20 Best Toddler Flotation Device (2022 Updated)

Loved this swimmy! My daughter is 2 1/2 and a fish. She loves to swim but still needs help so we got her this. She’s tall but skinny for her age and I feel this fits her perfectly when pulling the strap snug.

Of course she only wears it while supervised. I recommend this to other parents :).

What an amazing product! The 2 in 1 kids life Jacket and Rash Guard has all the right stuff. We are able to ensure the grandbabies stay safe around the pond. It is always a little dangerous with little ones fishing in our pond, especially when other family members are around.

We had a daughter get accidentally pushed in one year, and have always been over protective with children around water. The life jacket and rash guard fits well, no buldging anywhere. Our grandchildren know they need to wear it about the pond, and it fits them well, and feels good, they have no problems wearing it.

I highly recommend.

I love this product. The design is great. I love the combination of the life jacket and rash guard. Both are must haves for the pool and having them in one is great! The fit is great and super comfortable.

I love the fastening in the back of the vest to ensure safety. Worked great for my little one.

My daughter hated wearing her normal life vest all day due to the rubbing the crotch strap always did. Now she has this one for safety and confidence and she loves it. Fits her beautifully. The built in rash guard really helps keep the vest from riding up in her face all day too (equally annoying to the crotch strap).

And her shoulders and chest are protected from the sun as well. This gives great flotation yet she is still able to move freely to swim and float on her back. Would definitely buy again without hesitation.

Bought this 22 years ago for my granddaughter, they “were” so well made. The inner-tube was the same grade as a tire tube. It was a well made swimsuit with a heavy grade tire tube, and the suit was made to last.

Fast forward 22 years, bought this for my Great granddaughter. Total garbage, cheap plastic tube, cheap material on the “suit”. And the strap that goes between the legs. Not comfortable for your toddler.

My great granddaughter hates it. 20 years ago, my granddaughter lived in hers all summer long. Why would you cheapen this. We’re talking a child’s safety. This is garbage.

I used a similar vest for our son when he was little and he is now 31. His daughter and son now have these and I love them. One did get a leak though and deflated after using it a year. The quality is good, The blow up ring could be a little stronger made to make it very good.

I remember my sons being firm. But I would recommend this product. They are packed in the suitcase to take our grandchildren to the cottage.

I would say this is an “ok” product. It’s kind of short, I do wish it were longer. The tube is basic float material, kind of cheap. I have to hold the front of it up as my son plays because his face still hits the water.

They can easily fall through even with the strap, so it’s not the safest, but if I’m holding him, it’s helpful. Still in search of a safe, good quality swim vest! (My son is 1 1/2, but big & tall).

Easy to use, works well. Like the upper strap for a grasp handle. I intentionally wanted a USCG approved orange life vest because orange is one of the most visible colors in various water settings. This is great.

My 2 year old HATES wearing life jackets. All of the ones he has worn float up on him and rub his chin and neck, regardless of how tight the bottom strap is. I was drawn to this life jacket because of the bright colors and dinosaur print (he loves dinosaurs).

I also liked the price. The first time he wore it, we spent the day on a pontoon boat on a lake. He was irritated when I first put it on him, but he soon forgot it was even on. It fits very well and is not bulky.

It is also coast guard approved.

My 3 year old son loves this life jacket! We got the dinosaur version, and it’s a very good-looking design. It fits great and adjusted well to his size. It floats great, despite being pretty thin and not very bulky.

We got this for boating, but he also prefers swimming in it rather than using water wings. His arms are free to paddle and he floats better, keeping his face out of the water better. It’s given him a LOT more confidence in trying to swim on his own without cleaving to us the moment we let go.

Love this. My granddaughter is 15 months old. Did not want to be in life jacket or swimsuit with foam or baby boats. Got this as my girls used it. Slightly disappointed with the tube. May not last so that is why I gave it a 4.

I will replace with a tire tube if need be as that is what the old ones were made of. She now goes around the pool alone. Learned to keep her mouth closed. Is so happy. We are within reach for those of u reading this.

You have to remember that it is not a life jacket. It is step 2 in a learn to swim option. Life jackets are hard for them to move as they keep flipping on their back.

It checks all the boxes. Beer belly friendly. 7. 5″ x 7. 5″ pocket size is a game changer. Super comfy, Perfect for class I/II paddling. This is the best PFD I have ever bought, I just cant believe how comfortable it is.

