The Best PFDs of 2024

Let us say right off the bat here: this was no handily won award. With stiff competition across the board, and certainly from the Astral YTV 2.0, our search for the most even-keeled PFD challenged all aspects of these vests. When the dust settled, the newly redesigned NRS Ninja ($150) held out. This is one well-rounded PFD, and nearly anyone would be well served by it.

Revamped for 2024, this PFD gains a number of smart updates, and the Ninja is only a more finely honed jacket for it. Most noteworthy is the new ‘Orbit Fit’ system, which sandwiches multiple layers of Ethafoam into a pre-curved jacket that hugs us tighter than any other option — save for rescue PFDs. Once settled, you’re not going anywhere.

This new cut also incorporates strap garages on the shoulders, which was one of our previous gripes that kept this PFD out of our regular rotation — no longer. Twin waist straps of different sizes lock it down on the other end, and those different sizes ensure there’s no getting it twisted on this side-entry vest. The migration to the Orbit Fit system also brings an added bonus here, and that’s graded sizing, which enlarges or shrinks the foam panels based on the size, rather than just the straps. Smart.

Tucked behind the main torso panel is a broad and soft-lined hand-warming pocket, which is large enough to even tuck a throw rope if the objectives are rowdy. Pockets like these are rarely seen in more recreational PFDs, and we couldn’t get enough of it. Once you go hand pocket, you don’t go back.

The 3D clamshell style front pocket is also one more commonly seen on higher-end whitewater PFDs like the Astral GreenJacket, but is a killer addition to the Ninja that won universal praise from our testers. Inside, a few simple pockets, a daisy chain, and a D-ring round out the organization — just enough to keep things tidy.

Surveying the market, the Astral YTV 2.0 is an obvious contemporary to this PFD, and at the same price point, it hits a number of the same facets we’re looking for in an all-arounder. But when it came down to it, the inclusion of the spacious hand-warmer pocket, clamshell organizer, and side-entry design nudged the NRS Ninja across the line. Snag this one, and you won’t be disappointed.

At a cool $128, the NRS Clearwater leaves some change on the table while still providing a comfortable fit and a number of features we’ve come to expect in a fully dialed PFD. The high-back design is excellent for those paddling from tall kayak seats, and the rest of the back is opened up with breathable mesh to keep things cool when paddling hard.

Available in three different sizes, the Clearwater packs in 16 pounds of flotation and for shorter paddles after work or kayak fishing, this PFD was an easy choice for our testers. Generally, we found NRS vests to fit a wider range of sizes compared to Astral, and about the same as those offered from Kokatat. If you’re struggling to find a PFD that fits, consider this one.

Cost savings have to come out of somewhere, and one place that’s obvious is in the front pockets, which, while spacious, aren’t pleated to add additional room for bulky items you may want to store there. We also found the interior material to not be the softest against the skin, and wished for some of the stretch polyester material found on some of the higher end PFDs.

Even still, we were surprised by the number of features the Clearwater retains for the price, including reflective hits, a lash tab, and Hypalon zipper pulls. Many budget vests forgo good strap garages, and thankfully, the shoulders on this PFD stash them away easily.

While there are cheaper PFDs on the market, we believe that the NRS Clearwater balances features and comfort with price better than the rest. You might also consider the NRS Ion or Mustang Survival Solaris — both of which hit the mark and are USCG-rated — but don’t quite have the polish the Clearwater has.

Trusted by expedition paddlers and river guides the world over, the Astral GreenJacket ($365) has a time-worn groove in the whitewater scene, and is decked out with all of the essential hardware that make this necessary kit for paddling heavy water. If things are going to get burly, this is the PFD to grab.

The overhead design on the GreenJacket is the most streamline for creating a profile that doesn’t snag when re-entering a boat, and all strap adjustments are along the sides and in front of the torso. The shoulder straps are also integrated into the chest harness, meaning you can yard your buddy up with them.

The fit of this PFD is snug, yet unrestrictive, and the two-part front panels pivot with your paddle strokes. Additional foam wings on the back and shoulders provide added protection to your soft bits when paddling becomes a contact sport. Swiftwater-centric features such as an emergency belay loop and throw rope garage are easy to access, and rounding out the rescue functionality is a quick-release harness for live-bait swimming.

