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Posts: 8782
| Anybody tried these? Thinking about all the layers we wear in the fall - between the underwear, pants, fleece, etc and the insulated boots and bibs/parka, if you go over, you're going to sink, or at the very least not be able to climb back in the boat. A life jacket is great, but when the water is 40 degrees, you've got about five minutes before you're in real trouble.
My questions for those who have a mustang suit:
Did you go with the one piece suit, or the bibs/coat?
How warm is it?
Have you ever jumped in with it on to see if it really does keep you dry and really does float?
Before I shell out that kind of money, I want to know if there's any reason not to... |
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Location: Eastern Ontario | I have a Mustang Alantic Class 1 piece it is quite warm but not as versitile as the 2 piece.There are zippered vents for ventelation but it would be hard to do up the zippers as you are falling overboard. Both only have flotation in the jacket so if you are only wearing the bibs because it is warm it will do nothing for you . Most of the guys trolling the Larry in open boats in Nov. and Dec. Seem to favour the 1 piece. Tomorrow will be fairly warm so I will wear my mustang Float Coat and jeans. In Ontario they only count as an approved device if it is being worn.
I had a friend who did tests for the OMNR with the one piece suits in winter and after about 2 miniutes he could not pull himself up onto the ice without picks. His comment was it will give your wife a body to bury. |
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Posts: 2015
| horsehunter - 10/21/2012 6:31 PM
Both only have flotation in the jacket so if you are only wearing the bibs because it is warm it will do nothing for you .
That is not true - I have the mustang bibs (and a class III coat) . While the bibs are not rated as a life jacket they most certainly do have foam lining and are very buoyant. Ive jumped in with only my bibs on (long story) and was surprised how well I floated. Next summer I will see if I can sink with only bibs on with several layers of clothes getting drenched, but I doubt I sink. |
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Location: Eastern Ontario | If that's so I stand corrected. i just double checked my 1 piece and the foam comes to just below the fly and the legs are quilted. Not sure I want to float legs up.
Do you really have to wait till summer to test those bibs. I was out today and saw a girl watersking, water temp 47 and I thought it was only muskie fishermen that were crazy. She had a short wetsuit of some sort that covered her torso but her arms and legs were exposed. |
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| http://muskie.outdoorsfirst.com/board/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=68...
1-piece is very warm and doesn't need much for layering. you can remain flexible enough to cast easily. it's not just a trolling suit.
i have not jumped in with it on. i'm sure you'll float, but would you be able to swim a mile or two to shore because your boat sunk? i don't know. could look at an immersion suit but that assumes you have time to don it before your boat sinks. |
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| How does the Mustang suits compare to the Helly Hanson Suits ? |
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Posts: 35
| I have had the insulated one piece suit for about ten years now. It has been dry until this year when it started to leak along one of the seams. I have used it in everything from a driving rain/35 degrees air temps to the coldest day I ever spent on the water: -18 at launch time. I have never been cold. I have also never tested its flotation capabilities. Bottom line: I'd buy another one. Good luck. |
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Location: Eastern Ontario | Buy the spray sold for waterproofing Sunbrella tops and covers and spray the seam or the whole suit. |
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Location: Grand Rapids, MI | Make sure you get what you really want. Do you want floatation or do you want protection from a cold water immersion? The two piece suits are going to keep you floating but aren't going to provide much/any protection from hypothermia. If you fall in and can't get back to the boat a two piece suit with floatation will make it easy for someone to find your body, if you fall in with an anti-exposure suit it gives someone a chance to find you alive.
They're warm. On a sunny day when the temp is going to get to 50, I'll wear a t-shirt and jeans and will be hot even with the suit unzipped. On a 25 degree morning I'll wear a t-shirt and jeans under the suit and be comfortable. |
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Posts: 2015
| The one piece Mustang suit 2175 (wetsuit) or Mustang bibs/coat are going to do basically the same thing these are both considered wet suits and water will leek in but are both designed to keep you alive much longer than without.. UNLESS you get a one piece immersion suit which are very expensive and cumbersome (never seen a musky guy wear one), your hypothermia protection will be similar bib/coat vs one piece.... The one-piece will keep you alive longer than bib/coat but the bibs/coat is not a bad choice for hypothermia protection, and neither will probably keep you alive all night if you fall in and no one finds you until morning! Be careful this fall. Here's more info about Mustang:
FLOTATION COATS & SUITS
Ideally boaters should equip themselves with a flotation suit or jacket and pant combination. These products are considered 'wet' suits as water will enter the suit but the thermal properties of the suit will warm the water and help maintain the wearer's core temperature, while at the same time, keeping them afloat.
