An impact vest provides riders protection for the upper body from smacking the water’s surface at high speeds.

Falling from 300 feet in the air, the waters surface feels like concrete. Naturally kite surfers, kite foilers, and wing foilers wear protection like the impact vest to prevent the wind getting knocked out of them or worse.

Impact vests are great for water sports that involve kite surfing or kite foiling since the rider can get pretty high. A good impact vest fits tightly and will give riders more confidence when they’re soaring in the sky and worried about hitting the water hard.

Overall, an impact vest is safer when kite surfing.

Is a impact vest a life jacket?

No an impact vest is not the same as a life jacket.

Impact vests provide little to no buoyancy aid to help riders stay afloat in an emergency. Impact vests offer better protection for smacking the water compared to floating on top of it.

Impact vests are not coast guard approved as a flotation vest because they offer little buoyancy aid. An impact vest’s purpose is to protect riders from accidents, not to keep the rider floating.

If you swim well, you can choose impact vest instead of life jacket.

Should impact vests be tight?

Yes. Impact vests should be pretty tight around the shoulders.

It’s all about how it fits and feels on your body. It’s important that the vest should be snug but gives you plenty of range of motion. Loose impact vests will not work properly and can cause injury. It must fit tight to protect your torso from impact.

At the end, if you kite foil or kite surf, we strongly recommend you wear one.