Have you ever wondered what those labels mean inside of your PFDs?

Well, you're not alone.  Most people simply go to their local paddling outfitter to buy their PFD when they need one.  If not their, they make this purchase from some other paddling venue or even online.  Any personal flotation device that says kayaking, paddling, or canoeing on the tag must work just fine.

While the manufacturers are pretty good about labeling their products, it is still a good idea to know that the typical paddling pfd is a Type III personal flotation device.

The "Type" is a designation maintained by the United States Coast Guard.  To learn more about this classification system read The United States Coast Guard PFD Specifications.

Well, in the last two posts we looked at some articles to help you differentiate and buy paddles and helmets.  This post highlights some of the features of PFDs as they relate proper fit and implementation.  Among some of the things to watch out for are the "Type" of PFD, the correct size PFD, and the condition of the PFD among other things.

You know what they say, the best PFD is the one you are wearing.  Make sure you're PFD is right for you!

Read More: 5 Tips on Wearing a PFD

In my last post I began a discussion regarding the advances in paddling gear design and the difficulty in knowing what type equipment to buy.  We first looked at kayak paddles.  In this post we'll take a look at whitewater helmets.  At this point you may be thinking, "how difficult could it be to buy a whitewater helmet?"  

While it is true that you can simply go to a paddling outfitter and buy any whitewater paddling helmet that fits you, wouldn't it be better to make an informed decision?  Paddling helmets actually offer a number of different features that you may want to consider before making your purchase.

Read How to Buy a  Whitewater Helmet for more details.

Buying kayak gear seems like a straight forward endeavor.  While that may have been the case just 10 years ago, the advances in materials and gear design has made things a bit more complicated. Take kayak paddles for instance.  Kayak paddles have many different options that the untrained paddler would not generally notice.

Read How to Buy a Kayak Paddle for more details.