love ours!
666931
It comes with an automatic pump. It also comes with a handy cigarette lighter charger. On our last trip we forgot to charge the pump, but we were able to plug it into the charger and inflate the bed while plugged in. Inflation only takes a couple of minutes
401968
Yes, the pump worked great. I was not happy with the actual product though. It was heavy and 'weighed down' the balloons. (And yes, I did scrunch the balloon before inflating)
1585407
yes. You can remove the automatic inflation system and use it as a manual jacket. It's also quite comfortable. I wore it today in 90 degree temperatures.
1525125
It does have a very small amount of buoyancy even when empty but was able to dive 20ft repeatedly at underwater museum in cancun. It also did work well to partially inflate and view from surface on shallow reefs. We have tried a couple different brands of vest and these are hands down the best.
1404609
No, it does not auto inflate or deflate. It's a small valve, but they don't take much air to inflate.
62968
I think it'd be a pain to deflate and inflate every day but inflating it was no trouble really even though it did take a little time to get it to the size I wanted. I have yet to deflate it so I don't know how long that would take.
508185
Just unroll it , open the valve and it will inflate, then close the valve. It only inflates an inch or 2.
2274236
I tried mine--apparently the same model--3 times in a row. It seems to deflate at a rate half-way between yours. My bp came down from 163/85 to 151/80 over the three tries, which is normal behavior with resting compared with activity. Not a good answer, maybe.
911031
Not really. I also inflate it with a few puffs and then adjust it to my desired level.