: Just a couple weeks ago, we had a kayaker die here in the Huntsville, Alabama
: area. The weather was not bad. There are not too many details available.
: However, two details were available. He was not wearing a PFD and he was
: by himslef. His buddies said that he never wore a PFD becuase they were
: uncomfortable.

Seems to happen over and over. Had a big discussion about this recently on the CASKA forum (chicago sea kayak). Education is obviously the key, getting the word out though is the problem, specially with all the big box stores selling kayaks and not having the knowledge to pass along in the first place, let alone the desire to do so. Used to be that to get into this sport you bought a boat from a very specialized dealer or built it yourself, either one usually provided an avenue for gaining knowledge about the sport.

Paddling a kayak with the non-kayak type of PFD "is" uncomfortable, but if you don't know that there is a better way you might be tempted to not wear one. Around here we are very pro safety and push everyone to wear them and since it gets cold here actively promote cold water safety too.

Bill H.