Although I never wish to have to test this one in real conditions, I have been wearing my life jacket quite a lot and can give an idea as to my impressions of it. If you’re just looking to buy one, I included some links at the end.
Features
As with most offshore life jackets, this one offers auto-inflation, manual inflation, a spray hood, a SOLAS-approved water-activated light, a whistle, and an integrated harness attachment point. One of the extras you get is a second crotch strap. Although people tend not to use these, when you’re in the water it is essential to make sure that the life jacket is properly keeping your head out of the water. There is one element that differentiates this life jacket to all the others that are considered to be good for offshore. It’s their backtow technology.
What is Backtow?
As a sailor who is safety conscious, you “clip in” whenever there’s a risk of you falling into the water. It makes sense. You can’t lose the boat if you’re tied to it. The problem is that to make using the harness easy, the attachment is on your chest. This means that as you’re dragged in the water, you have to choose between being bounced around face into the water, or being attached to the boat. The technology basically moves that attachment point to the back of your head. It means you can stay attached to the boat while not being forced to drink the entire Atlantic Ocean while you’re there. It doesn’t seem very complicated but it can be the difference between drowning and surviving. The video Teamo made explains it quite well.
Comfort
To encourage ourselves to wear our life jackets, they need to be comfortable. This is another reason I chose to buy this life jacket. I barely feel it when I wear it. The way that it is made and having the soft materials at the right place really make it a nice fit. I noticed that some life jackets don’t tend to consider that as you move, the material rubs on your neck but the design team clearly thought this through.
The Teamo life jacket does have a downside. Although I consider myself an average build, the adjustment straps at the waist are way too long. I have to fold them onto themselves twice to take in the additional length. On the other hand, the crotch straps are very short! I have them set at their longest and yet they still are nice and snug and could use an extra foot of webbing to make it more comfortable and adapt better to wearing multiple layers.
Inflation Systems
There are two different technologies for the auto-inflation portion. They both use a CO2 cartridge but it can be triggered in different ways.
The first, and cheapest, is the ProSensor Elite Firing Head. The way it works is by dissolving a paper capsule. Once it is dissolved, a spring fires the unit and releases the CO2 into the bladder of the life jacket. The unit looks like this:
The issue with these mechanisms is that once water gets into the system, it can lead to an accidental inflation. This brings us to the other system you can choose to get, the Hammar Firing Head. This system uses water pressure instead of water to activate. Once it reaches the right amount of water pressure, it will inflate the bladder. The hydrostatic release unit looks like this:
The advantage to this system is that even if a wave breaks over your head or the system gets wet, unless it has the required pressure, it will not activate. This avoids most accidental inflations.
In both cases, it is important to know the mechanisms are certified for about 3 years and if they don’t show green, they need to be replaced or rearmed.
170N or 275N?
The difference between the two is not so much about the person’s weight but the type of boating they plan on doing. For most people, the offshore-rated 170N is plenty enough. This is good for nights, coastal passages, weekend racing or just island hopping. The moment you decide to upgrade is if you are doing some deep-ocean crossings or very cold-climate sailing.
For the more technical oriented people, it is all about the size of the bladder. In the 170N, it takes a 38g cylinder of carbon dioxide to fill it. This is plenty to keep the average person floating and for the self-righting of the life jacket. The reason to opt for the bigger bladder, 275N, is to compensate for additional clothing or extreme weather that can affect the self-righting capabilities. One thing to keep in mind is that when servicing, the larger bladder needs a larger 60g cylinder.
Where to buy?
You’re excited and I’ve convinced you to follow in my footsteps and make the same purchase. The Teamo website has a nice list of retailers. If you’re in Canada 🇨🇦, you have one option which is Indie Marine. I purchased mine from them and got excellent customer service! The delivery was quick and they have great staff!
I was not paid or sponsored to write this article and everything written is my honest opinion.