I do have somewhat of a beer belly, and this works perfectly. The middle straps and the angled straps on top, will grip down on your upper torso to prevent ride up. I keep the lowest straps just snug.

As for sizing. I just measured around the area where I thought the lowest straps would rest. Then ordered the size I needed. I love the 7. 5″ pockets! One pocket is for GPS and phone and whistle, other side its for breakfast bars, packs of peanuts, Oreos, various candy.

Pockets easily holds a full size sandwich! The attachment point for a hat lanyard behind your head is a nice touch too. Mesh back works great with my Liquid Logic XP10 kayak high back seat. If your thinking of buying this.

don’t hesitate. You’ll be glad you did!.

Bought this for my 1 year old grandson for a beach trip. He is my 10th grandchild and I have purchased many life Jackets, but this one is far superior to all. Because of the style and fit(open back and thin genius construction) made him comfortable while wear and move around in and out of the water.

Older grandchildren want one like it in their size.

This is a well-designed and comfortable fishing vest. Now I wear a life jacket all of the time I’m on the water, without complaint, which is something I’ve not been comfortable doing with traditional, cheaper non-fishing-oriented pfds.

Excellent functional design for carrying pliers, sharpener, etc, attached with lanyards. Lots of attachment points of varying designs makes set up easy. No more scrambling to find the right tool to unhook a fish–and no more tools lost to the depths.

Have not been in the water with this on, so I can’t vouch for the flotation capabilities. I’m a 40″ chest and the L/XL fits perfectly–there are multiple adjustable straps to control what part of your torso the vest rides on.

The wide shoulder straps don’t irritate me, even after wearing all day. Can be slightly uncomfortable in hot weather, but less so than other pfds I’ve used. I can paddle all day with this vest on. Doesn’t interfere with casting while seated in a canoe.

Great product that makes safety comfortable.

One would think that adjusting the life vest would be universally trivial right? But no, these guys made it convoluted. The topmost strap is OK. Not much range, but just enough. The bottom two straps are a mess.

How can I describe. There’s three ‘macro-level’ range adjustments. After selecting one, you can fine tune the adjustment for that range. The first range is too small. Useless. The 2nd and 3rd ranges are ok.

The 2nd range is ok if you weight 90lbs and measure 5″. Other than that, you need to select the 3rd range, and then the strap is awkwardly long, and very awkward to adjust. I managed to adjust it somewhat ok, but.

Don’t know why they had to complicate things like that with these 3 ranges. First one of which is useless, except for storing the life vest. (Too small for any human being). Disappointing.

I bought a SUP as birthday present to myself. Absolutely had to have life vest considering that everybody wanted to SUP: kids and grandparents 12 70. So I looked all over the Internet at all different life vests, and found my Perfect Vest.

1. Has open sides so it fits everyone. 2. Bright red color, easy to see even half lake distance. 3. Feels professional so no one objects to wear it.

Nice fit and not bulky at all. This is thin and will allow you plenty of motion while in your boat. The neck opening is big and there is no rubbing on your neck or limiting your head and neck movements.

The arm openings are big as well and allows you to move freely. Adjust your straps and slde right into this vest. It is so lightweight that you hardly no you’ve put it on. Love the American flag theme and is a great purchase for the American Patriots.

Great company great people. Service and products absolutely top of the line .. Larry Ogden

Best purchase ever Wish I would’ve made this purchase earlier instead of sitting around wondering now that I have is the best thing I’ve done

My 9yr old loves it. It’s not flashy but matches his paddle board at which loves.

Boy, do I wish this was available in the early 90’s when I was a kid. This sure does beat the blow up floaties, that ripped your skin off while fighting to get them on, any day of the week! At any rate, I mostly have a Love/Hate relationship with the Puddle Jumper.

First off. in case you do not know, a Puddle Jumper is a combination life jacket, swim aid and swim vest. A child slips his or her arms through the arm floats of the puddle jumper, and then it is buckled behind the back to secure it.

Puddle Jumpers are approved by the Coast Guard and are considered a type III personal flotation device (PFD). Retails for about $16 at Walmart. Why I LIKE 💕: I have watched the evolution of the Puddle Jumper from water wings to its current model with my children and I will say that it is a massive improvement.

