inflatable pfd's...

Why is very little  or no mention of 'yakers wearing the inflatable pfd's that are so popular with the fast bass boat crowd? most all of my fishing is in Idaho or Washington warm shallow bass lakes, usually within 40 yds of the beach in just a few feet of water.

I find them very comfortable to wear, not hot in the summer and with a added crotch strap will not ride up when inflated in the water.

What are the pro's and con's of these pfd's? this time of the year I usually wear a 5mm wetsuit so flotation is not a issue...warf

An inflatable PFD can fail to inflate, or it can get punctured and deflate.  Those things can't happen with a foam PFD.  You see plenty of people on the water in various craft who aren't wearing a PFD, which is an unsafe practice.  I think that inflatable PFDs are someplace between no PFD and a foam PFD on the safety spectrum.  They are way better than nothing, but not as safe as a foam PFD.

When kayak fishing, I wear the same PFD which I wear when whitewater kayaking.  It has 22 pounds of flotation.

Can't say I have ever done it but it seems like if you did inflate the vest, it'd make it a whole lot harder to re-enter.  With all that inflated material on your chest.  Has anyone tried?

I use the kokatat SEAo2. 7 pounds of  flotation uninflated.: 20 plus pounds inflated.

The chance of getting wet enough in a kayak to auto
Inflate the vest is far greater in a kayak than in a power boat

I disarmed the auto inflate on mine. Had it go off once in a powerboat a couple years ago, it is instant inflate, it WILL launch a small tackle box about 10 feet in the air if in your lap when it blows...lol..

When inflated they are huge, I push the deflate valve and let about half or more air out then it's about like a foam vest or a little smaller. With the valve and manual inflate valve you can tune it anywhere you want.

I don't do whitewater or crash around it the salty surf so I feel comfortable with the inflatable....warf 

I always wear my kayak PFD in my kayak, I wear an inflating PFD in my Clackacraft because I have never swamped my drift boat but I know several guys that have.  When I'm rowing I want maximum comfort and movement but still want the safety aspect of a PFD.  I also do not use the inflators with the water dissolving pill, mine you have to manually pull the cord.  One a my buddies had his go off in his sled due to sideways rain it was $50 for a recharge kit!

The reason I avoid the auto inflatable PFD's is that there is a good change I'm getting wet at some point and don't need it popping on it's own when I am not expecting it.

The reason I avoid manual inflatable PFD's is that they are useless if I am bonked unconscious upon leaving the comfort of my kayak seat.

I like them to paddle.  But only on nice days on small lakes.  Remember every time they do get wet and inflate its 25 -30
dollars to get a new rearm kit

I have one and wear it on hot days, otherwise I like my Kokotat Bahia just fine. Mine has no auto inflate option.
As for the question "are they safe" - as a point of reference, the Coast Guard changed over to them some years ago...

There are some inflatables out there that are manually inflated and don't auto-inflate when wet.

I just figured that, manual or auto, there's always a chance that one of us in a kayak - me, most likely - will be in the water more than once on any given day, and the second time in, I'd have no fresh charge ready to inflate it.

here's why you don't see many yakkers using em:
manual - you might be physically incapable of deploying it
auto - you have a high likelihood of getting wet, and the recharge kits are expensive

There are inflatable vests on the market that won't inflate unless a certain pressure is met. These are a lot better that the pill PFD's that can inflate when water touches them. I wear a foam vest most of the time, but recently found that I haven't been wearing one at all. Not only because of the summer temps, but it gets in the way when Bowfishing. When the water is rough I definitely wear my PFD, or when I'm on the main river (Columbia). I would say that use discretion when determining what works for you, there are pros and cons for both style PFD's