Stohlquist Child PFD Life Jacket, USCG Approved

I purchased these for my 3 and 4 year olds to kayak, boat, and fish in. All of these activities require lots of moving around and getting in and out of boats and the water, and doing all of that the kids seem to find them extremely comfortable. For the most part, they can move around normally and have a full range of motion. They rarely ask to take them off. The buckles also have lots of room for adjustment, so they should last through a good amount of growing. My 4 year old is 36 lbs and the fit is about perfect. My 3 year old is a little smaller and even with the buckles adjusted the front of the life jacket rides up to his chin sometimes when he is in the water, but again, he doesn’t seem to mind. We adults really love that there are nice and big handles on the back of the life jacket, so we can quickly lift them out of the water into the boat in an emergency. The colors are very bright and coordinate well—these life jackets are cute! Only drawback is that the white decals on the front shoulder area are not very durable and have started running off after just a couple of wears, and it gets white flecks of paint all over the kids and their hair/clothes. Easy to clean off, though. Overall I’d definitely buy them again.

This is my second life jacket for my son.
We had stohlquist infant life jacket first and I like it so much I purchased the next size up. He just turned 2 this spring and is just over 30lbs and it has a great fit with room to grow. I like the yellow color because it stands out and the strap is really convenient. My son loves to wear it. I think it is comfortable and he is used to wearing it for long periods of time when we are out on the boat. My first one held up well so I hope this one hold up well this Summer.

The product delivers on it’s promises.
My son (3 year old) was comfortable and had plenty of mobility.

I like that this jacket went up to an appropriate weight for a two and a half year old who’s a big kid. I like that it has the head flotation to assist with keeping face up. It is very easy to get on, the zipper is extremely helpful, and the chest straps took a little bit to get them tight enough the first time I was put on, but after that as long as you have the strength in your hands and arms you can leave it set at the right spot and simply unbuckle and unzip the jacket and it’s still ready to go for the next use. The fit was tight enough that I was able to get the jacket appropriately fitted (if a child is standing flat on their feet in front of you if you stand in front or behind them you should be able to pull the shoulder of the life jacket up and lift them off the floor without the jacket slipping up ro their neck/face). This was possible even without the use of the crotch strap. Only reason this only got four stars for comfort and value as I wish there were two separate crotch straps for little girls it’s not such a big deal but for a little boys it can become a comfort issue trying to pick which side of their “parts” to put the strap as you don’t want to put it directly over everything because that would potentially cause rubbing and agitation.
The subject it was used in a swimming pool it was also used on a fishing vessel and while swimming in a small calm area of the river. It performed well in all of those areas and it was easy enough to rinse off with cool water.
On all the jackets great I wish the pricing was a little bit lower especially since we’ll only be able to use it for one summer. Also although this is you s c g approved class 2 this jacket is not designed to automatically flip and unconscious person or child into face-up position the child has to be conscious and relaxed enough to be able to be in a floating position, some children you can work with and condition to be able to do that, again if you have a special needs child that may not be possible. This is not a negative, that’s a fact of most life jackets but it’s definitely something to keep in mind if you have a special needs child or even if your child is just not very comfortable in the water- if for some reason they fall off the watercraft and panic this isn’t going to be the jacket for you.

Introducing my son to the water, I was worried. Compared tons of different vests. I am not disappointed with it. Helps him float on his back, keeps him safe.