Blog

I recently upgraded my PFD to the new NRS Vector! I like it a lot so far. I was previously using the Kokatat Guide PFD. A nice difference between the two of them is the placement of the knife. It's tucked away further down on the stomach, rather than up on my shoulder/chest.

Something I had never noticed I was doing though, was hooking my skirts grab handle around top of my knife to keep it out of my way while moving around. I wasn't able to do this with the knife where it is now, so I experimented a bit with some temporary options. I didn't want to have to pull out and put away a carabiner each time, and needed something that would stay out of my way. I finally realized! Magnets!

I decided I would attach some magnets to my PFD and some to my skirt loop to achieve the same effect without having to deal with or worry about extra strings/carabiners/etc gettin in my way.

I was a bit worried about the strength of the magnets, and if they would be able to hold up a heavy wet skirt. Four magnets in each pouch are strong enough for my bungee skirt, but I imagine a few more would be needed to achieve the same effect on a heavier rubber rand. If you are also worried about this, you could spend a bit more money on some “rare earth magnets” from Lee Valley or amazon. They are extremely strong and won’t demagnetize over time.

It works exactly as planned, and in some cases even better than my original system. The magnets are strong enough that they stay stuck together when I'm moving around, while the previous method would sometimes fall off if I leaned over to pick up my boat etc. Here's a quick tutorial if anyone else wants to give it a try!

You will need:

• Magnets (I got mine from home hardware for 6.12$)
• Scrap fabric (I used the strap of a reusable shopping bag)
• Sewing needle
• Thread
• Scissors

I had a reusable shopping bag that was falling apart, but the straps were still in good condition. The magnets fit perfectly inside the strap. The sides were already sewn shut for me, so I just added a simple seam to the bottom and slid the magnets inside.

The two pouches with four magnets each.

I made two of these pouches then sewed them to my gear. I attached one pouch of magnets on the underside of the grab handle loop of my skirt, and the other to the inside of the “strap garage” part of the PFD.

Together in action! The pouch on the PFD tucks nicely into the strap garage on the PFD, and the one on the skirt is out of the way while boating.

I'm not the speediest hand sewer and the whole project took me about 30 minutes. I imagine with a sewing machine it would go even faster. All in all, it's a super cheap and easy project that makes the kayaking smoother and simpler!