Appendix I
Summary of Product Data
Inflatable Harnesses

Captain Al’s’ Model 1143
This harness appears identical to the Stearns unit, with the exception of having enough Velcro on the bladder to keep it from coming unraveled. In fact, Captain Al uses the same model number as the Stearns and sends it in a Stearns box with Stearns labeling.

Recommendation: This is a better model than the Stearns 1143 due to the additional Velcro. Otherwise the same comments apply.

Mustang Air Force Model MD 3012

This harness was rated high for ease of donning and comfort while worn. It was easy to adjust. It weighed 41 ounces. It rated terrible for comfort under load, mostly due to the rib strap being too low on the back. The bladder had strips of reflective tape on both sides of the chest area as well as the area behind the head. It has toggles for attaching to your foul weather jacket, an attached whistle and a lifting strap. The lifting strap appears to be a good idea, however its execution could cause problems. When the strap is used it looks like it might tear open the bladder, and also the most convenient position for lifting will pull the COB over the rail face first, where the inflation mechanism might get hung up and tear the bladder. The handle loop is also too small for a normal sized man’s hand to fit through. It comes with a well written owner’s manual, which warns you not to wear the automatic inflation unit inflated because it may cause over-pressurization when the CO2 cartridge fires.

Recommendation: This harness appears to be well made and includes some unique safety features. The lifting strap idea could be improved to be more functional.

SOSpenders Model 38MHAR-P-1

This harness was rated high for ease of donning and comfort while not under load. It was easy to adjust. It weighed 38 ounces. It rated as uncomfortable under load. The bladder had reflective tape only near the ears. It had an attached whistle. The rearming instructions are conveniently attached to the inflation mechanism in water-resistant ink. The manual is well written. This model is Coast Guard approved.

Recommendation: This is a well-constructed harness, easy to wear and comfortable.

Stearns Model 1143

This harness was rated high for ease of donning and comfort while worn. It was easy to adjust. It weighed 37 ounces. It rated as uncomfortable under load. The bladder had reflective tape on only the left chest area. It had an attached whistle. The Velcro used to hold the bladders in the closed position wasn’t sufficient to keep the bladder from unrolling after donning the harness only twice.

It has a well-written manual. The rearming instructions are conveniently attached to the inflation mechanism in a water-resistant ink, as well as being in the manual. It has a clear red/green indicator telling you whether the cartridge has been fired or not. This model is Coast Guard approved.

Recommendation: This is a well-constructed harness, with the exception of a shortage of Velcro to keep it closed while being worn. More reflective tape would also improve the product.

This harness was rated high for ease of donning and comfort while worn. It is more difficult to adjust, because the adjustment hasps end up inside the vest. It weighed 42 ounces. It rated as more comfortable under load than most others due to the rib strap running under the armpits and not around the ribs. The vest had reflective tape on both shoulders, and a lifting strap attached at the left shoulder for helping overboard crew back into the boat. It had an attached whistle. The vest has some insulation value, and a couple of handwarming pockets. It also has a couple of clever Velcro pockets for holding the harness portion out of the way when you aren’t using the vest for sailing. This vest was not dynamic load tested. It has a clear red/green indicator telling you whether the cartridge has been fired or not.

Recommendation: This is a well-constructed harness/vest. We were unable to dynamically test this product.

This is an interesting model of harness, in that it also is a jacket as well as having an inflatable bladder with 35 pounds of buoyancy built in (it's a manually triggered bladder). This is an easy harness to don, and has only a single strap around the ribs (no shoulder straps). This harness can't be used as a stand alone item. It is comfortable to wear since it is inside the jacket and out of the way. In our testing of a prototype version, it was rated as uncomfortable to very uncomfortable to wear under load, because the harness was either too low or in the wrong place, particularly for women. It has a clear red/green indicator telling you whether the cartridge has been fired or not. It also includes a whistle. In our testing, a prototype version failed the dynamic load test, while the full production version passed.

Recommendation: This is a well built coat/life vest/harness combination. Combining all these functions into one unit makes good sense, although you may still need an additional harness to wear in warm weather.

This harness was rated high for ease of donning, but some testers thought it was uncomfortable on the back of the neck while worn. The material used on the outside of the bladder was very stiff, which seems to be the cause of the problem. It was not easy to adjust because it used a velcro strip as the adjustment and keeper. While this allows for a large range of adjustment, it means you must reach well around your back to secure the webbing in place, and it is not self-aligning. It weighed 41 ounces. It rated as uncomfortable under load. The bladder had reflective tape only near the ears. There is a red/green indicator telling you whether the CO2 cartridge has been fired. It had an attached whistle. There are no rearming instructions on the harness, nor detailed instructions on how to do this in the manual. The manual is well illustrated but is not nearly as technical as the others. This model is not Coast Guard approved.

Recommendation: This harness is well built, but it is really too stiff to wear for long periods of time.

This harness was rated high for ease of donning and comfort while worn. It was easy to adjust. It weighed 34 ounces. It rated as not very comfortable under load. The bladder had reflective tape only near the ears. It had an attached whistle. The rearming instructions are conveniently attached to the inflation mechanism in water-resistant ink. This model is Coast Guard approved.

Recommendation: This is a well-constructed harness, easy to wear and comfortable. It differs from the SOSpenders slightly in the way the bladder folds, and we were told it is no longer manufactured this way.

Continue to Appendix I Part 2
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