WADER OBSERVATION REPORT
|
|
|
|
|
Date |
: |
9/26/06 |
|
|
|
|
Stunt Professionals |
: |
William Meulink, Scoutmaster Dinsmore |
Test Time |
: |
2:30 PM |
Date Tested |
: |
7-12-06 |
Test Subject:
To determine if chest waders will pull a fisherman under water in the event that this person were to fall in.
Test Equipment:
Breathable chest waders, wader belt, wader boots and life jacket.
Disclaimer:
The action sequences shown in this report were performed by highly trained stunt performers in the outdoor recreation industry. All of the stunts were not completed until after such time as the stunt performers had sufficiently rehearsed each stunt to be performed under the direct supervision of a qualified stunt coordinator. The stunt sequences shown in this report are extremely dangerous and should under no circumstances be attempted or duplicated by any individual who is not a trained, professional outdoor recreation stunt performer.
Stunt professional William "Bill" Meulink
Stunt professional Seward "Scoutmaster" Dinsmore
Upon entering the water via a back flop, the first thing I noticed was how the trapped air in each leg kept them both high in the water.
Bill evaluating testing conditions
Bill approximately 2 seconds after jumping in
With the life jacket on, this was a comfortable predicament. I was very buoyant and could easily move through the water.
Bill very buoyant with a PFD on
However, without the life jacket, I do believe that the trapped air in each leg would make it difficult to keep your head above water in a fast moving current. Turning over to perform a front crawl caused the release of the trapped air in each leg and allowed the waders to completely fill with water.
Bill doing the front crawl with trapped air in his waders
Waders are filled with water but PFD holds Bill afloat
Once the waders were filled, it was still relatively easy to swim while wearing the life jacket.
Bill still able to swim even though waders are filled with water
The life jacket was removed to determine if the waders and boots were “negative buoyant”.
Bill is now in the water with no PFD
Even with the life jacket removed, it was easy to float on my back (in calm water) and stay above the surface.
Waders are filling with water and Bill finds it difficult to stay afloat
The Cabela’s back country wader boots, along with the neoprene wader socks used, were causing my feet to float while in this position. Without the life jacket, I found the front crawl to be totally ineffective. The front of the waders acted like a drift sock and almost completely eliminated any forward movement.
Bill unable to swim because of drift effect
Walking out of the water was not difficult. Once my waist was out of the water, I felt the weight of the water trapped by the wader belt.
Note that the waders are holding water in the top half of Bill's suit
I would estimate this to be approximately 2 gallons, which translates into about 17 pounds. Walking up on shore was also fairly easy, even with the remaining water being trapped in each leg. Overall, I would say I was probably packing around 40 pounds of extra weight on dry land.
Note the water in each leg of the wader suit
Bill emptying water from the waders
Conclusion:
The wader belt and life jacket are definitely essential items. Falling into a river with these items on would greatly increase the chances of survival. Although I could easily float with just the waders and no life jacket, it would be very difficult to swim to shore in moving water due to the drift sock effect. At no time during the test, did I feel as though the waders were pulling me under. While in the water, I was neutrally buoyant, with the exception of my feet, which wanted to float. However, in fast moving water without a life jacket, an undercurrent catching at the top of the waders could pull you under.
I think that the type of life jacket used is also a major factor in maneuverability while in the water. The life jacket used in the test completely wrapped the upper torso which prevented the top of the waders from opening up. This allowed the front crawl to be performed without having the “drift sock effect”. It is unclear if the inflating type of life jacket would provide the same level of maneuverability.
End of Test Report
