North American Safe Boating Week is well underway. There are events happening across the United States and Canada. Rear Adm. John P. Currier, Commander of the 13th US Coast Guard District (Pacific Northwest) taped a special boating safety public service announcement wearing a Mustang Survival inflatable PFD. You can see more of their videos on their YouTube page.

We were really excited to hear the F3 Fishing Inflatable Vest PFD that we launched late last year received the North American Fisherman Club Member Tested & Recommended Seal of Approval. The NAFC has nearly half a million members and the panel members each received a PFD to try and give feedback. The vest was ranked a 9.3 out of a possible 10 points.

I thought I’d like to share a couple of comments from the reviewers:

“This high-quality product comfortably combines a fishing vest with a quick-inflating PFD. Plus, it has plenty of storage pockets.” Ethan Ball Rexburg, ID

“This vest is a must-have. It’s not bulky and is very comfortable. The 10 pockets, breathable mesh back and attachment for a landing net are it’s best features.” Joey Trammell, McAlester, OK

FDIC was a great opportunity for Mustang to hear feedback from so many people who use our gear as part of their job. It was also a chance for us to learn about other products that would interest people that use our gear.

One of those products that I came across at FDIC was the Ram-Air Gear Dryer, a vertical dryer used by Fire Departments to quickly dry gear after use and have ready for the next mission. I stopped by the Ram-Air booth and met with company president, Lance Dornn, to see one of the dryers for myself.

Lance uses Mustang’s Ice Commander Ice Rescue Suit to demonstrate how his company’s dryers work. Instead of using heat, the Ram-Air Dryer uses pressure forced, ambient air which can even get into those hard to reach places including the insides of gloves! The dryer has an automatic timer that can be set for up to 12 hours so that you can control drying time based on what type of gear needs to be dried.

Does your department use the Ram-Air Dryer? Leave a comment on OutThere and tell other Mustang users how it works for you!

For more information about Ram-Air and their dryers, visit www.ramairgeardryer.com.

This photo was sent into us by Svendsens Marine, one of our dealers. Annelisa looks like she is having a great time out on the water. Comment on what caption you’d put with this picture.

Karl Kalonka, David Chong and Mark Kulik of Ontario-based Extreme Angler TV know a little something about cold weather. They fish in it regularly. Recently they provided their tips to ESPN Outdoors for cold weather fishing and one of them was Safety Comes First.

Pay attention to where you’re at, what the weather is doing and what you’re doing. Always wear some kind of survival jacket or device. The Mustang Classic Coat is a great cold weather safety product. It’s waterproof, insulated and will keep you floating if you fall out of the boat.

Read the full article on ESPN Outdoor’s website.

Search for Mustang Survival online and you are going to come up with some very interesting stories and images. This blog entry came to me late last year in a Google alert and I held on to it for our blog.

The entry is on coldphoto.blogspot.com by blogger Laurel McFadden who is spending a year north of the Arctic Circle working on what she refers to as an epic photo project. This entry is about her adventures aboard the Canadian Coast Guard Ice Breaker Amundsen. There are some amazing pictures of her crew mates in Mustang Survival gear.

The blog is a great read. I encourage you all to give it a look.

We found this great picture of the children wearing Mustang Survival PFDs online.