Two Types of Kayaking PFDs

What's a PFD, you ask? In the world of paddle sports there are two definitions for the acronym.

The first applies to all water sports: Personal Flotation Device. A personal flotation device is a must for anyone interested in paddling. Whether you're on a lake, pond or river, no one should ever paddle without a PFD.

Here's an example of a before and after of my PFD. Now, remember what I've said before. I'm a beginner paddler and a novice at best. So there are certainly better ways to equip a PFD for river running. But here's what mine looks like.

My river-running PFD before equipping it with some basic safety gear.

I picked up a basic PFD from my local outfitter. It's an NRS brand guide-type vest with all sorts of pockets for various safety equipment.

Here's what it looks like after some of my initial outfitting.

Some basic safety equipment to include in your PFD if you're interested in river running. Keep in mind many of these items are hidden in pockets and not normally visible.

I incorporated some of the basics when I equipped my PFD for river running. Some of my must-haves on the river include: a water-tight medical kit complete with bandages and gauze, pain relievers, coagulates and more; a river knife; nose plugs; several feet of webbing; multiple carabiners, including one that can be used as a clip spot for a rescue; and an emergency whistle for alerting other paddlers to a swimmer or in case I need to help rescuers find me.

You can find all these things and more at your local outfitter. What's nice about this PFD from NRS is that the pockets, of which there are many, are big, and the med kit along with the webbing and carabiners all fit nicely inside and are within arm's reach at any moment.

One piece of gear I'd like to add yet is some type of waterproof radio. On a recent trip down some heady Class III our group of eight paddlers had a swimmer who got stuck on a strainer in the middle of the current. The group got split with some in eddies along the river's edge several hundred feet downstream of the trapped swimmer, and the rest were either near the strainer plotting a rescue or in their vicinity. Two of us were downstream wondering where the group's weakest paddler was. Had he managed to catch an eddy while we planned the rescue, or was he bombing down stream, alone on a river he'd never run before.

Had we had a few radios in the group, we would have quickly known he was indeed safely parked in an eddy upstream waiting for the rescue.

What's the other definition for PFD? Find that out next time.