Throw Bag Types used for Kayak River Rescues

Series Summary

Kayaks have been used for thousands of years, dating back as far as 4,000 years. Today the majority of kayaks are used for recreation. From sea kayaks to white water kayaks, these amazingly versatile boats are employed and enjoyed all around the world. Learning how to use a kayak does take skill and getting instruction from a professional instructor is essential for both beginners and advanced students.

In this free video series, our kayak expert will introduce kayak river rescue throw bags and life jackets, or PFD's. He will demonstrate how to use a river rescue throw bag in various water safety situations. You will also learn the importance of the rescue life jacket and how it can be used to assist in kayak swift water river rescues. This free kayak river rescue video series will provide important advice for any trip out on the river, whether you're a novice or experience kayaker.

Video Transcript

"Throw bags comes in many shapes and sizes and also styles for what you are going to be using them for. It is important to choose the right style for you. You've got a large rescue bag that comes with a spectra cord and this is a particular strong rope, nice thick cord and easy to grab hold of and has a breaking point of about 4,500 pounds when in good condition. You can also go to smaller bags where the rope is a little thinner and this is going to be good as well. If it's just a personal bag and all you are going to be doing is hauling people with it because it's not going to be quite as strong as the thicker bags that we are going to use for rescue purposes and the mechanical advantage systems. Types of bags, you've got small pretty user friendly bags and larger rescue types. The larger rescue types are going to be harder to throw and also harder on your shoulder. So if you are a smaller person or just not that good at throwing something, make sure you have a secondary bag that you can throw easily when you just need it for personal swimmer rescue and that sort type of stuff. The other type of bag is a belt mounted bag and this can be worn around your waist where it is easily accessible and you don't have to put it in the back of your boat. However if you are using the waist mounted bags, make sure that the type you are using the bag comes away from the belt and there are no plastic buckles or carabiner attached to it so that when you throw it there is nothing too hard to hit that swimmer and cause them discomfort. "