If you’re a regular reader of SAIL’s gear reviews, you may recall that I love my Mustang Survival EP 38 life jacket for offshore sailing. Imagine my surprise when I learned that it was being discontinued. Fortunately, they seem to have replaced it with another winner—just ask TIME’s Best Inventions of 2024, the Red Dot 2024 prize, and the 2023 DAME design awards.
The Atlas 190 DLX has some inherent buoyance in the form of a thin foam lining, but the heavy lifting is done by the inflatable bladder, which features new ADAPT (Advanced Airway Protection and Turning) technology. This design will flip the wearer face-up in the water and incorporates baffle barriers to disperse incoming waves, so they don’t swamp a victim in the water. I can personally attest to the superiority of Mustang Survival’s floatation capacity: while wearing the EP 38 in my Safety at Sea course, I had by far the most freeboard of any of my classmates during the water immersion portion. The built-in spray hood pulls over the wearer’s face and make a cozy survival pod. The hood-tent is secured with loops, making it easy to assemble even if the victim has reduced dexterity in cold water.
A SOLAS water activated light will help improve visibility in emergencies, and it’s mounted at the highest point of the lifejacket. Unlike my beloved EP 38, which is admittedly a bit of a hassle to get on and off because it needs to go over your head and be re-adjusted for size every time, the Atlas 190 DLX has a quick release buckle that does away with all of that.
Mustang Survival says that they’ve engineered the Atlas 190 DLX to sit better on the shoulders and distribute weight evenly so that it’s still comfortable for days on end when you’re offshore. Afterall, the best life jacket is the one you will actually wear.
As for the specs, the life jacket provides 42lbs of buoyancy with a Hammar MA1 inflator (Mustang Survival’s rearm kits are lettered and this one goes by “N”). A tether point is built in, as are detachable leg straps. There is space to fit an AIS and PLB, and it is available in both red and black.
Though I haven’t gotten a chance to test it out yet, there’s little doubt in my mind that this year’s model will live up to Mustang Survival’s reputation.
$369, mustangsurvival.com
March 2025
