I’m just jumping into the packrafting game after 2 years of daydreaming about them. About to pull the trigger on a decked Yak +Manta Ray paddle. Now I’m looking into PFD’s and struggling to make a decision.
I don’t have any experience paddling whatsoever, and plan to learn on a mellow 6 day paddle trip with friends on the San Juan River in UT. Apparently the rangers at the put-in require you to have a PFD rated Class III or V, which I don’t think inflatable PFD’s are. Can anyone confirm this?
I’ve seen some threads that are over a year old discussing lightweight foam options, but nothing recent. Can anyone recommend any foam PFD’s that are compatible with a spray skirt that offer at least 21 lbs of flotation?? I know of the Extrasport B27, but at over 2lbs, I’m a wee bit hesitant. Killer flotation though!