Some time ago it was
brought to my
attention that the rescue belt layout changed on Kokatat's rescue
capable personal flotation device with the switch from the Ronin Pro to
the Maximus Prime. On both PFDs there is webbing which holds rescue
belt in place. On the left it's the red webbing which keeps the rescue
ring in the center of the back of the PFD. On the right we see the
Ronin Pro, where the black webbing used to limit rescue belt movment is
all the way out to the shoulders of the PFD. I asked a designer about
this, and apparently the European market requested it to be changed to
the center because it keeps the rescue line centered while swimming
attached to the rescue belt, aka "live bait" swimming. Europeans do a lot more "live
bait" swimming than we do.
How do the narrower, movement limiting straps affect the ability to
release the rescue belt when the load is off center to the person
wearing the PFD? There is one situation that easily comes to mind where
this change might come into play: towing a kayak filled with water, and
in the process broaching sideways. The water filled kayak continues
downstream, and the angle of pull changes from the back, rotating
90° to the side. Is the rescue belt prone to folding over on
itself
at the limiting webbing, causing too much friction to release?
In the field this is impossible to test safely. I setup a test on dry
land, using a Maximus Prime and an Astral Green Jacket, which has a
free range of motion similar to the Ronin Pro. Both were strapped
tightly to a Yakima bike rack, using a deflated sleeping pad to add to
the bulk of the "person". This setup has more give and flex than a
person in a kayak, so the results in real life will be more dramatic. I
see a 30°-40° advantage with the "free range" rescue
belt.
Personally I wouldn't use a Maximus Prime or similar PFD to tow a
kayak, and beware of having the rope or anchor pull from the side in
any kind of rescue situation.