Arm floaties or water wings are NOT Coast Guard approved and serve no purpose in keeping your child safe in the water. There is no body or head support with those blow up rings, so don’t waste your money – or risk your child’s safety.

Puddle Jumpers are great for a parent’s peace of mind around water. They help support the child’s upper body reducing the risk of drowning. Parents can’t be everywhere at once, so it is helpful to have your child wear a puddle jumper or lifejacket at the pool or beach.

Why I DISLIKE 😤: If you want your child to learn how to swim, TAKE OFF the Puddle Jumper! (Of course, you should be supervising and within an arm’s reach. ) Children who spend all of their time in the water with the Puddle Jumpers are missing out! They become dependent on the PFD and do not learn basic survival techniques – like floating on their backs.

What will they do if they accidentally get knocked into a pool? Many children who wear Puddle Jumpers forget they have arms – and don’t understand the importance of their arms in learning to swim. They have become so accustomed to having their arms float, they neglect using them, even during a swim lesson! Kids who are a little more comfortable in the water will swim with their face in and kick beautifully – but their arms will be dangling at their sides.

***This review is not to shame parents that use Puddle Jumpers because they DO serve a purpose, and are a great tool for when you need a little extra security. For example- when you have multiple kids under your care at the pool or keep getting phone calls from work.

Accidental drowning is the leading cause of death in children one to four years old, and the second leading cause of death in children five to 14 years old, so non-swimmers should ALWAYS wear a PFD when not in direct contact with a responsible person.

But don’t forget to let your child feel what it is like to be in the water without being dependent on a PFD (with you nearby!). And, of course, swim lessons are a great idea to help teach kids the importance of their arms in swimming.

My granddaughter wore this exact one to the water park last week and it was a life saver! It’s so cute also! We didn’t have to constantly carry her in the water of course she was supervised the entire time.

She was confident enough that she tried to go under water to swim lol! Although, the jacket wouldn’t allow her to, it was the cutest and funniest thing!! This was definitely a very smart purchase. My only concern is that it’s a bit of a struggle to get their tiny arms out of the rings.

I feel as though I’m going to hurt her if I pull too hard on her. There has to be an easier way to remove them. If there’s a larger size when she grows we’ll size up for our next trip on the water.

We got this for my 10 month old niece to use when on the boat. This is a full life jacket that fits infants up to 30 pounds. The design is very unisex with the orange, turquoise, purple and white colors.

The fish become colorful when wet and are almost white when dry, but you can see the design still when dry. The design is only on the front. The back and inside are orange. This has a floating headrest which is a necessity for safety at this age, but does make it slightly uncomfortable for the baby.

My niece adjusted to the feel of wearing this pretty quickly and seemed content with it after the initial shock of restriction wore off. The headrest has a handle to grab if they do fall into the water and is supposed to encourage face up floating.

Luckily, we didn’t have to test that feature! This has a zipper up front and an adjustable belt with a piece that goes between their legs. For safety features, this seems to have it all covered. There is no way a baby is getting out of this themself.

I appreciated the information on the tags to help the consumer use this safely. This seems well made and we look forward to getting lots of use out of it this summer.

This is so nice and easy for toddlers to wear by or in the pool. It was simple to put on. The straps are easily adjustable and snaps in securely. There is even a strap on the bottom that connects the front and back for extra security.

Safety around the pool and in the pool is so important. This life jacket ease the worries I have with my little one while enjoying fun pool time. And the design is super cute on it. My kiddo loves it! It even will change when it gets wet! She loves wearing it.

And once she takes it off, it doesn’t take forever to dry either. It’s great all around!.

This safety vest is great for young children that are learning to swim in small swimming pools. The colors and style of the vest is super cute!! It makes swimming even more exciting. The fit is perfect and can be adjusted to your preference.

The safety on this vest is great and is important. The quality is wonderful and is well made! I would recommend this for your summer vacation needs.

We recently used one of these at a resort we went too and really loved it so we had to buy one! It feels much safer than the ones that inflate on the arms. My daughter is learning to swim so this has definitely served it’s purpose already several times! It is a little pricey but I think the quality is aligned with the price.

Very happy with this purchase and would definitely recommend. My daughter wears a size 5/6 clothes and we got a size small.

My children had these vests growing up. My 7 grandchildren now wear them. They last and we just pass them down as they out grow them. My last grandchild just went into an adult small. Great bright color so you can spot them.

