Expanding the product line

As the Full On Vest continues to be refined and perfected, Kev England's been doing some sewing of his own-making some much needed and heavily requested throw bags for the new season. Sitting back behind the machine felt a lot better than I'd expected. Creativity is good!

The resulting throw bag is the bomb. It's got a solid closure, easy stuff opening, bomber construction, highly visible, floats and is waist wearable. It's filled with floating spectra, or a more economical polypropylene, for the class 3 enthusiasts.
The product line is growing to include some simple yet effective rescue gear that's designed specifically for the river. A simple 15mm Dyneema sling, open ended, 2.5m long has long been a preferred item on the river. Stowed in the chest pocket, it works as a short throw rope, flip line, tie off, lowering sling, anchor sling, etc., etc...Anyway, we've now got a bombproof, bar-tacked Dyneema sling in the product line! It's a space saving option over tubular tape, and stronger. Also, sewn prussics save space and weight over their knotted cousins, so we've sourced these too.
Don't worry, the all new 2010 Full On Vest will be available soon!!! My next post will show you what it looks like!

2nd prototype.

Apologies for the delay in writing this...
So, the 2nd prototype vest has been produced and tested. On water testing was carried out on a very cold Arahura day. So cold that no images survived. I did, however, manage to take some product shots in a dry environment so you can see what the new 2010 Full On Vest is going to look like! Later it was thrashed around in the ocean surf to see how it fared in big water.
As you'll notice, it's very similar to the 2005 model, but with some major improvements. The front pocket is bigger and stronger. In fact it's probably the strongest pocket on a PFD anywhere in the world. We realise that there's nothing more frustrating than having a pocket blow out, leaving you unable to carry all your rescue gear and food, so the new pocket is madeof 1000D cordura (the whole exterior of the vest is 1000D cordura), and reinforced with Hypalon. It's got a #9 size coil zip, so that's bombproof too.
The small pocket has also been beefied up and some volume added, so you can carry enough food to last all day, and all night if you have to!
The shoulder strap pads have been lengthened, for added comfort whilst carrying your boat.
The chest harness is now secured with a NZ made 50mm cam buckle specifically designed for this purpose, providing a positive closure that will not bow open, even in the biggest hydraulics.
Testing the fit, form and function of proto. #2. Photo: Dave Williams.
Ocean waves like this are exhausting, but a good place to see if the PFD is going to ride up whilst taking a beating! You'll be glad to know it fits like a glove! And just in case you're wondering...the chest harness buckle did not pop open either!


Back view of proto. #2.
To the untrained eye it looks exactly like the old ones, but you'll really notice a difference when you put it on. Carefully shaped panels in the back of the vest aid in the fit, making it more comfortable, and allowing more flotation to be added without restricting motion.
The throw bag's been improved too. It's now more streamlined and easier to stuff.
You'll notice that there's no logo embroidery...don't worry, the classic Hydroscapes logo will still appear on the 2010 Full On Vests!

Destructive testing of the Torso Lock Harness system.
The harness integrity of the original Full On Vests were tested by jacking up my old Ford F150 truck under a tree, tying it off with the harness system and letting the jack go. The webbing didn't break, so I always felt that this was a good test of it's usefulness in a whitewater rescue situation. This time around I took a more scientific approach...Using a commercial testing facility in Christchurch, NZ, I tested the various harness parts to destruction! Full results will be published on completion of the testing, but I was pleased to see that the chest harness began slipping at 9.7kN, or just over 980Kg-enough to pull you out of the worst situations.
Out of interest, I tested the old FOV too. So, for all my old customers who used the 2005 and prior FOV you'll be glad to know that my own stitching failed at 1200Kg! As a wise man once said, "overkill is under-rated"!

First prototype testing!

The first Full On Vest prototype has emerged from the Cactus factory! The west coast weather cooperated and allowed for 2 days of on the water testing before returning to the factory for (many) minor changes.

We took it to the Styx River and spent the hour long walk-in talking about hydro schemes and the future, terrorism, the increasing cost of driving a car, etc. Everything but the most exciting thing happening in the whitewater world-the Full On Vest!

On the water, though I was pleasantly surprised to find that it fits me better than the original. The design skills of Andy Milne shone through and the thing fits like a glove! It's comfortable, and felt protective...I have to admit-I couldn't find the courage to test the body armour, but the fact that I did't notice wearing armour scored a positive in my book.

When asked, all other boaters on the water noted its tough appearance and looked decidedly jealous!

The Totara River provided a good location for swim testing.

It's definitely more floaty than the original too! We haven't had the chance to do any scientific testing to calculate the actual uplift force that it generates, but I gave it a good testing and found that I resurfaced quickly, was unhindered in swimming and it didn't ride up at all. Refinements working? Tick!

So, the verdict on proto 1... It works, it's an improvement, but there's still work to be done.

Keep watching. Work is progressing on the next prototype and should be available for testing soon...

So what's happening?

Well, since Hydroscapes River Gear ceased production of the Full On Vest in 2005, there's been a steady stream of requests from dedicated users (and jealous wannabe users) for more Full On Vests, and it's time to oblige those requests!

A five year hiatus has enabled Hydroscapes to shift half way round the world, and the new gear will be coming to you from New Zealand. The original ethos of quality assurance was brought to you by personally hand crafting each and every Hydroscapes product, but the new Full On Vest will be manufactured by Cactus Climbing Equipment , right here in NZ.

Many of you will already know Cactus for their legendary quality gear, but for those who don't

you can check out their web site at http://cactusclimbing.co.nz/ and see what they do.

Why Cactus?

Cactus make a product called the "Dreadnought Supertrouser". It's a piece of clothing that when you first put it on, you know that you're wearing something you're going to love. Then you put them through a couple of years of hard clothing abuse and you'll still be loving them. They're solid. They're reliable. They fit perfectly. They last way longer than any other clothes.

In short, Hydroscapes had to find a manufacturer who could deliver a premium quality product, and we decided that Cactus was the only option.

What next?

The man behind the design work at Cactus, Andy Milne, has taken all the original patterns and one of the last remaining original Full On Vests, and he is bringing the designs into line with Cactus manufacturing techniques. The original designs will remain unchanged as far as fit and function, but Andy's design philosophy of product innovation and integrity will surely add a flair to the Full On Vest and ensure that the design is able to utilise all the skills of the Cactus sewing staff.

Andy is hoping to have the designs completed and prototypes available for testing in 6 weeks and the first batch of 100 Full On Vests will be available for purchase in late June.