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i'm eyeing the O'neil Gooru as a peace-of-mind solution to put under my wetsuit for kiting and sup in larger surf.

is there anyone one out there that has experience with one and would give me a thumbs up or down for it? i'm specifically interested in how low profile it is and much flotation it provides.

also open to anyone's advice on a favorite vest as an alternative.

behindThePeak wrote:i'm specifically interested in how low profile it is and much flotation it provides.

You're fooling yourself if you are looking at an impact vest for floatation. Impact and floatation are two different things. If you want something for added floatation, impact vests are not the answer. A USCG Type 2 vest is rated at 15.5lbs (Type 2 is for calm water conditions). Impact vests are rated at under 10lbs. Most adult humans require 7-12lbs just to keep their head above water in calm conditions.
I've used several brands of floatation vests for kiting over the years and hands down the best one I've found has been ProMotion's Kite Vest... http://stores.wetsuit.com/kite-vest-grey-d53/

http://store.kittyhawk.com/DaKine-Surfa ... P5797.aspx

I find that the Dakine impact vest provides quite a bit of flotation. You almost don't need to tread water in it (combined with a 5mm O'Neil wetsuit).

Just a warning on buying some non kite specific impact vests, if they have foam down in the harness area it can be quite uncomfortable to wear.

If you want flotation, LF has a decent amount of options to take a look at

I've been really happy with the Litewave vest. It's a happy medium:

http://www.litewavedesigns.com/products ... -vest.html
Kirk out