Storage on the GreenJacket is in no short supply either, with a generous front clamshell pocket with internal organization, and twin corner pockets on the rear of the vest for storing webbing or a carabiner. A knife lash tab sits center stage on the front of the pocket, and is flanked by a skirt tab for holding your spray skirt up out of the way while you’re on the dry.

Be forewarned: this PFD is no lightweight at almost 3 pounds, but when you’re being spit out of the spin cycle, you’ll be glad for it. It’s also decidedly overgunned for anything less than rowdy water, and you should have swiftwater rescue training before sliding into one. The $365 price tag is also the highest of any in our review, but this PFD is also in a whole different universe compared to many others. 

Other rescue vests on the market to consider include the Kokatat HustleR and NRS Zen Rescue, both of which accomplish the same tasks, and offer some different sizing if the Green Jacket doesn’t jive for you. Our female testers unfortunately didn’t find this PFD to be the most accommodating, but if it fits you, the Astral GreenJacket is a whitewater winner.

The answer for stand-up paddleboarders (or anyone over bulky life jackets in low-stakes water), the NRS Zephyr Inflatable ($150) packs down to the size of a fanny pack, yet inflates to a full 29 pounds of flotation in the blink of an eye. When worn, it’s certified as a Type III PFD, making it excellent for checking a box.

Operated with a 24 g CO2 cartridge, our testing proved quick deployment (not quite car airbag, more avalanche pack), and once you’ve got the PFD over your head you’ve got plenty of flotation to keep your head above water and get yourself safe. The belt needs to be worn at your front for proper deployment, so keep this in mind when paddling.

Blockheads take note here: The PFD needs to be snug to stay in place, and it can be tough to fit your head through if you’re plentiful in the cranial department. Black straps on the bladder aid in this, just be mindful that it won’t be the easiest.

There’s even a little storage tucked into this PFD belt, in the form of a zippered stretch pocket to stash your keys and sunnies in. This isn’t waterproof, mind you, but does offer enough to keep your essentials close at hand. The waist strap is well accommodating, fitting every waist in our testing pool.

NRS suggests carrying a spare cartridge should you need to pop your vest into action, but unfortunately the branded CO2 and rearming kit (a diminutive piece of green plastic) go for a handsome $30. We can’t put a price on safety, but we can apparently put one on annoyance.

Nevertheless, the convenience of the NRS Zephyr Inflatable is well worth it, in our opinion. Other inflatable PFDs on the market are either of the vest style — a bit cumbersome in our opinion — or more minimal than the Zephyr, and can’t be worn over your head. For casual mornings of SUP yoga, this PFD is where it’s at.

Designed with a unique hinged panel design to accommodate those with a bust, the Astral Layla ($170) had a gravitational pull for our female testers. Many pullover and front-entry PFDs lack the space to fit the anatomy of half the population, but the Layla isn’t one of them.

Editor Mary Murphy has settled on the Layla as her ride-or-die PFD, using it for flatwater and whitewater alike: “The Astral Layla PFD is one of the best I’ve ever worn, hands down,” she said. “The fit is stellar — it’s hard to describe how different it feels from other PFDs, but I think the biggest points that contribute to this better fit and comfort are the articulated design, hinged front panel, and side zipper.”

It’s this hinge or ‘princess seams’ that separate the chest into three segments and provide the needed fit, compounded by the choice of kapok — a natural buoyant tree fiber that has much more give than foam. But even beyond the solid fit, the Layla provides all of the trim we need in an all-day PFD: a front pocket with internal organization, plus a lash tab for a rescue knife.

As a bit of a hidden feature, the Layla is actually compatible with Astral’s quick-release rescue harness, which makes this PFD a viable option for those who find the GreenJacket doesn’t fit their torso. Our testers were a bit bummed by how small the hand warmer sleeve behind the pocket is (only large enough for stacked hands), but this was one of the only issues we could drum up.

Available in an added XS size (only the Layla gets this treatment in the Astral line-up), the Astral Layla puts fit at the forefront, but backs it up with a tough shell, easy-to-don side-zip system, and enough storage to tuck away our river kit. Ladies, this one is for you.

Compared to other fishing-styled PFDs on the market, the NRS Chinook ($160) was a lay-up for the spot. This jacket has got more pockets than Grandad’s trusty fishing vest, and a fishing kayak friendly high-back design to boot. From opening-day trout to trawling for lingcod, our fisherfolk leaned on the Chinook.

