Are you a fan of whitewater rafting and looking for the ideal life jacket to make your upcoming journey even more exciting? You can look no further than the Astral Green Jacket. This Type V PFD is a must-have for whitewater boaters, offering comfort and durability that can’t be beaten. With its unique design, this time-tested PFD will keep you safe while ensuring you look great on the river. Learn what makes this PFD so special in our comprehensive review. From its ideal uses to customer reviews, decide if it’s worth investing in.
Get to know your PFD.
This rescue PFD is a USCG Type V PFD that has become an iconic piece of equipment for boaters, expedition paddlers, and river guides. It offers excellent rescue features, making it ideal for whitewater rescue, kayaking, and stand-up paddleboarding. This post will explore the key features of this popular PFD.
Quick overview:
The Astral Green Jacket is designed to fit nicely on all body types. This makes it a top choice among expedition paddlers alike looking for comfort and safety while on the water. Whether you’re navigating class III rapids or taking in the sights during a leisurely day of sea kayaking, this rescue PFD provides plenty of protection from potential hazards. Its main pocket also makes it easy to store any necessary items, such as sunscreen or snacks, without sacrificing buoyancy or mobility.
Ideal Uses for the Green Jacket
For outdoor adventurers looking for an innovative and comfortable rescue vest or Type V PFD, the Astral is an ideal selection due to its harnesses and belay loop, enabling secure whitewater paddling. The harnesses and belay loop included in the Astral make it a great choice for those looking to take their white water paddling activities up a notch, as safety is paramount. The jacket also fits nicely in whitewater kayaking or stand-up paddleboarding scenarios, providing extra protection from the elements.
Materials Used in Making the Green Jacket
Design buoyancy
It’s constructed with the world’s top choice GAIA Foam, an environmentally friendly material that provides superior buoyancy and protection without sacrificing performance or comfort.
This Type V PFD will work great for shorter folks and is buoyant enough to work with all shapes and sizes. The Astral was made for big whitewater, such as the Grand Canyon or the Snake, where a high-performance Resue PFD is crucial. The Astral fit the bill in keeping guides and expedition paddlers high and out of the water.
The jacket has been crafted with robust seams, allowing it to withstand multiple uses of whitewater paddling, sea kayaking, and stand-up paddleboarding.
Comfortable rescue vest
The pullover foam insert and tectonics in the Green Jacket help make it a comfortable rescue vest. The pullover foam tectonics insert allows the outer panel to move freely to maximize your mobility while the inner panel stays tight against your body, keeping your PFD in place. Astral has an adjustment system that can be custom-fit wear regardless of your body type. You can get right into the action without worrying about an ill-fitting rescue PFD. Plus, its lightweight design won’t weigh you down as you navigate your way through class IV rapids or take on challenging ocean swells.
Take your outdoor adventures to the next level with Astral’s Green Jacket. Built-in harnesses, belay loop & GAIA foam construction provide reliable protection for whitewater paddling, sea kayaking & stand-up paddleboarding. #AstralGreenJacket #AdventureReady Click to Tweet
The durability of the Green Jacket
The Green Jacket is an incredibly durable piece of whitewater gear. Its GAIA Foam construction and fully stitched design make it a great choice for investing in long-lasting river gear.
The GAIA Foam construction used in the jacket provides an eco-friendly alternative, PVC-free gaia, foam. It is also fully stitched with stainless steel weight lash tabs, ensuring durability that meets or exceeds USCG specifications. This makes it ideal for those expedition kayakers or the raft guide looking for high-quality gear.
How about the pockets and extras stuff?
This life jacket comes with several accessories, making it a top choice among life jackets among water enthusiasts.
For starters, the PFD includes two small gear pockets and two zippered pockets (one main pocket & one mesh pocket). This makes it easy to store your essentials while out on the river or lake. Plus, there’s a slot where you can attach your river knife if desired. The central pocket is huge and comes with a nylon zipper.
There’s a quick-release rescue harness stitched into the vest’s side and a large outer front panel. The clamshell front pocket can be used to store your throw rope. As a raft guide, that is a nice feature! The side pockets can store snacks, rescue knife, or extra gear.
I also like the reflective accents and the 200 denier high tenacity of nylon for toughness and abrasion resistance. This alone makes this vest worth its weight in gold and is considered the best resume PFD by many. Another great thing about this vest is that it fits nicely on all body types thanks to its GAIA Foam construction and fully stitched design. Its two-panel fit system design allows maximum mobility and prevents the life jacket from riding up. The pullover foam insert prevented the ride-up that would occur in other life jackets.
The Astral Green Jacket is a reliable choice for a Rescue PFD that won’t disappoint you. It has everything needed to keep adventurers safe while they explore nature’s world’s many wonders, and its GAIA Foam construction and fully stitched design provides both comfort and durability, so you know your investment will last for years to come.
Is it Worth the Cost?
The Astral Green Jacket is one of the top choices regarding whitewater rescue vests. It offers superior protection and comfort for paddlers in a variety of conditions. The comfortable rescue vest with PFD fits nicely on most body types, and its GAIA foam construction makes it incredibly durable. But with a price tag of $300+, is it really worth the cost?
The answer is yes. Other brands offer similar options at lower prices ($200-$260), but serious expedition paddlers alike know that Astral’s green jacket is simply “the best rescue PFD” choice overall.
Astral offers time-tested design features that provide excellent safety features that make it well worth purchasing one. The two-zippered main pocket and clamshell pocket provide swift access to your supplies in the event of an emergency on the water. Providing you with peace of mind when tackling unpredictable river conditions. Additionally, all seams are fully stitched. You don’t have to worry about them coming apart or wearing down over time due to exposure to saltwater or other elements like sun and wind damage. In my opinion, the added layer of design buoyancy that Astral put into this jacket also makes this the best PFD.
Other bonuses include pockets included in each side panel and slots available for attaching additional items such as knives or whistles – great additions for those who enjoy extended trips into remote areas away from civilization where these extras can be very useful indeed.
Conclusion
The Astral Greenjacket represents. The jacket is designed to provide comfort, fit, and durability that will last many years of water use. We love its multiple compartments and its 200 denier high tenacity nylon that can hold up under the most extreme environments. As a raft guide, I look for good rescue gear, which fits the bill for expedition paddlers. If I had to pick one Rescue PFD my only choice would be the Astral greenjacket PFD.
