Wear a Vest

this is from the other day I hope it helps people wear a vest every time. http://chadsharpe.blogspot.com

first off, glad to hear you're ok, chad. i can't even imagine how i would've reacted in the same situation.

secondly, as crappy as it is for me to say, your experience isn't going to be enough to convince most that prefer to not wear a vest...including pro riders.

again, i'm glad to hear you're ok.

glad to hear you are ok chad,

it only takes that one time and it could all be over, not only for the rider but also for everybody else in the boat, family and friends. it could affect many.

Thanks for posting this Chad, hope lots of people read this and take heed. Glad everything worked out ok.

ttt

Freaky stuff right there, really vests are so thin and low pro I dont know why anybody wouldnt wear on. That being said I guess I dont wear one when I have my drysuit on, maybe I will rethik that considering we do a lot of drysuit riding in MN.

glad you are ok, everyone please wear vests!!!!!

That doesn't sound very fun. Thanks for posting this. We all need these sobering reminders that we're not invincible. Glad you're ok and hope you get your 5 back solid.

Wow... Again, glad to hear you are ok.

Posts like these will hopefully change at least a few minds...

-Uj

Chad,

Glad to hear your okay! That's a scary story man... no joke... If there was ever a story that could influence people to wear a life jacket when they're "just working on some fun stuff" and just wearing a vest in general, this would be it. Thank you for sharing. This story just gave me one more reason to wear a vest every time I'm out.

Thanks for sharing glad to hear your okay.

I have only had two real concussions wakeboarding. BOTH times were accompanied with serious stingers like you described where even though I was wearing a vest I couldn't lift my head above water because I couldn't move my neck forward. I can't imagine could have happened with no vest.

Glad to hear it all turned out ok. I was actually really surprised to see you throw that TS double backroll without a vest on. I know that video wasn't meant to make it out to the public since you were just attempting it for the first couple of times. I remember there being a lot of talk on WW when you landed that and people were pretty upset that you weren't wearing one and then the video made it on the web. Hopefully this will get the word out for real.

Thanks for sharing. Scary stuff. Having pros like Chad step up and post this is critical to making our sport safer.

Even with a comp vest, if you are unlucky enough not to have any air in your lungs when you crash, you will also sink. I would love to see more pros wearing CGAs.

About the same thing happened to me once. Came short on a hs fs 3, caught back edge, I could do nothing but wait until I surfaced again. Conscious but couldn't move at all. I was wearing a vest so it didn't take that long, luckily. Still pretty freaky...
Worst thing now is I can't get myself to try that 3 again. Mental block. And it was >10 years ago. It left an impression for sure.

I have heard this same type of story from one other pro rider before, so this isn't the first time it's ever happened to one of the best in the business. Just shows it can happen to anybody and this wasn't just a "one time" freak accident.

Props to posting your learning experience from a mistake, as that is a truly mature thing to do. With that being said, I've never understood not wearing your vest. I surf also, and although the truth of the matter is, if anyone ever paddled out with a vest on, they would be laughed out of the ocean, I've always had a tough time explaining why surfers don't wear vests. Since wearing a vest in wakeboarding/skiing is already accepted, there is no reason not to. The "I need to take it off to successfully complete this trick" argument is silly, especially since this is a recreational sport for the vast majority of us, and not how we pay for our houses and raise our children. I wish more people would talk about close encounters with death stories as you just did.

where are kyle and all the vest haters now? I knew a guy once who put his face through the windshield of his car in an accident but still refused to wear a seat belt because it 'restricted his movment'.

ps - In my thread called "stop making so many comp vests', I singed out Helium as a company that makes a high ratio of comp vs cga vests. Since then I actually bought one of their CGA vests the Paisley and really like it so far. Very thin and still CGA

(Message edited by wakemikey on December 29, 2009)

I was messing around in the water once and realsied that when only wearing a oniel guru (no wetsuit or helmet)when i let all the air out of my lungs i started to sink.
since then i have gone for an thicker one as i have been out cold and face down before. my friend on the connection point behind me draged me to the side and up the beach where i came around again.
I was only wearing the guru but i did have a wetsuit and helmet on as well.
I feel a lot more confident in my new jacket and in a way the extra padding has made me a bit more confident in trying new stuff as it dampens the blow of big edges.

wow chad. very close call! glad youre okay

Full stand up ovation to Chad for posting this up

Chad,
Thanks for posting this. If you got one person to make the decision to put on a vest you made a difference and maybe saved a life. Glad to hear you are OK.