That high-back design is a gimme in a PFD angled at fishing, as most fishing kayaks sport upright seats, and this keeps the breeze flowing when you’re posted up over your honey hole. The foam panels aren’t very pre-curved, but fit well enough when cinching down all six of the adjustment straps.

The front of this PFD is festooned with fishing kit storage, with two broad zippered (plus one expanding) pockets siphoning up fly and tackle boxes. The pièce de résistance, however, is likely the integrated fishing rod holster, which consists of a webbing loop and Velcro system that will hold your rod across your chest while you navigate a complicated task (like untangling your hopper dropper rig). Very slick.

Anyone considering the Chinook should also take a look at the Astral E-Ronny, another storage-centric PFD that goes for a more traditional full back design, but thins the foam out significantly for added breathability. In the end, we reached for the Chinook more often (due to sheer storage), but if you want a vest that’ll do it all, the E-Ronny isn’t a bad choice.

The NRS Chinook was the PFD our tester Nick Belcaster wore while landing one of his personal best rainbows this spring. We’re not saying the PFD had anything to do with it, but we’re also not not saying it. Of the fishing life jackets on the market, this is the one we keep reaching for.

Few PFDs today employ as unique a design as the Mustang Khimera Dual Flotation PFD ($200) — a vest with built-in foam flotation and a CO2 inflatable cell that can be triggered with a quick pull. This vest was easily our favorite for swimming in, as it is incredibly low-profile and out of the way when you don’t need it.

With 7.5 pounds of foam buoyancy, it’s easy to make your strokes unimpeded, and for our 165-pound tester, the PFD felt like it only added slightly more flotation compared to swimming without. When things on the water get a bit more Western, pulling the activation tab inflates the chambers in the front and rear of the vest, adding 13 pounds of flotation to the existing 7.5 onboard.

With these bladders inflated the Khimera rides high in the foam, and has more buoyancy than any other PFD in our testing (save for the fully inflatable NRS Zephyr). These chambers can be topped off or bled with the integrated inflation tube, which also makes resetting the system much easier than fully inflatable PFDs.

Granted, you’ll still need to cough up the dough for the re-arming kit, but the good news is that the Khimera uses the far more readily available 12g CO2 cartridges (compared to the 24 g units the Zephyr takes). If you’re an active cyclist, you may even have a few kicking around.

Great for plenty of paddlesports, we actually honed in on the Mustang Khimera Dual Flotation PFD as being perfect for sailing small dinghies, which are easily capsized but require a minimal vest for moving about while tacking and jibing. Sailors, this one is a great option.

Read Review: Dual-Buoyancy PFD: Mustang Survival Khimera Review

Side-by-side with our best overall pick, the Astral YTV 2.0 ($150) is right up there with the best of them. Sporting a sleek overhead design, the newly revamped YTV gains a number of larger storage options, as well as a fabric overhaul that decks this PFD out in fully recycled and Bluesign-approved nylon.

Compared to the NRS Ninja, the YTV 2.0 is similarly freestyle-inspired but certainly more low-profile, only protruding 3” from the chest compared to the 4” of the Ninja. Thinner shoulder straps on the YTV will also appeal more to those with wide shoulders. The bulk of the flotation is kept below the chest, and allows for full paddle strokes without getting hung up. 

Stacked up next to the previous version, the 2.0’s front pockets have much more room to stash essentials, which is a welcome upgrade. New to the vest, a hidden phone pocket on the interior of the front shell tucks away your device. Obviously, you’ll need a waterproof case, but the design is novel, and we appreciated Astral making use of any spare room.

Our testers also appreciated the fact that the YTV is now covered in 100% post-consumer recycled nylon that is also Bluesign-approved — meaning the fabric is environmentally accounted for from the yarn to the final product. There’s already enough plastic junk in our waterways, and diverting some of that back into a PFD feels pretty full circle to us.

An excellent all-arounder pick, the Astral YTV 2.0 excels at most of it, and we’d slip into this PFD for kayaking, SUPing, or sailing any day of the week. The mobility is top-notch and doesn’t impede your paddle stroke, and while we did wish for a handwarming pocket, the other storage on the updated model makes the grade.

The Astral EV-Eight ($140) is all about breathability, and has a special front panel and high-back design that maximizes airflow and keeps us cool well into the depths of summer. Full coverage vests can be pretty sweltering if you’re not taking water over the bow, and the EV-Eight is our August and later PFD of choice.

