Off Topic Float Suit

No matter what you wear having a pair of ice picks is an excellent way to increase your survival chances.
I make them out of chunks of broom handles with a stainless steel screws screwed into it with the head cut off. Some people use corks to cover the point some use wax or styrofoam so you aren't stabbing yourself or poking holes in your coat. So long as it breaks away when you drive into the ice. Stringing them together is a good idea too, less chances of losing them.
 
Porkpie said:
If you can swing it, get yourself a striker suit. I wear the cheapest one and have had it for 4 years now. Nothing compares. Before that I wore an old buoy o buoy for 20 something years that could stand up on its own from the caked on roe juice and fish slime. Night and day difference with the 2 piece striker, and one of the best investments I’ve made for spring fall and winter fishing.
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LOL..mine was so nasty I took a pressure washer and hull cleaner to mine..it actually worked!!!

Ive worn a Buoy o Buoy full suit for years..mine is probably almost 28 years old...so yeah a great one time expense. I have 2 floater jackets with the fold down beavertail which are great but because they arnt full orange I cant count them as life jackets..go figure..they were Canadian Coast Guard jackets. I got the full suit for ice fishing and early ice out spring salmon/trout trolling up in Owen Sound. Really warm, not real easy to move around in it, and if it gets really cold it gets kinda stiff. I kept it in the boat year round and there have been a few times on Erie when I put it on coming back to port in scary stuff.
Whatever you get, in the summer put it on and jump in the water--a pool or at the lake...but make sure you have someone with you cause you cant believe how heavy and awkward they get when wet. Good luck getting into a boat without a ladder. You'll float but dont think you're gonna swim back to port cause all you will do is bob like a big orange marker buoy. If there are others on your boat they can however use you as a life raft or tow you like a wake banana...
...heres a pic of me suited up and friends last summer..
wake banana.jpg
 
Porkpie said:
If you can swing it, get yourself a striker suit. I wear the cheapest one and have had it for 4 years now. Nothing compares. Before that I wore an old buoy o buoy for 20 something years that could stand up on its own from the caked on roe juice and fish slime. Night and day difference with the 2 piece striker, and one of the best investments I’ve made for spring fall and winter fishing.
Click to expand...
My son and I use 1 piece mustang floater suits. Never had an issue with them we use them on the Detroit river the Niagara river and any time we are out on hard water fishing. Two years ago my son went through the ice on Lake Simcoe, he and his buddy were a couple miles from Shore and it was -23 degree C outside. Without that survival suit I am not sure the outcome would have been as favourable. I did take the time to write a letter to Mustang in Vancouver thanking them for making an excellent product that without a doubt saved my son's life. By the way wind had opened up a large section of Lake Simcoe unbeknownst to any other fishermen and the OPP.
 
Years ago I helped a guy out who fell through the ice , sure he was able to float but the suit was so bulky he had no chance of getting out of the water , I’m not against them but they do have drawbacks , watched my dad fall threw 4/5 years back , and he was back up on the ice before I could close the 10 foot gap between us , he always has ice picks , he fishes alone a lot , first of his friends to retire , even with his picks I do t know if he’d be able to get himself out with one on ... just something to consider
 
A one piece MUSTANG SUIT is all you need, safe, warm, floats. simple.
or could mess with a 2 piece,
but as an old life guard , common sense would say a one piece is way better for "cold water" in freezing weather. hence the more body heat you would have, and less water penetration.
a 2 piece would allow more "cold water into your core body heat places.
One piece is cumbersome
2 piece is easy to move around in.
both save life's.
i personally have the one piece for the body heat retention aspect.
 
Dumb idea, say so if it is that’s how ya learn. One pc jacket so I don’t sink to the bottom of lake. I never ice fish alone. My able son is usually close by. If I go thru ice I have floatation . Simple to take off for comfort. As well I do have spikes to help get out. This approach may open me up to hypothermia but in theory warm car or hut is not far aware. We are not talking long ice treks, those days are past.
 
i wish you well in search of flotation wear.
Perhaps in the summer you could borrow a one piece and jump in pool, then after you get out put on the jacket and jump back in. and compare actual flotation.
No one knows the exact situation of when and how things will unfold in an break through of ice.
 

Mustang Survival Integrity Deluxe Survival Suit - MS192​



After considering all the options and advice I have decided on this one. The single biggest consideration is surviving immersion. A one pc seems to provide the best option for floatation and keeping the water out which reduces potential for hypothermia. Pretty good price, all things considered. And local distributor, well only an hour from home. Thanks all once again. I love this forum.

Rick
 
Richardscott999 said:

Mustang Survival Integrity Deluxe Survival Suit - MS192​



After considering all the options and advice I have decided on this one. The single biggest consideration is surviving immersion. A one pc seems to provide the best option for floatation and keeping the water out which reduces potential for hypothermia. Pretty good price, all things considered. And local distributor, well only an hour from home. Thanks all once again. I love this forum.

Rick
Click to expand...
Great choice!
 
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