Each of our suits, coats, and jackets is designed to protect you from the cold. They provide flotation as well as hypothermia protection. Protection is achieved through the construction of each garment. This cross-section illustrates the three-layer construction.Tight-weave high tenacity nylon outer shell is abrasion and UV resistant Closed-cell foam traps air pockets providing both buoyancy and insulation.
IMMERSION SUITS
Boaters who are out for long periods of time should carry an immersion suit, which can be donned quickly in an emergency situation. These suits are considered 'dry' suits and provide the highest level of thermal insulation as well as flotation. They are designed to keep a person alive for an extended period of time until help arrives.
BUOYANCY
Mustang Survival garments are lined with our innovative AirSoft polyvinylchloride (PVC) closed-cell foam. By trapping air pockets, this foam provides our products with both buoyancy and insulation. In fact, all Mustang garments exceed the minimum buoyancy requirements for Coast Guard approval. |
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Location: Grand Rapids, MI | IAJustin - Similar in that both will allow water in but drastically different survival time during a water immersion. Jacket and bibs have a CLO rating significantly less than the 2175. With jacket and bibs you have about one hour in 40 degree water, with the 2175 you'll have about 6 hours. If you are a half mile away from shore and have to swim to save yourself you may not make it in jacket and bibs, if you do make it you'll be hypothermic. With the 2175 you'll not only make it but you'll still be warm then you get there.
There is a good chart here:
http://www.go2marine.com/docs/7/0/0/6/70064F-mi1.shtml |
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Posts: 2015
| What is the CLO rating for bibs and coat? Going to be significantly higher than the .185 of coat only. Which according to the chart looks like coat only would keep you alive over 1.5 hrs in 40 degree water. |
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Location: Grand Rapids, MI | The Mustang site says their catalyst bibs and coat have a Clo rating of .17 when worn together. |
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Posts: 2015
| Good to know and glad I don't have that model - My coat is rated at .185 alone has a quick strap on the waist and neoprene it the cuffs very little water comes in....I cant find what this classic survival coat along with the classic survival bibs rates. I'm guessing over .25 |
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Posts: 719
| I have the heaviest duty Mustang 1 peice suit they make. Reinforced in many spots and the same one is used by the CG so they claimed. When I bought it 5 years ago it cost with tax $610.00 at Canadian Tire. Very good investment but two major complaints...only one front lower pocket to put my hands instead of two...and it is not waterproof. Got no response from Mustang when I emailed them about it either. I use it everyday for at least 4 months a year. |
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Posts: 8782
| My main concern is not dying if I should go over. And I've been doing this long enough where I know it's not a matter of IF you go in, but WHEN. Slipped on an icy front deck a few years ago. Landed in the boat. Could just have easily not. My first thought: "long underwear, wool pants, fleece, insulated bibs, insulated boots, parka, hat, gloves... What's this stuff weigh when it's wet?" Bought a self inflating life jacket. But If I'd have gone over, would I be able to climb back in the boat? If not, THEN what? Even if I'd have made it back in the boat, it's 35 and I'm soaked. Could I get out of the boat? Make it to the truck? Drive somewhere?"
When you start thinking of what can go wrong, just being able to float (i.e. life jacket) might just mean they find you floating tomorrow instead of in the spring. No less dead.
But if it's going to get me soaked in the rain, or be too bulky to move around and cast, or not be warm enough, I'll be a lot less inclined to wear it.
So I guess the question I have is does the 2175 suit provide any protection from rain, or is it just basically a snowmobile suit that floats?
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Location: Eastern Ontario | I doubt you would pull youself over the side of the boat you best chance would be at the transom use your cavitation plate as a step. use your power trim to lift you. If fishing alone trail a length of floating rope to enable you to catch the boat. If you go out when the main motor is running you want to hope it dosent come around and run you over.( use your kill switch teather )
Some models are water proof I have not seen any of the other models soak through without years of use they can be sprayed with the same stuff used on Sunbrella tops and covers. |
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Posts: 94
| I've used the Mustang and Stearns suits for work and for fishing. I highly recommend the suits in cold water situations. I've been in 33 degree water without one and I hope that never happens again.
The one-piece suit I've worn for the past 10 years is a Stearns model 29-58 Type V PFD Anti-exposure coverall (Cat. No. 1580). It is Coast Guard approved. It has floatation in the legs plus an inflatable "pillow" behind the hood.
Extremely warm for fall trolling. Not totally waterproof, but it does repell water and doesn't hold the muskie slime too bad. In a heavy rain I put raingear on over it. By then I feel like the Pillsbury Dough Boy 
The suit clearly states it may increase the difficulty of emerging from the water. I have a ladder for the back of my fishing boat. My suit is more flexible now than when it was new. If you fish in the late Fall or early Spring you should seriously consider wearing a similar suit, be it a Mustang, Stearns, or some other brand.
Kevin |
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Mustang survival suits