Life Jackets, Preservers

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A personal flotation device (also named PFD, lifejacket, life preserver, Mae West, life vest, life saver, cork jacket, life belt) is a device designed to keep a wearer afloat and their head above water, often in swimming pools, rivers, lakes, and oceans. The term includes all types of such devices from life preservers to lifejackets to survival suits. They are available in different sizes and different designs purposed for various levels of protection.

Lifejacket/Life vest

Lifejackets or life vests are the most multiform of personal flotation devices. They are mandatory on airplanes travelling over water and are also found on sea-faring vessels, accessible to all crew and passengers and to be donned in an emergency. Floatation devices are also found in near water-edges and at swimming pools. They may appear in the form of a simple vest, a jacket, a full-body suit, or their variations suited for particular purposes. They are often made of tough synthetic fiber material encapsulating a source of buoyancy, such as foam or a chamber of air, and are often brightly colored as yellow or orange to maximize visibility for rescues.

Types

Foam core

The simplest and least buoyant of the class come in the form of nylon-lined foam vests, often used in training for swimming, or as light safety precautions in relatively safe environments, such as lake cruises and amusement parks. With no need for a leakproofing quality check because of their inherently buoyant foam cores, they can be mass-produced inexpensively and widely used, making it the most commonly seen form of lifejackets..

Air chamber

Traditionally, Life jackets for large commercial transport in potentially dangerous waters, such as coastal cruises and airlines, are often a sealed suit of heavy vinyl with an inflatable air chamber, and usually provides more buoyancy than its foam counterpart.

Today these air chamber vests are commonly referred to as \"Inflatable Life Jackets or Vests\" and are available not only for commercial applications but also for recreational boating, fishing, sailing, as well as kayaking and canoeing. They are available in a variety styles and are generally more comfortable and less bulky than traditional foam vests.

The air chambers, usually located over the breast and back regions of the body, may be inflated by either self-contained carbon dioxide cartridges activated by the pulling of a cord, or blow tubes with a one-way valve for inflation by exhalation. Some of the inflatable life jackets also react with the salt/fresh water, inflating them.

Read more at Wikipedia.org