My original thought was to contact the manufacturer and get their opinion before posting this here, but I feel the safety issue is so critical that it can't wait. It's life threatening. I'll post any info from Stearns right here as I receive it.

I purchased a Stearns inflatable belt pack PFD 2 years ago, and have worn it religiously while float tubing and wading deep. I tested one in the store before purchase, to make sure it fit, but of course It was already inflated. The store was at approximately 5000 ft elevation. It fit over my head just fine.

Last monday while I was hosting chat, Max gave me a short checklist of things to consider before trying my new pontoon boat on the water. One of them was to actually test my PFD with the CO2 cartridge (the original one that came with the belt pack PFD). I bought a spare cartridge, and did that test with the original cartridge this AM. It inflated fine, but to an incredibly high pressure-- SO HIGH THAT IT WOULD NOT FIT OVER MY HEAD. Tight as a drum. 3 friends came over today to visit, NONE of them could fit it over their heads! It's marked "Adult Universal."

I'm at 8,200 feet elevation, and I rarely fish anywhere below that. That altitude difference is all I can figure that caused the problem, though I'll let you know here what Stearns says....i very much doubt such a large and respected manufacturer would ship a defective PFD. It's got to be the altitude. But where's the warning about altitude? None on the PFD, none in the owners manual. The donning procedure now turns into --- pull cord. Remove rubber cap from oral inflation tube. Bleed off gas by pressing tiny inside valve button on tube, then sqeezing bladder....then don the PFD. Not acceptable, by this time MY bladder would be squeezing!

For rivers, I always wear a normal water skiing PFD, I used the belt pack only for calm stillwaters. No more -- frankly, this morning's test scared the crap out of me. I've been wearing a PFD that doesn't work at my elevation for 2 years. I feel like a complete dumb***. I'll be on the phone with Stormy Seas for a new PFD vest first thing tomorrow morning.

DANBOB