Stearns Child Life Jacket with Heads-Up Flotation, USCG Approved Type II Kids Life Vest for Pool, Beach, Lake, Boating & More, Youth PFD

I bought this life jacket for my 10 year old daughter who is about 80 lbs. She is tall and skinny for her age and we needed a good Type II life jacket for a trip to Michigan so she could ride the jet skis. Their state law says, "Each person less than 12 years of age riding or being towed, behind a personal watercraft (jet ski) must wear a Type I or Type II PFD." There are not a lot of Type II life jackets for kids weighing 50-90 lbs. There are the orange horse collar ones but they are a bit uncomfortable after a while and not great for the back of a jet ski. She has her Extrasport Children's Type II PFD (see my review) which she could wear but I wanted to try and get her something new and possibly a little more comfortable. The life jacket, as seen by the pictures, is mostly bright green on the outside. I was afraid that it would not be a bright enough color, but even from the dock I was able to spot her swimming in the water without difficulty. There is a slim silver strip of reflective material on either side of the vest as well. The inside is a smooth nylon with four drainage holes at the bottom. There are five sections of foam, two in the front and three at the head. The foam is in layers which allow for the foam to move and conform to the body making it more comfortable for her and safer too. The front foam pieces have less material at the shoulders to give a better fit. There is no foam in the back, just nylon. There is a zipper in the front, two waist belts that can be adjusted for snugness and a crotch strap with a neoprene rash guard, also adjustable. That was a great extra feature since I insist my daughter uses the crotch strap to ensure she does not slip out of the vest while going at high speeds. She never once complained about it and wore it all the time even when just swimming in the lake. Finally, there is a grab loop at the top which makes for a nice hook as well as a way to grab your kids out of the water if needed. The life jacket was easy enough for her to put on herself. The buckles are a little harder for her to unsnap then previous lifejackets she has worn, but work just as well. My daughter normally wears a youth size Mustang Lil' Legends life jacket (again, see my review) so she is used to most features of this life jacket. She tried it on in pool before we left for the trip and absolutely loved it. I had her jump in the pool and if she relaxed, the life jacket would place her on her back with her head and mouth well above the water thanks to the head flotation. I also had her flip on her stomach and relax, a few seconds later the life jacket turned her to her back with her face out of the water. She seemed very comfortable and happy swimming in the life jacket. Sometimes, the waist strap on the Mustang Lil' Legends life jacket would ride up and rub near her armpit. She doesn't have that problem with this life jacket. I only wish I had bought this life jacket for her earlier in the season. But we may be able to get one more year out of it. Her only complaint is that it didn't come in hot pink. Oh well, maybe next year's model.

I bought 2 of these last summer for my 3 & 5 year old and I LOVE them (so do my kids!) it makes all of us feel at ease, it fits them perfectly around the chest and the strap that goes between there legs make them feel extra secure. Both my boys are still learning to swim so this has helped them feel safer in the water and also if we go out on the boat I can feel much better knowing they have such a high quality life jacket. The material seems very high quality, and the weight/sizing seems spot on. I overall give 15/10 this has exceeded our expectations and I highly recommend!

I did some research before buying a life vest for my son, and I appreciated the positive reviews and certifications this life vest came with. It feels like it’s going to last many swim trips, probably more than we are going to be able to go on before my son reaches the 50lb weight limit. It has a nice little cushion on the crotch strap and all of the buckles feel tight and firm. This specific life vest id designed for children who are not yet confident swimmer, so the back headrest helps to keep their heads afloat. I also appreciated the safety cards that it came with, as it just went over the importance of wearing a life vest and shared some statistics, like how 80% of people who tragically died from falling overboard a small boat did not have a life vest of some sort. It truly does save lives. I’d buy this again!

