Look at getting my first impact vest that fits with my waist harness.
Any particular brands and model that stand out to get?
Not an impact vest but I often use one of these in the waves.
Good fit, can swim easily and a handy little pocket for sandwiches. It also helps with warmth during winter
www.prolimit.com/collections/floating-vests-men/products/402-53250-floating-vest-freeride-waist-side-zip
Impact vest, or lifejacket/floaty impact vest?
if purely impact vest then i would be searching for a hard type that'll fit better with a waist harness, if you want the floaty type then its going to be a compromise between having it cover the surface area to to give you the protection, and not having it turn you into tommy turtle whilst hooked in.
i'm a waist harness wearer as well, and i haven't been able to find anything to date that i'm truly happy to wear whilst sailing. Things go better for the seat harness people i suspect. its particularly annoying in WA (i think its Australia wide?) since we are technically required to wear a pfd pretty much everywhere once over 400m from shore.
i currently use a forward whip (latest model) pfd when i absolutely have to. its probably the closest ive been to happy. I see vakobi have a new much higher slim pfd that might be better
I am using the ride engine defender hf.
Very comfy and integrates nicely with my waist harness.
When looking at impact vests, look for something that provides protection for your ribs on the sides. Many vests from the kite world omit this.
