How often to replace CO2 cartridge on inflatable life jacket?

I thought I would bump this to the top as reminder to check your inflatables. I was working last week, and snagged the pull cord which inflated the vest. That would be no big deal since I keep a spare recharge kit in the truck, however, this time it inflated and then there was a loud bang. To my disbelief the vest blew out. After inspecting, it looked like there were some marks in the area of the blowout like the vest had some existing damage. This one was my older cheap Onyx vest that has taken a lot of abuse over the years. I assume this was damage caused by me and not the fault of Onyx. On the bright side there’s now 2 nice Mustangs in the work truck.

When everyone on here takes BK’s advice, and manually inflates their vest each year, make sure you do a thorough visual inspection of the entire vest.

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hillhiker wrote:

When everyone on here takes BK’s advice, and manually inflates their vest each year, make sure you do a thorough visual inspection of the entire vest.

Yep, just washed, manually inflated, checked and repacked all my inflatables. Probably should replace the oldest one, the fabric still looks good, but it is getting old.

PS; I’ve never replaced a CO2 cartridge that hasn’t deployed and thus “empty”. I just wish they all used the same connection method. Two of mine are threaded and two are bayonet style.

That link is a one pack, not 3, right? These things (bobbins) are all the way from $6-$25, is there any difference? They look pretty universal too, are they.

Another reason inflatables are too high maintenance for me. There are regular vests these days that are just as comfortable.

I’ll take the maintenance of an inflatable over the bulk of a regular vest any day.