Mustang Survival Vest

[Ray Vanacore]

Has anyone used this Inflatable life vest , and if so what are the pros and cons. They are on sale at Bass Pro Shop and am thinking about purchasing one.Thank in advance for any information.
Ray Vanacore

[PF3352]

I hope everyone says they are great. I bought one from BPS about 5 minutes prior to your post. I hear it is great.

[TheFLY]

Hey guys, that is a great vest and a great price at $120. Buy it. I had SOSpenders and ended up selling them on EBAY as they were heavier and harder to take on and off quickly.

I bought my Mustangs at Marine.com for $150 ... I may buy another at this price. You won't be sorry.

[Blue_R70]

I'm in the market for one too. Does anyone know how much better the $250 Deluxe model is versus the less expensive $150 Tournament model? Both list 35 pounds buoyancy...

[PF3352]

I bought the tournament vest due to the $50.00 off and I have heard all good things about it. It is a type II. It was $149.00 and no tax. There was shipping charges added which I just played off as the tax.

[TomAtkeson]

Ray,
Ive said it once on here and Ill say it again for you Mustang Survival is the PFD company of choice for us in the USCG. Everything from our Pyro vests (inflateablles that have the same trigger as SOS and others as well as our type III, our survival suits (cover all PFD and dry suits) Nuff said!

[Pil9rotten]

Tom,

Nice to see another Coastie on the Forum. We use Mustang products almost exclusively and have experimented with other brands and styles but keep going back to the Mustang inflatables. We torture our gear so if it can survive a CG expeditonary warfare unit it will survive anything.

Kenji Snow
PSU 312

[Blue_R70]

Since the gummint actually purchases the vests for you coasties, which model does Uncle Sugar spring for?

If you were spending dough out of your own pocket for a recreational level vest (ie, fish'n out of a bassboat), would you shell out the additional bucks for the Deluxe model? Or would you say the Tournament model is more than adequate for our intended use?

[Fish Chris]

Have any of you guys ever had one of these devices deploy ? Either, "because of an accident (falling in the water) when it should have" ? .....or, by accident, when it should not have (getting wet from a splash, or rain) ? If so, did you get a re-arming kit for it ? ...and still using it ?

I have the So-Spenders, and I really like them. But they are getting pretty old, and dirty. I have been considering the Mustang brand though, for a replacement.

Thanks,
Fish

[TomAtkeson]

Here gos.
The USCG uses a few of the models unit to unit its diffrent and I can not find the exact model that my station uses on the mustang website however if I was to shell out the cash for a brand new one for personal use I would go with one of thier new ones that has a Hydrostatic inflator...that means "Hydrostatic pressure is applied to objects submerged in water. The hydrostatic inflator needs only to be submerged 4 inches (8 cm) for the hydrostatic pressure to open a pressure valve releasing a firing mechanism, automatically inflating the PFD."
Low Maintenance
No inflator maintenance required for five years, unless inflated.

Reliable Inflation
Inflates under hydrostatic pressure, so the PFD will not inflate prematurely due to rain, humidity or simple contact with water. The PFD can also be inflated manually by pulling the activation cord.

Safety Inspection Window
Easily view the inflator replacement date and inflator status through the safety inspection window - green indicates ready for use.
-mustangsurvival.com

The exact model I'd get is probably Auto Hydrostatic Inflatable PFD - USA :: MD3183 heres the site for it http://www.mustangsurvival.com/products ... php?id=506

[TomAtkeson]

oh and yes we had a guy drop one of the pill type auto inflators in some water try to shake it off and it inflated while he was shaking it off.