The Stohlquist Infant Life Jacket has an appealing design with minimal foam at the rear and straps that adjust in the back, but we found that some of the straps loosened after being worn for a period of time.
The Airhead Gnar Neolite Kwik-Dry Life Jacket Vest has a cool retro look, but it was uncomfortably tight around our 20-month-old tester’s neck. It also absorbed a lot of pool water and became heavy to carry afterwards.
A less expensive version of our top-pick Stearns Infant Heads-Up Nylon Vest Life Jacket, the Stearns Infant Life Vest, is lacking some of the special details we like about our pick, like soft neoprene-like fabric covering the crotch strap. And it has only one buckle, compared with our pick’s two sturdy buckles. We also tested the child-size version of our infant pick, the Stearns Heads-Up Child Life Jacket, but found that kids within that weight range largely preferred lower-profile life jackets without head pillows.
Curious to see what a heavy-duty, maximum-protection life jacket would feel like, we tested the stiff (and pricey) Mustang Survival Solas Type 1 Child Life Jacket. But then the company informed us that it’s meant to be used on open-water boating situations, like cruise ships, in an emergency.
The Stohlquist Fit Child and Fit Youth have an appealingly low-profile design, but it was difficult to keep them from riding up in the water, even after multiple tightening attempts. This may be in part due to these life jackets’ extra-large arm holes.
The Stohlquist Escape Youth has a cool, cropped, paddling-centric look, with handy pockets in front for snacks and treasures, but its many straps and buckles require a lot of fiddling to get the fit right. Still, it could be a good option for a kid who spends a lot of time in a kayak.
We tested the Mustang Survival Youth Lil Legends Foam Vest, and our testers found it comfortable for swimming and playing, but then we learned that the company is discontinuing it in the youth size. They told me that most older kids don’t need or want the extra support of a head pillow.
The NRS Crew Child and Crew Youth are well constructed but stiff. They’re comparably priced to our top-pick life jackets from Mustang Survival, but our testers preferred those because of their movement-friendly segmented foam and breathable mesh panels.
The NRS Vista Youth is another cropped, paddling-friendly life jacket that feels nicely constructed, but several of our testers found the shoulder straps, which sit close to the neck, uncomfortable and difficult to adjust.
We considered and tested a variety of swim aids, otherwise known as floaties or water wings, such as the Speedo Kids’ Begin to Swim Flotation Classic Life Vest UPF 50, the Splash About Go Splash Swim Vest, the Sunnylife Swim Vest, the Sunnylife Floatie Jacket, and the Drip Floats Kids Float. But since none of them are Coast Guard–approved, we quickly took them out of the running.
The Moko Toddler Swim Vest we purchased on Amazon arrived with a label printed on the inside of the vest that looked like the new Coast Guard approval labels. However, it didn’t have the UL stamp, and Phillips confirmed that the label was a fake when I sent her a picture. Parents should be on alert for fake labels as they shop for life jackets and floaties.
We discovered the Floatee Anti-Drowning T-Shirt at this year’s ABC Kids Expo. We were intrigued by the concept: It’s a UV-protective shirt meant to be worn when a kid is going to be around water but not meant to be in water. If they do accidentally fall in, a built-in water detector causes a gas cylinder to automatically inflate, and the shirt becomes an internationally certified life jacket. (While we didn’t get a chance to test this on a child, we held the shirt underwater, and it inflated immediately.) It’s an expensive shirt, and you have to replace the detector and cylinder with each use, but some parents might find it fits their particular needs.
This article was edited by Rachel Hurn and Kalee Thompson.