Great post Chad, I rely on mine to save my sorry a$$ every time I'm on the water.

good post. glad you did. riders, magazines and brands need to step up and demand riders wear a vest.

i couldn't even fathom attempting this without a vest. definitely an awesome post though.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xeWE6BhldU

little tangent...

do these "thinner cga vests" actually float as much as the thicker ones. are the thinner vests using some thinner, fancier, pricier, but more floaty foam? or are they just barely getting by the regulations so to speak?

they're not uscg approved for a reason. think about it.

(Message edited by dakid on January 01, 2010)

im not talking non cga/ comp vest. i mean the approved ones that are (seemingly) thinner than your average ones. like many of the side entry ones, some jet pilots and helium for example... mostly i am going by peoples descriptions of "thickness" though. not a whole lot of personal experience in looking at various vests.

like some seem to have the same thickness as a comp version but the ONLY diff is the fact of having two or one belts for example (or so it seems).

(Message edited by wakerider111 on January 01, 2010)

there are more differences than just having 2 belts. they're approved for a reason. think about it for a minute. why are ones approved by the uscg and others aren't? the amount of floatation, don't you think? and i'm sure they just "seem" as thin as the non-cga vests. again, they're approved for a reason.

think about it joe. read his question and think about it. i mean is he asking whats the diffrence between comp vests and approved vests? no. think about it. have you thought about it?

companys are bound to make diffrent cga approved jackets some that only just cut the mustard and some that are safer than a aircraft carrier. think about it!. ha

(Message edited by petew on January 02, 2010)

There are differnet levels of certification of PFD's. Wake vests are type III PFD's, and must be bouyant enough to float a certain amount of weight (I want to say it is 22 pounds). Doesn't matter how thick or thin the vest is, if it isn't bouyant enough to float the specified weight, it isn't approved. Some may be a little more bouyant than otheres, but all must pass the minimum bouyancy test.

I think a very important point in Chad's post is that he managed to end up below the surface with a full breath in his lungs. Things might have ended up quite differently had he not had that additional bouyancy.

Take it a step further. Chad is a pro athlete, in excellent condition. He was in mid-set, crashed (and was temporarily paralyzed by a stinger) and had to wait 15-20 sec to float up for his next breath and said that time seemed to last forever before he could breath again. If he had released that air or not had his lungs full to begin with, he may well have never made it back to the surface.

For a quick test, I suggest that next time you are throwing down and take a fall, notice how much air is in your lungs when you hit the water, and see how it feels to wait 20 sec for you inhale.

exactly peter ward, thanks.
sorry joe and anyone else if i phrased my question poorly.

from reading tags and descriptions some vests are made of different interior foams. was wondering on the side, if a thinner, but more advanced/ floatier foam is used and/or is it "just cutting the mustard" on the regs for CGA

OR

does x amount of foam a = the buoyancy of y amount of foam b.

I want to try to buy the floatiest jacket (made for wakeboarding, not some orange survivor vest or something) i can next time i buy reguardless of thickness. not just because of this incident above but looking back on my own experiences (which have all been minor in comparison, but still not fun)



(Message edited by wakerider111 on January 03, 2010)

or simplest way yet that i can think of

does the buoyancy of CGA wake vest A = buoyancy of CGA wake vest B, C, D, ...

Well I just got the Helium Paisley which is CGA but it is very thin. It is much thinner than any other CGA I have ever seen or tried.

The only differences I can see is that they seem to stack the foam on the belly and the back, leaving the sides much thinner and arm movement is VERY easy and non restrictive. Also very slick, gonna try the tumbleturns hehe.

It seems like the new vests are using segmented foam (cut into chunks and positioned strategically). The older vests seemed like they just took a large piece of foam and wrapped it around your midsection.

Funny that nobody is concerned about this so called "stinger" that Chad received. Your whole body was paralyzed? That could be very serious. Did you hear anything in the fall? A concussion is one thing, but there's also the possibility of pinching the spinal cord. The body can't take much of that before permanant paralysis.

I always wear a USCG vest, not only for the floatation, but also for impact protection.

I will never wear anything but a CGA vest. Thanks for the post Chad.
Please continue to create more awareness.
People do not take this seriously enough.