Last season my lifejacket and Binoculars got stolen out of a crate as I was taking stuff to the boat at the beginning of the season. I didn't want to be without eiter one so I replaced them.

I bought a life jacket with the same mechanisme as the old one because I still had spares for it. Halfway trough the season I opened a box at home and found my stolen stuff. I had misplaced them during moving house... But, it is no problem to have a spare inflatable lifejacket on board, even if you sail solo a lot. But I do have a pair of binoculars for sale now.

Anyway.
I really enjoyed the new jacket, it was more comfortable than the old one.

I always check my inflatable life jackets myself so this is what I did after the season. Just inflate them trough the tube and see if they hold the air for at least 24 hours. Check to see if the pill is still intact. Weigh the cartrige to see if it is still full.

To my horror the cartrige was not screwed in propperly! I had been sailing an entire season with a non functioning life jacket!

Looking back it was a humongous stupidity to assume that a new life jacket is ready to go straight from the bag. It would be a nuisance to say the least to have the thing inflate before it were anywhere near a boat.

If you sail solo, Check, don't assume!