Put the vest on before you carry the packraft down the bank. A buoyancy vest only works when you are wearing it. Every other consideration comes second.
It is the one piece of kit that turns an accident into an inconvenience. Packrafts are small, light and easy to tip. The water you end up in is often colder than the air suggested.
What to look for in Australia
Lifejackets sold in Australia are certified against AS 4758. Paddling vests are usually Level 50 or Level 50S, made for sheltered waters where help is close. Higher levels are built for offshore use and are bulkier to paddle in.
Each state and territory sets its own rules on when a lifejacket must be worn, and they differ. Check the maritime authority for the water you are paddling before you go. The rule from one state does not carry to the next.
Whatever the rule says, on a packraft you wear it the whole time you are on the water.
Fit matters more than brand
A vest that rides up over your ears in the water is not doing its job. Do the check on land. Do it up, then have someone pull firmly upwards on the shoulders. If it slides past your chin, it is too loose or too big.
Paddling vests are sized by chest measurement and body weight, not shirt size. Adjust the side straps and shoulders until it sits snug without stopping you breathing deeply.
Then sit down and make a paddling motion. A vest that fouls your arms or bunches under your ribs when seated will annoy you into taking it off, and that defeats the point.
Why paddling vests are cut short
A dedicated paddling vest is cut higher at the waist than a general boating one. That is deliberate. It clears the seat and lets you rotate. In a packraft you sit low with your legs forward, so a long vest pushes up against you every stroke.
Large armholes matter for the same reason. You make the same motion thousands of times.
Pockets and what goes in them
A front pocket is worth having. A whistle clipped to the vest, not stowed in a pack, is the cheapest signalling device you will own. Sound carries where a wave does not.
Keep anything sharp or heavy out of the pockets. In a swim, whatever is in there presses against you.
Children
Child vests are sized by weight, and the bands are narrow for a reason. A vest bought big for next season is unsafe this season. Many child vests include a crotch strap and a head support collar. Use both.
Check the fit again at the start of every season. Children outgrow vests faster than parents expect.
Looking after it
Rinse it in fresh water after salt or muddy trips and dry it out of direct sun. Ultraviolet light breaks down the fabric and stitching over time. A vest left on a roof rack all summer ages faster than one that lives in a bag.
Check the buckles, webbing and seams before each season. Foam that has gone hard or compressed does not float like new foam. If a vest has taken a serious impact or is visibly damaged, replace it.
Never use it as a seat cushion or a kneeling pad. Crushing the foam takes away the buoyancy you paid for.
The habit that matters
Put it on at the vehicle, not at the water. Take it off after you have carried the packraft back up the bank. That removes the moment where you tell yourself the first hundred metres will be fine.
Tell someone where you are going and when you expect to be off the water. A vest keeps you afloat. It does not tell anyone where to look.
Where a Seeka fits
Seeka packrafts are built for lakes, inlets, estuaries and easy rivers after a walk in. Open coast and fast whitewater call for a different craft. Water that matches the hull, and a vest on while you are on it, is the combination that keeps days uneventful.
Every Seeka self-bails and carries a two-year warranty on materials and welding. Or hire one for a weekend first.