Locean Life Jacket

Locean Life Jacket Description

The Locean Life Jacket is a pfd brought to you by Lotus Designs. Read Locean Life Jacket reviews or submit your own review to share with the paddling community. Check out a few other pfd recommendations below or explore all pfds to find the perfect one for you!

Lotus Designs
Locean Life Jacket Reviews

Read reviews for the Locean Life Jacket by Lotus Designs as submitted by your fellow paddlers. All of the reviews are created and written by paddlers like you, so be sure to submit your own review and be part of the community!

Embed these reviews on your site

2

My original vest lasted 3…

Submitted by: guest-paddler on 5/24/2004
My original vest lasted 3 years before it began to fade. So when it came time to replace it I went back to get another Lotus. Somewhere along the road Lotus was bought out by one of the mega-companies. The are now Over priced and poor quality. Instead of being made by folks who understand PFDs they are made in Mexico. In this case cheaper labor clearly means poorer quality!!

The vest is supposed to come with two "D" rings in the pockets. These are crucial for securing emergency gear like EPRIBS. My first vest came without them. The mail order firm sent me a replacement-- that one didn't have them either! So I sewed in my own "D" rings.

15 months later, the vest is fading and the fabric is drying out. So I spent over $100 for a vest that failed to have the advertised features, and did not hold up....... Skip Lotus, look for another brand!!!!

4

Overall, the Locean is a good…

Submitted by: paddler229921 on 9/12/2002
Overall, the Locean is a good PFD, and perfect for real skinny boats combined with a low padle angle and bent shaft paddles. No other will prevent the arm chafe issues like the Locean. That said there are several drawbacks:

1. to provide the buoyancy, the Locean is long, this cuases the Locean to ride up under one's chin if your torso is hsort of your sprayskirt is tight across the coaming,
2. it's expensive when one considers that it's still a PFD,
3. the side entry is a bit awkward and prevents one from zipping open to vent heat on hot paddle days.

We just fixed the issues with item 1 by opening the lower seam, pulling out the two sheets of foam, everting the center foam pocket, replacing the 1 1/2 inch shoulder straps with longer one incorporating plastic D rings at the adjuster end and bar-tacking through the front and black nylon rear fabric versus the existing design of just bar tacking to the front fabric, sewing a deep U notch to prevent the PFD from rubbing one's chin when it rides up, adding a neoprene liner for the bottom and side adjuster straps (prevent chafing when worn next to the skin on hot days) everting to normal and inserting shorter but thicker ensolite foam and re sewing the bottom seam. It's better now but each PFD took us a day to tweak. I'd seriously look at shorter PFDs in the future.

5

Fits incredibly well, plenty…

Submitted by: paddler229724 on 6/7/2002
Fits incredibly well, plenty of space to manuver for sea kayakers. Nice pockets, excellent set of adjusting straps and a free whistle. This is by far the best PFD I have ever owned and I highly recommend it!
5

I own a Lotus Locean, and it…

Submitted by: guest-paddler on 4/22/2002
I own a Lotus Locean, and it is great! it fits perfectly, has nice pockets to hold things. and also looks great. it is a great choice for a PFD!
5

Paddling all sorts of boats…

Submitted by: paddler229522 on 11/14/2001
Paddling all sorts of boats since the 1950s. Most comfortable jacket ever. Useful pockets and clips an extra benefit.
5

I second the high acclaim…

Submitted by: guest-paddler on 12/10/2000
I second the high acclaim directed toward the Locean-extrememly comfortable and the side pockets are amazing in that they store a monocular and a camara and I dont know they are there while paddling....excellent fit and fully functional, a bit pricey, I paid 106$ but it is something that should age like a fine wine!
5

The Locean life jacket is by…

Submitted by: paddler227994 on 1/26/1999
The Locean life jacket is by far the best I've used. I am an open ocean Kayaker and the Locean has all of the features I need and no bulk to slow me down.
Locean Life Jacket