It took a while to find a Type II PFD for my nearly 3 year old. Some products said they were Type II (with the head-pillow float) but the reviews said they really weren't. This one truly is. Although I held on to my daughter at all times in the lake, because of her constant moving, she would bob up and down, and her head never went underwater. She could lean back and "float" on her "pillow" as she called it (and when she was tired at the end of the day, she just leaned back on it and fell asleep, so it's not too far off of a description!). It is LIME GREEN... with caps... truly bright. You can spot it anywhere. The handle at the top comes in handy, in case you have to pull them out of the water ASAP (a bonus is that you can hang it on the wall for storage). As for the strap for between the legs... it's as comfortable as it can be. We adults wouldn't like it, but the kids get used to it quick, despite the occasional "wedgie". The "snap" point for it is a bit off center so that it doesn't interfere with the chest straps. The strap's buckle was hard even for me to open, so I had to put her leg through to put the life jacket on. I don't mind it because I know she wasn't going to get it off. The strap has a felt cover that helps against chaffing between the legs. Overall, I'm glad I got this PDF. I knew my daughter was going to be safe at the lake. Definitely would recommended it. As for size, I might say it fits from about ages 2-5, for an average sized child. We'll see how long it lasts... *****UPDATE: YEAR 2. Still love it and it still fits great for nearly 4-year old, 38 lb child******

My grandson loves this life jacket. He thinks the “pillow” is great. He weighs a little over 30 lbs and I was able to adjust it to fit him. The green is vivid and easy to spot.

A few years ago a family friend's grandson was face-down in the river in a Type III vest (from Costco). Thankfully his grandpa got to him in time, but after that I was sure to look for Type II vests for my kids. It's easy to find Type II for infants, but harder for the big kids. I like that this one works up to 50 pounds. I recommend testing it out (throwing the kid in water and telling him to relax to see if it flips him over). In all three cases. All three that we have bought have flipped the kids over perfectly. I also recommend that all of the straps be fastened properly every time, and that parents stay close to supervise. No life jacket is a substitute for good adult supervision. With that said, this life jacket is a little expensive considering that the old-fashioned orange life preservers are also Type II and a third of the price. My kids prefer the comfort of this vest, though, especially for long days at the lake or river and we go often enough that I feel like we have gotten our money's worth. I would (and do) encourage everyone with kids to get a Type II vest instead of a Type III but do not forget to test it!!!

I love this lifejacket simply because it is a type 3 Coast Guard approved. A lot of infant jackets are type two, which aren’t necessarily going to flip your baby in the water to be head facing up. This was the major benefit I was looking for in a life jacket. It fits a little bulky but safety first! My daughter is currently 24 pounds and it allows her lots of room to grow still.

Update: I had originally purchased the "child" sized vest for my daughter, and have liked it so much that I just purchased the "youth" size for her as she is now outgrowing the smaller one (she is just over 50 lbs now). We use a more compact vest for fun at the beach or pool under supervision, but I do not think you can beat this vest for boating with a child. I really like the strap between the legs to keep her secure, the pull handle on the back so I can grab/wrangle her if needed, and that it forces her to float on her back with her head out of the water. Original: I purchased this for my daughter who is just over 30 pounds and has just started learning to swim. After some research, I decided I needed a few criteria for a child's life vest: it had to be Type II rated (this makes the person wearing it float face up even if they cannot swim or are unconscious) , it needed a grab handle, and it needed good adjustment straps for a snug fit as well as a strap between the legs so it could not slide up over her head. This product is one of the few I could find that covered all my requirements. I also like the very bright green color for safety visibility as well. We have not used it boating yet, but my wife took the vest with our daughter to her swimming class this morning and the instructor said he would rate this vest a 10 out of 10 for a child's safety. The instructor took her in the water and she floated comfortably on her back with no effort at all. Again, my daughter is just over 30 pounds, and the adjustment straps made for a perfect fit with room to grow (she is just at the bottom of the rating for this vest which is 30-50 lbs). I would not recommend this for a child smaller than 30 pounds, but it does seem perfectly sized for the range it is rated at, with good adjustment range. The vest zips up the front to keep it securely closed, then the three straps (two around the torso and one between the legs) can be adjusted to keep the vest exactly where it needs to be while remaining comfortable. I used the grab handle on the back to pick my daughter up off the floor (which she thought was fun, so it was not uncomfortable) and she did not slide down in the vest at all. The back flotation pad sits across the shoulders, out of the way, but floats up behind the head when in the water.