Buoyancy Loops...WTF????

[danleach]

Hey Cruisers,

Here's an oddball question for you. I'm looking at foulies....reading the feature lists. Most of the things are obvious, or marketing speak for something. But several have "bouyancy loops".

I've been sailing for a long time....like decades. But I've never heard of this feature. I'm also old enough that I don't care about looking dumb and asking stupid questions....

So come on team, what the heck is a "bouyancy loop" and have I been putting my life at risk in years of cruising by not being "bouyant" enough had I only used my "bouyancy loops"? Do I need to get "bouyancy loops" now for every child who comes on by boat or risk being sued by one of these super parents.

Thanks guys...and gals

[StuM]

Never heard of them either. A quick google gives lots of references - but all point to Henri LLoyd jackets. So I'd guess it's marketing thing. I suspect they put strips of closed cell foam or something inside the jacket.

[Draikhyan]

Buoyancy loops have been around for quite some time.

[Jim Cate]

Buoyancy loops are cleverly designed devices that float your wallet right out of your pants pocket and into the marketer's hands. I'm surprised that all of us old farts have survived without them.

Jim

[Paul Elliott]

Could they be attachment points for a PFD? I've seen some FWG that lets you keep your PFD attached, so you put both on at the same time.

But I've never heard of the term "buoyancy loop".

[Alan Mighty]

Originally Posted by StuM

Never heard of them either. A quick google gives lots of references - but all point to Henri LLoyd jackets. So I'd guess it's marketing thing. I suspect they put strips of closed cell foam or something inside the jacket.

One website marketing HL gear reads: "Full of heritage features, this jacket is nautically inspired with buoyancy loop details and offers protection from the elements."

That suggests little more than a fabric loop. one at the back and one at the front. Sort of thing added to make it easier to capture a floating corpse with a boat hook.

Al

[Matt Johnson]

Our Henri Lloyd are suppose to have them, but I can't find anything that I would point to and say "that's them there". I thought it was suppose to be a way to attach a pdf, but it never made sense to me, and I tried day after day to locate them on our Atlantic crossing...they got a lot of use.

Matt

[cattar]

I think the strips of closed cell foam are part of henri lloyd's 'deck armour impact protection system'. Good when racing.

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by Alan Mighty

One website marketing HL gear reads: "Full of heritage features, this jacket is nautically inspired with buoyancy loop details and offers protection from the elements." ...............

Al

Am I to understand that all of you are sailing around without this gear....

Heck, buoyancy loops have been SOP for a looooong time; at least as long as anchors have been.




OK - I admit, I don't have one either

[danleach]

372 of us have read the question....and still no answer.

Now we're all going to worry about dying because we didn't know about buoyancy loops, or use them correctly. "....the USCG Board of Inquiry today issued it's findings in the loss of s/v ALL OF US, and determined that if they had only used the buoyancy loops on their FWG they could have survived."

Sigh. OK, I'm calling the manufacturers. This has to be solved. I don't want to use Draikhyan's solution of lashing myself to Mr. Bip.

[Cavalier]

Buoyancy loops.. Pahh.. Obvious stuff: loops of buoyancy they are!



I'm sure a none-Henry-Lloyd company will get around the patent by introducing "displacement helixes" or "up thrusting horseshoes"..

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by Cavalier

Buoyancy loops.. Pahh.. Obvious stuff: loops of buoyancy they are!



I'm sure a none-Henry-Lloyd company will get around the patent by introducing "displacement helixes" or "up thrusting horseshoes"..

Hmmm... I'm tempted to just say "upthrust the buoyancy loops where the sun don't shine" and move on to other interesting subjects!

Sure hope that I don't die from this lacking.

Jim

[danleach]

Right, I'm with you Jim. And yet sometimes you get a question in your mind and say, come on, someone has to know this.

Is it the most important question of the day? No, of course not. And yet...nearly 600 of our sailing buddies here have looked at the question...and still we don't know.

;-)

[Alan Mighty]

Originally Posted by Alan Mighty

One website marketing HL gear reads: "Full of heritage features, this jacket is nautically inspired with buoyancy loop details and offers protection from the elements."

That suggests little more than a fabric loop. one at the back and one at the front. Sort of thing added to make it easier to capture a floating corpse with a boat hook.

Mea culpa. I was wrong. I thought the buoyancy loop might be the hanger loop on the back yoke.

I went through the Henri Lloyd catalogue, noting which jackets had buoyancy loops and comparing them to the jackets sans buoyancy loops.

I am pleased to announced, based on my extensive research, that buoyancy loops are useless things only designed to be useful to advertising copy aimed at separating money from the wallet/pocketbook/or other store of value of consumers who might want a marine-inspired heritage buoyancy loop.

As evidence I attach two thumbnails.

First, the Optimum down jacket with marine inspired buoyancy loops to the front storm flap (Henri Lloyd's wording, not mine). Run your eyes down the front storm flap. See the two little loops, pointing more or less to where the wearer's armpits would be?

Second, the Windra jacket with heritage buoyancy loop detail (HL's words), in the tasteful wine colour (really?). Yes, I know the colour is tough on your eyes. But work out the armpit level and draw a line: see where that imaginary line crosses the white zipper? See the two heritage buoyancy loops just off to the side of the stitching?

I assure you that if it weren't for the rain falling for the past two hours and that I have already cleaned the cabin twice (but think it's too early to turn into my bunk), I would not be pursuing this subject. I think I'll change anchorage tomorrow.

Al

[danleach]

Hey Al,

Yep, clearly too much time on your hands. ;-)

And I suspect you are correct that those little loops on the side of the zipper covers are the "buoyancy loops". I've seen them on Musto, Gill, West Marine, Henry Lloyd jackets all...and I've suspected they might be the aforementioned loops.

But, assuming we are correct, I still want to know that the heck they are...or were...for. You have found the word "Heritage" attached to them. That's a big find.

You don't put that on a product like this unless you really do mean to tell us. "Hey, this used to be a thing...but nobody uses it any more. But we still put them on your jacket because if we didn't, some jerk old timer would whine in an online forum that "real sailors always use their buoyancy loops"." But we'd never do that....I'm sure.

So, while we're narrowing in on what the buoyancy loops are (those little loops chest high on either side of the zipper flap) we still don't know what they are/were for.

Marketing or not, I still want to know.