Hamilton Marine is having a good sale on
 

survival suits ("gumby" suit styles) ...

Picked up some myself...could not resist the price with free ship. I hope I never have to put the damn thing on.
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........if you do have to put one on you'd really want to spend the little bit extra for the black inflatable ring.

One thing to note.....these don't last forever, so if your picking up an old one look at it good. In the commercial world they are tested every so often, I forget how often. Last time I saw it done 75% of the suits onboard failed. Do I think they still would have saved your life, I think so. The seems start to go and they don't hold back the water as good.

The old ones are good to wear for Halloween costumes.:)

But you have to carry an umbrella. :grins:

They get significant wear in the folds and seams.... You can really extend the life of a suit by taking it out of the bag and folding it in a different arrangement every 6 months or so.

Should be illegal to sell them without the flotation tube. The 270 one is the one you want...

Take them out of the bag and put them on heavy duty hangers for the winter in a guest room closet.

What floatation tube are you referring to. The one you blow into and it creates a inflatable "pillow"?

There are two gumby styles... One has a tube that goes under your arms and around your back that you inflate, another that basically is a pillow on your back that inflates. The ones under your arms do a much better job at keeping your head out of the water than the pillow style, but both are better than no inflation.

But I suppose having any type of suit is much better than having none at all!

I saved the float tubes from my old suits, the more floatation the better. I used to teach a USCG commercial fishing vessel safety course and I found the inflatable tubes to last and last beyond the suits shelf life. I have been in 30 or 40 different suits and the older ones do leak at the fold points often. Some times the feet leak a bit even in a new suit. Even with the leaks the water warms up fast and the suit often stops leaking once it expands a bit. I did all the classes in the winter in Maine and have been in the water over an hour in a leaky suit with no problem. The five finger cloves suck, the mittens are far better. Buy a suit that seems to big for you. I pack mine with personal flares and a hand held radio. Don't let the flares drip on the suit of course. Sorry for the long email, but we are talking about you life here.

Surprised by how many rec guys go offshore in April for cod and November for tuna without gumby suits aboard. Also if you do have/get one try to put it on. It is not as easy as it sounds. Some people put plastic trash bags in the legs to help slide in to them. People should practice donning the suits once or twice a year. Doesn't do you much good if you can't get into it and zip it up.

In june the water is in the 50's. Thats about an hour until unconsciousness for a healthy swimmer in calm water.

I don't want to be in the water period...even with a survival suit. That is why I have a 6 man life raft with provisions. Yeah I have survival suits for everyone as well but I don't want to ever have to put it on. But if I had to jump in the cold water...I want it on.

Have you guys read some of the accounts of people who were stranded at sea in a life raft?...I can't imagine going thru something like that. I think if everyone read that they would have an eprib strapped to their body when then went offshore.

Its called a personal locator beacon, and yes its a good idea.