Kayaking Safety Starts With One Simple Rule: Wear Your PFD
The Kayaker’s Journal | West Michigan Kayaking Club
When you climb into a kayak, there is one piece of safety equipment that should never be optional: your personal flotation device, or PFD.
It doesn’t matter whether you’re kayaking the Grand River in Grand Rapids, exploring the Rogue River near Rockford, paddling the Muskegon River, or spending the day on one of Michigan’s inland lakes.
If you’re on the water, keep your PFD on.
The U.S. Coast Guard recommends wearing a life jacket whenever a boat is underway. In 2024, 76% of fatal boating-incident victims whose cause of death was known drowned, and among incidents where PFD use was known, 87% of those victims were not wearing a PFD. (USCG Boating)
Those numbers are a powerful reminder that a PFD isn’t something you keep in the bottom of your kayak.
It’s something you wear.
A PFD Doesn’t Help You If You’re Not Wearing It
One of the most common mistakes paddlers make is treating a PFD like required equipment rather than life-saving equipment.
Putting a PFD in your kayak doesn’t protect you.
Strapping it to the deck doesn’t protect you.
Saying, “I’m a strong swimmer” doesn’t protect you.
Wearing it does.
The American Canoe Association recommends that life jackets be worn during on-water activities and specifically notes the increased risks associated with cold water, waves, currents, distance from shore and the time it may take for rescue. (ACA)
A capsize can happen in seconds.
You may not have time to reach for your PFD.
You Can Be a Great Swimmer and Still Need a PFD
Being a strong swimmer is valuable, but swimming ability doesn’t eliminate the dangers of an unexpected capsize.
Cold water can affect your ability to move and breathe normally. Current can separate you from your kayak. Waves and wind can make staying afloat more difficult. A river obstruction can create an emergency before you have time to react.
A PFD provides flotation while allowing you to concentrate on getting yourself and your kayak to safety.
The ACA’s paddling safety materials emphasize that a PFD should be worn while paddling—even when wearing one may not be legally required. (ACA)
Rivers Demand Extra Respect
At West Michigan Kayaking Club, many of our adventures take place on moving water.
Michigan’s rivers can look calm while still carrying significant current.
A submerged log, changing water level, fallen tree, unexpected wave or slippery shoreline can turn a routine paddle into an emergency quickly.
That is why river kayaking safety starts before you launch.
Your PFD should already be properly fitted and secured before you push away from shore.
The ACA recommends properly fitted life jackets for paddling and requires life jackets for its paddling activities. (ACA)
Cold Water Makes a PFD Even More Important
Michigan paddling doesn’t end when summer does.
Spring and fall can provide some of the best kayaking conditions of the year—but water temperatures can be dangerously cold.
An unexpected capsize can quickly become a serious situation.
A properly fitted PFD helps keep you afloat while you work through the emergency and can provide some protection against the effects of cold-water immersion. (ACA)
That’s why experienced paddlers don’t think of a PFD as something they wear only when conditions look dangerous.
They wear it because conditions can change.
“It’s Just a Calm River”
This is one of the most dangerous mindsets in kayaking.
Calm water can still be dangerous.
The American Canoe Association notes that more than half of recreational boating fatalities occur in calm water and emphasizes that many drowning deaths are preventable through life-jacket use. (ACA)
You don’t need whitewater to have an accident.
You don’t need a storm.
You don’t need huge waves.
Sometimes all it takes is one unexpected movement of the kayak.
Your PFD Needs to Fit Correctly
Wearing a PFD isn’t enough if it isn’t properly fitted.
The U.S. Coast Guard recommends choosing a PFD that is:
- The correct size for the user
- Appropriate for the activity
- In good, serviceable condition
- U.S. Coast Guard approved when approval is required (USCG Boating)
Your PFD should be snug and properly secured.
Check the buckles.
Check the straps.
Check the zipper if your model has one.
Make sure it doesn’t ride up excessively when you lift it at the shoulders.
A PFD only works properly when it’s worn correctly.
Don’t Take Your PFD Off on the Water
One of the worst habits a paddler can develop is taking their PFD off once they reach calm water.
Maybe you’re hot.
Maybe you’re tired.
Maybe you’re stopping for lunch.
Maybe you’re only a few feet from shore.
That’s exactly when complacency can take over.
At West Michigan Kayaking Club, our message is simple:
PFD ON. ALL THE TIME.
Put it on before launching.
Keep it secured while paddling.
Keep it on until you’re safely off the water.
Kayaking Safety Is Everyone’s Responsibility
Safety isn’t just the responsibility of the person leading a group.
Every paddler is responsible for their own equipment, decisions and preparedness.
Before every trip:
Check your PFD.
Check the weather.
Know the waterway.
Know the hazards.
Know your limits.
Carry appropriate safety equipment.
Tell someone where you’re going.
And most importantly:
Wear your PFD.
West Michigan Kayaking Club: Adventure With Safety in Mind
West Michigan Kayaking Club is an adventure-focused paddling community based in the Grand Rapids area.
Our trips explore Michigan rivers, lakes and waterways through kayaking, hiking, camping and long-distance paddling adventures.
Adventure doesn’t mean ignoring risk.
It means understanding it.
The best paddlers aren’t the people who think nothing can happen to them.
They’re the people who prepare for what could happen.
A PFD is one of the simplest and most important pieces of that preparation.
Don’t Just Bring It. Wear It.
Before you launch your kayak on the Grand River, Rogue River, Muskegon River or anywhere else in Michigan, make sure your PFD is properly fitted and secured.
Because you never know when you’ll need it.
Your kayak can be replaced. Your paddle can be replaced. Your gear can be replaced.
You can’t.
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The Kayaker’s Journal | West Michigan Kayaking Club
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