Watersports are enthralling enough to make everyone try them at least once. Whether kids or adults, everyone loves enjoying the water. There is a certain appeal to being in/around water that we all love going there, especially in summers.
A person’s love for water activities is just extreme. Even people having aquaphobia think of enjoying it, but a certain fear surrounds them, which ultimately stops them on their way.
Eventually, they too conquer their fear and start enjoying it. And, it’s not all about swimming. When I say enjoying the water, most people think I am talking about Swimming and water parks.
Guys, swimming is just a part, there are a lot of things you can do, collectively we call it water-sports. It includes boating, Kayaking, SUP, snorkeling, Canoeing, and a lot more.
These activities take fun to the next level. Each one of them can be done according to you. Some people do it in calm water to enjoy while others prefer white water to experience a strong adrenaline rush.
There can be a lot of things you can do in the water, and all of them have their own way, but one thing remains constant in all of them i.e. Danger.
No matter how much of a professional you are, water is equally dangerous. You can be the world’s best swimmer, but you can drown if you are injured during capsize. That’s why a life jacket is recommended.
Life jacket provides you additional buoyancy to keep you afloat in the water. The buoyancy can range between 12-15 lbs, which is more than enough even for an adult.
Life jackets come in different designs and sizes. You can get it for a toddler or an adult, open design, or completely covered(with neoprene) depending on why you need it.
If you are going for Kayaking, then you need a fully mobile, lightweight vest while a covered vest is preferable in white water or cold water in general.
Now, there can be a lot of vests, and I can talk about them all day, but I will save that for later. In this article, my main focus is to give you a few reasons as to why you must always wear a life jacket.
So, without further ado, let’s get started.
1. To comply with the laws
Before you give any excuses for not wearing a life jacket, you must know that as per law, you must have it on-board. Now, since they didn’t specifically mention that you have to wear it, you are safe just by having it nearby.
If you don’t have a USCG approved life jacket then you will get a ticket of hundreds of dollars, so it’s better you get one. Also, it’s not as costly as you might think.
Rules can be different for age groups and locations. I told ya about the U.S. it may be different in the Bahamas, for example. But one rule is the same for most countries, i.e. a kid must wear a life jacket.
So, if you are taking a kid with you, make sure they are wearing a vest, otherwise, be prepared to pay a good amount that might ruin all the fun.
2. Most people are non-swimmers
This was a real shock for me when I first knew that about 4 billion people can’t swim. I was like what! But guys, that’s the truth.
So, the chances that you are a non-swimmer is more than 50%, and so you must wear a life jacket to protect yourself.
Maybe you are a good swimmer, but what about people you are taking along with you? Friends, family, what about them?
Therefore, if you or your people are non swimmer it’s recommended to wear one.
3. You may become unconscious
When people ask me to give a solid reason for wearing a vest, I give them this, and it actually works. Let me tell you what it is.
Let’s say you are Kayaking with one of your friends and both of you are professional swimmers. Suddenly, the winds changed and a wave capsized both of your kayaks.
Thankfully, your friend is alright but way farther(due to wave), but you are unconscious due to heavy impact. What can you do? Nothing!
All your skills are worth nothing now, you will drown in less than a minute if no help arrives. Compare it with if you had a life jacket on. When wearing a life vest, you wouldn’t drown even if you are unconscious.
Since the vest provides additional buoyancy, you will remain afloat and safe. So, wear a kayak life vest.
Now, the quality of the vest will matter a lot.
Remember I said, a huge impact made you unconscious? Well, your vest quality must be good enough to withstand that impact, otherwise, it may not work as expected.
Thankfully, most of the vest today have good quality, but still, check the quality before anything. Also, if you are going in white water, then your vest is different from normal water sports.
4. A good example for others
If you are going with your kids or family, then wearing a vest makes you the prime example. Seeing you all the people around will wear a vest for safety.
Even the unknown will think of wearing one, let alone be your family or kids. If your kid started wearing it, then they will automatically realize that prevention is better than cure.
So, keep wearing and become an example. Don’t remove it even in the worst weather, have it on, keep yourself safe, and be an example.
5. Protection in cold water
Some water-sports include your being physically present in the water, like snorkeling. These are those activities that let you explore the beautiful world underwater.
Since water is cold, your body will lose heat pretty quickly and that can be problematic if done for long. So, a life jacket will act as a barrier that resists the cold water to directly contact the chest.
Doing such will keep the organs working and you will be able to enjoy the adventure for long without having to worry about getting cold and stuff.
6. Protection from physical harm
People usually swim with thin/no clothes to make it easy to turn and float in there. But being physically open is risky as some creature or pointed things inside can pierce and harm you.
Maybe you get in contact with some fish or rock and they pierce your skin, then, it would be too difficult for you to swim normally. If it’s poisonous, you will feel dizzy, but in any case, it will be very painful.
Plus the salts from the seawater will react and you will get a burning sensation. But wearing a life jacket firstly resists you from going down, and second, it acts as a vest, so, most things don’t contact you directly.
7. To protect yourself(and your loved ones)
If all the above things aren’t enough to make you wear a life jacket, then the only thing I can say is, wear it to protect yourself and your loved ones. If you wear it, you will remain safe.
Remember, your mother or spouse or kids are waiting for you to return safely, and if you don’t, how bad they will feel. So, wear it for the welfare of everybody.
Conclusion
In this article, I talked about some of the reasons why you should always wear a life jacket. If you like it, do share it with your friends and family.
