Legal Note:

All of the lifejackets we tested conform to either  ISO 12402-3 (coastal/non harness) or ISO 12401 (harness versions), and this means that they all meet the basic safety standards you would expect from a lifejacket.

Our tests do not replicate laboratory testing but instead we put our lifejackets through real-world testing scenarios,  from wearing and adjusting between different levels of clothes layering, swapping between male and female body types, looking at how easy lifejackets are to maintain between regular formal service intervals and what they’re like when climbing into a liferaft and how they fit when in the water as a fully inflated lifejacket. We also look at how easy they are to use, in terms of sprayhood fitment (where fitted) and ability to reach and find all essential fitted safety gear, such as lifting strop, whistle, light (where fitted) and personal ais or plb if one is fitted.

Some of our testers may comment on their own personal findings that may appear to contradict official safety ratings. These are personal opinions, determined when testing a product in independent evaluation based on hands on use of a product.