Those foam panels are not only cored through to keep air moving front to back, but are also patterned in a type of egg crate foam to reduce direct contact with your torso. Copious mesh reduces the stick of sweaty nylon, and we found this vest to be significantly cooler than full-coverage PFDs like the NRS Ninja or Astral Layla.

All that airflow also makes this PFD just about the lightest full-foam vest that we’ve tried to date, and at 1 pound, 3 ounces, the EV-Eight is our go-to for expedition kayaking or deep packrafting where we won’t need a full-on rescue vest. Comparatively, a swiftwater PFD with all the bells and whistles can be a full 3 pounds.

Storage on this PFD is minimal, with two front chest pockets that are all mesh and expandable so they can be overstuffed. Interior shock cordage wrangles your keys, but other than a single lash tab, that’s about all you get on this slimmed-down vest.

Like the YTV 2.0, the EV-Eight also uses a fully post-consumer recycled and Bluesign-approved nylon shell, meaning less impact on the waters you’re looking to enjoy. It’s our hope that someday soon a PFD manufacturer will come up with an eco-friendly alternative to foam that can be mass-produced, but for now, we appreciate any percentage toward the ideal.

If you’re going deep on an expedition when every ounce counts, or just need a bit of built-in AC on your PFD, the Astral EV-Eight is our pick. It’s noticeably lighter than other PFDs in your hand, and the high-back design means it’ll work with just about any watercraft.

Perfect for casual lake paddling or evening SUP cruising, the Old Town Solitude II ($175) is a high-back design that will play nice with most any watercraft seat, and is decked out in some quality materials. The extended sizing on this PFD makes it a quick suggestion to anyone struggling to find a vest that fits them properly. 

The twin pockets on the front of the vest are, frankly, huge, and have stretchy panels that only make them larger when stuffed full. Behind these are equally spacious and fleece-lined handwarmer pockets, which, like the NRS Ninja, we couldn’t keep our mitts out of. For quick access to the kit throughout the day, this PFD was close to the top in overall capacity.

The size range on the Solitude II was also one of the broadest in our review, with sizes S/M, L/XL, and XXL/XXXL being available for chests from 40″ to 60”. While the NRS Clearwater accommodates more folks with smaller torsos, this PFD covers the other side of the spectrum, and fit our footballer-phyiqued testers with no problem.

The shoulder straps ranked highly compared to other PFDs, and are a perforated neoprene design that worked well for even broad shoulders. The strap design here employs Velcro to secure as opposed to a strap garage, but we found this made on-the-fly adjustments quicker.

The price is fairly high for this all-around PFD, and while the storage and comfort are plentiful, it’s tough to justify springing the $175 when other vests like the NRS Ninja can be had for cheaper. But still, the Old Town Solitude II has a number of things going for it, and with extended sizing, this PFD could be a perfect fit.

Storage heavy and comfortable to boot, the Astral E-Ronny ($135) is another excellent all-arounder — and one that has gone to lengths to thin out its overall profile. This PFD has one of the thinnest back panels on any vest we’ve worn and is unobtrusive to wear in almost any craft, all without going with a high-back design.

The pocket design on this front-entry PFD is certainly noteworthy, as it’s split up into a smaller square pocket on the right chest, and a large, phone-sized pocket on the left. This was ideal for casual paddles on more chill water where we wanted to tuck away a bit more kit — and had no little intention of going in the drink.

On PFDs that don’t use pre-curved foam panels, it’s the thinner ones that bend the best around our torsos, and the E-Ronny knows this well, with a scant 1” thick back panel that is split in two by a vent along the spine. This vent allows the back of the PFD to move with you, and we found this vest to be the least intrusive to wear on tall seats of any non-high-back model.

The strap storage on the E-Ronny is almost perfect, and the shoulders sport a few ‘pass-through’ garages that the tail ends can be stuffed into — unless you’re on the small end, where the straps come all the way through and continue to dangle. This is nice for on-the-fly adjustments, but some can end up some loose straps floating in the breeze.

From kayak angling to standup paddleboarding, the Astral E-Ronny should be considered among the do-it-all vests like the NRS Ninja and Astral YTV 2.0, only with better pockets. While both of those PFDs fit just a bit better, the E-Ronny is no potato sack to wear, and it makes a great option for anyone who gets out on the water in multiple ways.