Each day, enhancements are being made to belt pack inflatables and their rearming mechanisms—enhancements that can have an effect on the U.S. Coast Guard type rating of the jacket. Almost all of the models we tested are Type V PFDs and as such, they must be worn at all times to meet Coast Guard carriage requirements. Only the SeaPro 25 we tested was rated a Type III. So what’s the difference? Mainly is has to do with the unit’s rearming mechanism.

Type III vs. Type V Belt Packs
Currently, most belt packs are rated as “special use” or Type V PFDs. On Type V belt packs, the responsibility of showing whether or not the life jacket is armed with CO2 is placed on the person rearming it, who must manually insert the cylinder and replace the green “ready” pin.

Most Type III belt packs, however, make it easier for boaters to know their unit is armed and ready (i.e. the jacket is more “idiot proof”). For instance, on the Type III Seapro 25 we tested, when a cylinder is screwed into the rearming mechanism, a small window will automatically turn green to show readiness. The same window will be red when the cartridge is spent or there is no cartridge in place. A similar idea is employed in a new Halkey Roberts rearming mechanism, but as of December 2003 no units with this mechanism were available in stores yet.

Another feature that is being incorporated into new inflatables is a see-through window that shows the rearming mechanism. The combination of these two features enables a user to simply pick up the inflatable and put it on, knowing it is ready for use.

The industry is embracing this and other safer technologies, so it’s likely that many of the models we tested will soon evolve to meet Type III standards.