Women's Inflatable PFD/Harness

[blt2ski]

John,

I ca answer this per eldest daughter!

We had a WM 4000 series, still do, fits youngest ok, older one it does not fit her in the upper body real well, specifically the neck when it inflated once on her! She has worn spouses MD3084 and liked how it fit. looser in the neck, and seem to fit upper body a bit better. I got her a 3184 for xmas, she has as of yet, to wear on board, probably the 27th at a race we have. I am not expecting the fit to be much different than the 3084. As they appear to be the same other than the auto inflate mechanism. In another thread, SD mentioned the 4000 was not for folks under about 5'6=8" or there abouts, daughter is 5'7", so that in and of itself may have been the issue. Along with her being a bit on the shorter end of things with hip to shoulder length, and rather large up top!

Hopefully this is what you are looking for as far as comments, I should have probably pointed this out earlier! With all of us, no matter male or female, if it does not fit, feel comfortable, we will not wear it! That in itself is not a good thing!

marty

[JohnRPollard]

Marty, thanks, that additional info is very helpful.

P.S. It looks like SailNet has a sale going on right now, which has prompted us to consider making the purchase now rather than waiting until spring. Or maybe those are their standard discount prices?- John

[sailingdog]

John-

Check the prices, but go with a larger, well known reputable vendor, since some of the bottom line vendors will have really ridiculous ship times... Defender, WM, Hamilton Marine, Sailnet, are probably safe choices.

Be aware that some of the harnesses aren't meant for shorter people, as I pointed out to blt2ski in a thread of his. The WM4000 series and the OEM model by the same manufacturer is designed for someone at least 5' 8" in height IIRC. I only found this out because a friend of mine told me about the limitation, since I'm only 5' 4" or so.

IIRC, the harness should fasten about an inch or two above the sternum, so that it is around the solid ribs, and not the floating ribs. If it is around the floating ribs, and the person falls across the boat and is caught by their tether, the bottom part of the harness can break the floating ribs, which is a problem you don't want to deal with at sea.

YMMV. Most of the vests can be retro fit with a crotch strap, but thigh straps are far more comfortable IMHO, especially for the guys.

[Melrna]

I wear the Mustang with the D harness. It fits me for the most part but certain things get in the way and moves the harness to one side or another. Doable but looks kind of weird when it shifts. I also have WM one that is just OK and it doesn't shift. I have been interested in the spinlock one but have yet to try it. One thing I have found out is if one needs to add straps on a harness the harness waist strap is set to loose or they have the wrong size harness to begin with and need to move to a small harness. This is especially true for very petite woman. I am personally not a fan of leg straps because of the safety issues. If one has to get out of the PFD for any reason quickly, for example accidental inflation at the wrong place and at the wrong time, it will hard to get out of the PFD with add-on leg straps. If one has to had a strap anywhere to hold down the PFD, it should be built back to front with a quick release in the front. This is the CG approved method.
Melissa

[sailingdog]

The thigh straps on the spinlocks have a release clip a bit forward along the outside of your leg,

[kd3pc]

my wife tried the SOS and stearns, then we bought the mustang...Very comfortable, shifts a bit but no where near the others. Back strap stays where it should and can be cinched. She has the integral harness. Downside - they all "slip" to one side or the other of the chests and in really foul weather, she just tightens it down one side or the other. Not high or rough enough to chafe that way.

SHe still says it was designed for a man's world, by a man...jsut like car seatbelts, etc....

dave