They come in blue and yellow.

I bought this for my 2 month old to use in the indoor pool at the beach. I didn’t know this jewel even existed. I was trying to find her one of those little mini blow up pools/bath tubs to float around in after only being able to enjoy the hot tub with her in her stroller right beside it.

I stumbled across this and it was a game changer and I could enjoy the whole indoor resort and she was sleeping comfortably the whole time. I got many compliments on it and recommended it to a lot of people.

It has straps that adjust to keep your baby snug. The seat part is raised up perfectly out of the water and her bottle and pacifier fit in it with her. I wrapped her in a little bath towel in case of kids splashing around us and we floated around with no issues.

Ok, when I bought this I figured this would be the perfect solution for my little since he couldn’t sit up unassisted yet. As far as the foot goes, I like it. If you blow the back part of the seat up too much, then your baby is going to lean more to one side.

I have found inflating it about 80% full allows it enough give for the baby to sink down into the float seat and stay seated straight. Now, here is the issue I have on the float. no matter how hard you try, you can NEVER get this float back into the original bag, because the float will not fold back down as flat once it is aired up! I’m really surprised they didn’t make a more accommodating carrying bag.

The float is massive, so you want to fold it back down for storage. Add the canopy into the mix, a whole no go. If those little issues were fixed, I give it a 5 stars ⭐️ ⭐️ 🌟 ⭐️ ⭐️ hands down.

We bought this a couple of weeks ago for our baby and it’s great! The only downside is that some water seeps in where your baby’s bottom is. I would love this even more if baby could stay dry, but overall, it is a high quality made item and we feel safe putting our little one in here.

I haven’t found any other floaties that are like this where your baby is safely secured in a pool float. The price point is a bit high, but overall it is worth every penny! I would highly recommend if your little one doesn’t have enough head control to sit up in the other pool floaties on the market.

I have bought this vest before, but now my daughter must be “between” sizes, as the larger Level II is just too big. The vest has a tendency to ride up and cause brush burn equivalents around the arm pits.

Pro’s are it’s something a child can get into and out of by themselves, and it keeps them afloat!.

Bought this last year for my 9yr old son to take to summer camp. Also used on a 5 day backcountry canoe trip with me, and for recreational swimming and boating at cottage. This PFD is great, no complaints whatsoever.

The zipper is made by YKK and we have had zero issues with it sliding down. The nylon webbing tightly secures in the buckles for adjusting size, and the buckles themselves are high quality. Would highly recommend this PFD for all of the activities described above.

Used two youth sizes for a few weeks canoeing, kayaking, swimming. Found that the buckles didn’t keep the strap webbing tight on the three of the four buckles. Both zippers fell down quite often. I’d consider these flaws to be safety issues.

Made of good quality materials. Fits my 31 lb 2 yr old. Probably only for this summer since my toddler has big shoulders lol

Son is in 80% for height and is about 15 months old. This was way too big for him. The floats on the arms weren’t even close to staying up and the strap was as tight as possible and he was very unsecured in it.

We’re keeping it because we’ll eventually need it anyways but not something I would be able to put on him now and release both hands even for a millisecond. We’ll have to buy a different float to let him kick around in for the meantime.

Seems like a nice product. Was recommended by his YMCA swim “instructor”.

Provides good coverage in front and flotation works perfectly. A solid product with nice bright colors. Bought another Speedo brand flotation device and had to return it because it wasn’t adjustable in back.

It appeared defective but Target made me pay shipping fees since it was returned. This one was adjustable and worked great!.

Purchased for my 2 year old, and fits pretty good. She is exactly 30 pounds, so she is at the low end of the weight limit. It does not fit as tight as I would like, but it is okay. I do wish it had a gusset strap that went between her legs to keep it from going over her head.

All in all I am glad I purchased for the lake, as she is never far from us but it gives me peace of mind that if somehow she went into the water by herself that she wouldn’t immediately drown.

I bought the Stearns Kids’ Basic Puddle Jumper Swim Vest for my 2 1/2 yr old great granddaughter to take on vacation and to wear in our pool. It was Coast Guard approved(what I insisted on before purchasing this product or similar one).

The vest works wonderful, it keeps her head and her arms above water yet gives her the independence she insist on while swimming. I am planning on getting another to keep her just in case hers is left behind.

Which I hope her parents will never do.