Stohlquist Men's Trekker Life Jacket/Personal Floatation Device

I have the Large/XLarge in Black. I'm 6'1" 195 with 43" chest for your perspective. This size would fit an elephant. I am a kayaker and a waterfowl hunter. I put this PFD on over the top of my Cabelas 2 jacket layers arctic waterfowler's parka that I wear hunting down to Zero degrees. The attached photo shows how much additional "room" on the adjusting straps there is after cinching it over this parka. I put this on over my Sterns neoprene full size flotation work jacket with nearly the same amount of extra room for fitting over even more layers of clothing. Unless you are starting with a 50 inch chest, for most men this will cover you from summer in a tank top to winter with your parka on while trolling for Alaska's winter king salmon.As a kayaker I don't want a PFD with all those big pockets for holding a half dozen plano tackle boxes. That is NOT what a PFD should be used for. Besides that it adds bulk to your ability to move around and fish or paddle or just be comfortable. Keep your fishing gear in the boat. This PFD has two large pleated (bellows) pockets on the front that can expand according to what you want to carry. They are big enough to fit my VHF marine radio in with the antenna sticking out at the top of the zipper. Perfect if you fish from any boat on the ocean. Can easily hold your waterproof pouch for cell phone and other small items of necessity. The back side flotation is positioned on the top half of your back so it doesn't interfere with leaning back against my high back kayak seat. A great plus for long days paddling or peddling on the water.If you are a fisherman you are going to get this slimed. So although the yellow and red are better safety colors they are going to look pretty bad with blood, dirt, and slime so consider the darker color that won't show stains. Which brings up a great construction feature of this model. Most PFDs have 200 denier outer and inner shells. This Trekker model has a very tough 500 denier outer shell to take the punishment of active outdoorsmen and hold up to the occasional stray hook snag.The very thick flotation material has a rating of 18 pounds of dead weigh capacity. This in itself will float anyone that can fit in it. Most PFDs in large/XL sizes are only 17 to 17.5 pound float max. Speaking of the thickness of the foam, this is like body armor insulation. You will find it insulates your body core to prevent heat loss whether above the water or in the water if properly snugged. Leave it a bit looser if you need ventilation to stay cool in summer. I'm buying a second one for my second kayak.That brings up my last point. The multiple adjustment straps on this Trekker model are NO marketing gimmick. Its the real deal. The way the angles of tension from each strap pull to fit against your body or underlying layers of clothing and jackets truly does create an exceptional fit no matter your body shape or bulky clothes. I wish they would put this feature on more of their models.

Very comfortable paddling vest. The back of the vest stays clear of my seat and the arms allow ample movement for any stroke I need.It gives plenty of buoyancy, but support in the water is only marginal -- if you get knocked senseless you are liable to end up face down. This is a great vest as long as you are conscious to work with it -- good for use on open water, but I might look for something else on activities where a helmet is warranted.I do have one minor gripe -- the pockets are too small for my electronic gizmos. When I am in my touring yak the pockets on my vest are about the only pockets I can access without popping my cover -- it would be convenient if I could fit my GPS (5" screen) into one of those for easy access, but it just doesn't fit. Not a big deal to work around -- like I said, just a minor gripe.

I purchased a cheap, one size fits all life jacket from a sporting goods store and it felt okay in the store. But for kayaking, it is terrible. It has no sizing on the shoulder straps, like this one does, and that makes a huge difference. (Notice the buckles on top of the shoulder straps). The cheap one comes up to the bottom of my ears when seating in the kayak. Of course, I took it off and stored it under the tie down straps on my kayak. When I turned over in my kayak, I had to hear a lecture from my wife about not having it on. So I purchased this one from Amazon. Received it in two days as a Prime customer. I've used it several times and I can customize the fit so many different ways it's amazing. This is by far the most comfortable life jacket I have ever owned. If you still want a cheap life jacket, at least put it on then try sitting down with it on. If it comes up to your ears, you don't want it. Then come back to Amazon and buy this one :)

My husband got this for him he's about five foot eight slim build and it works great for him. You can't adjust it for different types and sizes but I would definitely measure yourself to make sure you get the right size. It is lightweight comes down to the waistline so it does not get in the way of sitting down it does not get in the way of paddling. He really likes it very much that he's recommended it to other friends.

Far and away the most comfortable life jacket in this price range, with just enough buckles to cinch it down tight without being overwhelming. When I use it dingy sailing, the form-fitting padding doesn't inhibit my movement or get caught up on the rigging. When I use it kayaking, the high-cut back clears the kayak seat and I forget I have it on. My only complaint is the keychain D-ring in one of the pockets is placed too close to the zipper - the strip of material connecting the D-ring jammed the zipper and I had to cut it out to get the zipper unstuck.

I gave this to my husband for Christmas. Since we're in Minnesota, today was the first chance we had to try it out. He loved it. He said it was very comfortable and easy to wear. it didn't bind or rub anywhere - in fact it felt like he was not wearing a life vest at all. We have avoided wearing life vests before while kayaking, because our regular boating vests are just too bulky and uncomfortable. Today the water temperature was only in the 50's so we were glad to be able to wear such comfortable vest while out on the cold water. This vest looks a bit funny when you put it on (major pot belly thing going on with the front floats) but you don't notice it at all when paddling. I highly recommend this vest.

There are a lot of things to like about this PFD. 1st off is the size. I'm a small guy (5'4" 135lb) and this fits perfectly on me. 2nd is the build quality. It feels durable and comfortable on my shirt. Haven't tried wearing this shirtless yet. 3rd is the big pockets on the front vest. You can put a lot of things in here including an iPhone 7+. Just be sure to waterproof it though. Lastly is the color. I like the black and gray thing going around here.