by Darlene Archer

Paddlers have a lot of choices. With innovations to boats and paddles happening almost daily, it’s not surprising that paddlers don’t spend a lot of time thinking about their personal flotation device (PFD). Many think all PFDs are pretty much the same.

Think again. PFDs vary greatly in quality, function, weight, and environmental responsibility. The PFD that scores highest in all these marks is the new Wondervest by Astral Buoyancy.

Never heard of Astral? You’ve probably heard of Astral’s founder, Philip Curry, who founded Lotus Designs. Curry sold his first rescue vest out of the back of his dark green 1981 Toyota pick-up at an NOC Spring Splash in 1994. After that first sell, he started sticking flower patches on the back of each vest and called his new brand Lotus Designs. Until that point, he had been just trying to get down river. Suddenly the river opened up, and the possibilities became endless. Soon most every paddler headed downriver was wearing a Lotus PFD.

Curry sold Lotus to Patagonia five years after he created it. He felt an environmentally-conscious company like Patagonia offered the ability to take the Lotus Brand where he envisioned-bringing awareness to the highly toxic plastics involved in the manufacturing of PFD’s and effecting changes upon these detrimental processes. Curry took a break from designing PFD’s to explore another environmentally-intriguing project: He bought and managed a 20-acre organic berry farm. In the years spent working the land, Phillip developed clean environmentally friendly processes that he’s integrating to the current PFD industry.

Now, Curry has returned to the PFD world with Astral Buoyancy. Based on non-conventional thinking, Astral Buoyancy is committed to creating unique and necessary products that facilitate the deepening of one’s relationship to the natural world. Curry measures the success of Astral Buoyancy by comparing the amount of plastic they purchase to their profit. They are constantly trying to improve their systems by using the best available material and by finding ways of decreasing the weight of the PFD, which ultimately improves floatation.

It hasn’t long for Astral to make a splash among paddlers. They were taking orders for rescue vests before the product was even completed. Astral’s dedication to the development of sustainable product design surpasses the present market. The designs are the long-awaited response to what paddlers have been asking for: an eco-friendly PFD that feeds the paddler, not the masses.

What makes an Astral PFD different? First, they exceed the standards of safety, strength, comfort, and durability found today. The simple engineering and ergonomics of the innovative designs accommodate a wide range of bodies. The most unique quality of the vests is the z-strap system. Most PFD’s are flat and forced to wrap around the body. The resulting friction decreases the integrity and strength of the design; it constricts the body, which restricts range of motion. The z-system however allows for the best response because it sculpts to the shape of each body. It allows two adjustment points instead of six to tighten the entire vest.

This easy adjustment system creates a harness that protects the wearer’s spine and ribs, while offering the ultimate freedom of movement during paddling and/or swimming. Professional wear-testers have given high marks to Astral’s PFD. Matt Oertling and Steven Sickinger, professional wear-testers from New Orleans-based Masseys Outfitters, admitted that they were initially apprehensive to Astral’s PFD because they didn’t see the advantage to the z-strap system. One trip downriver changed their minds. After overcoming the small learning curve of the z-system, they bought the PFD’s.

“We didn’t think PFDs could get any better,” said Oertling.

“We were wrong.”

Darlene Archer is a Nantahala Outdoor Center kayak instructor who paddles throughout the southern Appalachians. She can be reached at darlenearcher@hotmail.com.