While most people are shopping for cradles and bottles when expecting a baby, I was deep into researching an area that I thought was much more important: life jackets. I figured that if our daughter was anything like her parents, it would be impossible to keep her away from messing around on boats, and we’d need to equip her with the right gear immediately.
The choice was clear: Spinlock had just launched a new line of life jackets that were a step beyond anything else available for infants and young children, and the first shipment was about to hit the United States. Our daughter would be wearing Spinlock’s NEMO+ Deckvest. It’s USCG and Transport Canada approved, but those are bare minimum standards to us—this life jacket goes well beyond that.
The Nemo+ is a high-buoyancy design supported by closed-cell foam positioned to turn the wearer to the face-up position. It’s brightly colored and includes an impressive amount of SOLAS reflective tape. The outer fabric is notably resilient, and soft neck panels are introduced to prevent chafing. Where it really differentiates itself is with the built-in harness: on the back of the NEMO+ is a harness loop to connect a tether. This location keeps small fingers away from clips. A grab handle on the front also makes it easy to retrieve or support our daughter. A padded leg strap equates to safety and comfort in the water and while crawling or walking around onboard.
The NEMO+ is available in two-sizes: less than 33 pounds and 33-55 pounds. The larger size is also available as just the NEMO, with no harness or grab handle, but for the small price differential, the flexibility of the NEMO+ is an obvious choice for our adventures. Donning this PFD is simple, with an overhead approach, a smooth zipper, and quick-connect strap (note the quality anodized aluminum buckle) to secure the NEMO+. Spinlock also includes a whistle, tucked into a chest compartment on the right side. I’m not sure whether to thank them or not for that, but I am very glad it’s there. So far, neither my daughter nor niece have been tempted to use it as a toy (we’ll need to keep that reminder in our safety briefing)—I suppose there are just too many other wonderful distractions onboard a sailboat, and we’re appreciative Spinlock can keep them growing up on the water safely. Spinlockusa.com
