Pono House

A bit of business–Camelback(tm) is a trade name of the leader in hydration packs. We’re using the name genertically because most people refer to hydration packs as Camelbaks.

We’ll get to the Camelback part in a little bit, but first a little recap of current PFD requirements for SUP. If the U.S. Coast Guard has things their way, most SUP paddlers in the United States who paddle outside of the surf zone will be wearing a PFD and toting a whistle soon. I can’t say that’s a completely bad idea, though the current regulation is nonsensical. You can comply fully with the regulations by tying an inflatable PFD with a whistle attached to your board. No requirement for a leash. Then if you fall in and there is any wind at all, your board will quickly depart, leaving you without a floatation device of any kind. If the regulation were to be written in a sensible way it would require that you WEAR a PFD with a whistle attached unless you had a leash. If you had a leash, only a whistle would be required.

The problem with regulations written by people with limited understanding of a sport is that they rarely make good sense, and so people tend to ignore them even if they partly rational. The regulations have to be enforced, rather than just being made clear. And the officers enforcing the regulation know that it’s poorly considered, so they enforce it sporadically if at all. I have been stopped by harbor patrol, coast guard and sheriffs numerous times, and except for one goofy occasion in Elkheart Lake, Wisconsin, I have never been cited, or even made to comply in any way. Just warned that the regulation exists–generally with a lot of sympathy from the officer regarding the silly regulation.

It doesn’t have to be that way. If you’re in the open ocean, or even a big lake or a wide river, and your board gets away from you, the situation can go bad fast. Even if you’re a fine swimmer the combination of cold water, exhaustion, swells or surf, and panic can turn a minor [...]

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