Mustang Atlas 190 lifejacket
It’s not very often we get to see innovation in lifejacket design as the rules are so tight for safety coding that there’s little room for changing the status quo in terms of bladder shape, inflation technology and so on, writes Fox Morgan.
Mustang Survival has been a popular brand in Canada and the USA for over 50 years. But the brand is relatively new to us in the UK. With its clothes and safety gear used by the US military, Mustang is making its mark this year with this new Atlas 190 Pro Sensor and the Atlas 190 DLX Pro Sensor lifejacket.
From the outside, the casing looks pretty standard. It has a smooth contoured shape to fit the body and once it’s on you can easily forget you’re wearing it. The back section is cut low so there’s no pressure on your collar making it really easy to look up at the burgee or sails.
It weighs in at 1.2kg, including the sprayhood and light, which is lighter than all other lifejackets we have tested with this level of equipment.
The weight is also distributed nicely across the whole body. I tried this on with just a T-shirt and then later with a lightweight foul weather jacket and both options were comfortable.
But the real innovation is when the bladder is deployed. The shape is unlike all other lifejackets currently available. The bladder at the front is more pointed or conical, with additional wave baffles built into it. This acts to make waves pass around you while those that hit directly are baffled by the webs. There’s an additional little ‘pillow’ to raise your head further still and this gives a real feeling of being raised out of the water.
The sprayhood has an easily deployed pram-style arch support which keeps it from collapsing on your head and keeps the plastic away from your face. In the water, I was able to scull backwards and manoeuvre really easily as there was plenty of room for arm articulation.
I suspect all other lifejacket manufacturers are going to have to up their game in terms of bladder design. The Mustang Atlas 190 DLX has set the bar very high indeed.
MUSTANG ATLAS 190 LIFEJACKET
Price: Atlas 190 Pro Sensor (basic model) available in red or black. £210
Atlas 190 Pro Sensor DLX (includes sprayhood and light) available in red or black. £230
Contact: mustang-survival.co.uk