Indus Personal Flotation Device
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Why We Like The Astral Indus Personal Floatation Device
The Astral Indus Personal Floatation Device combines excellent buoyancy with a comfortable fit and unimpeded mobility, allowing us to confidently paddle into the whitewater. The pullover design with easy-to-use hook-and-loop straps secures a tight, comfortable fit without loose ends poking us in the face. The prioritized storage is thoughtfully placed to ensure easy access while also improving our buoyancy. Plus, this full-featured, high-float rescue vest offers a quick-release harness, a tow-compatible carabiner tether, and a Type V certification with 22.3 pounds of floatation.
Details
- Freestyle-inspired PFD for big whitewater and quick currents
- Type V life jacket offering 22.3 pounds of floatation
- Two-panel architecture improves mobility for easy paddling
- Integrated shoulder straps and chest harness ensure durability
- Pullover design keeps loose straps away from your face
- Zippered front and side pockets keep essentials close by
- Dedicated knife storage gives you quick access in emergencies
- Item #ASLT022
- Flotation / Buoyancy
- 22.3lb
- Tow Compatibility
- yes
- Closure
- pullover, hook-and-loop
- Pockets
- 1 zippered front, 1 zippered side, 1 knife slip
- Claimed Weight
- 3lb
- Material
- [face fabric] 500D Cordura nylon, [lining] 200D high-tenacity nylon, [floatation] PVC-free Gaia foam, polyethylene foam
- Manufacturer Warranty
- limited lifetime
- Activity
- paddling
- USCG Type / Level
- Type V
Reviews
Q&A
What do you think about this product?
Overall Rating
4.5 based on 48 ratings
Review Summary
Fits True To Size
Screen reader users: the following list provides a visual scale to illustrate the product fit. Please refer to the heading above for the fit type in text.Customer Images
Here's what customers have to say
The product provides excellent flotation and buoyancy, particularly helpful in whitewater and low-volume scenarios. Reviewers noted the comfort and secure fit, with the pockets and organization system also praised. While some found the pullover design challenging, the majority considered it a high-quality, well-designed personal flotation device that they would recommend to other paddlers.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews.
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Selecting an option will reload the available reviews on the pageJuly 2, 2025
Indus review
Nice, high-flotation jacket that does not get in my way or chaff while rowing for 20+ miles. Biggest drawbacks are: feeling like a breech baby being birthed trying to get it off (it’s a struggle!!) and the small/medium size is surprisingly a bit large for me (female, 5’8”/145#). Can’t seem to cinch it tight enough to get that real snug fit. It won’t come off during a rough swim, but it feels like it might scooch up on my torso making it tricky to swim where I need to.
Originally reviewed on astraldesigns.com
June 25, 2025
High Floatation with Room for Improvement
I’ve been paddling with the Astral Indus for a while now, and overall, it’s an incredible PFD. As the highest-floatation whitewater vest on the market, it delivers exactly what you’d hope for in terms of safety and protection. I especially appreciate how secure it feels around my entire torso, while still allowing for an impressive range of motion—I can crunch forward effortlessly, which makes paddling in this vest feel like a dream. It's confidence-inspiring on every level. That said, I do want to offer some honest feedback about the storage design—specifically, the access to the front zippered compartment. The Indus offers almost the same amount of storage space as the Green Jacket, which I’ve also used a bit. However, where the Green excels with its wide clamshell zipper that allows easy access to the entire compartment, the Indus falls short. The zipper on the Indus is surprisingly small and only opens a fraction of the available pocket space, which makes retrieving or organizing gear more difficult than it should be—especially in the dynamic environments this PFD is built for. I understand that the design may have been intended to keep the profile low (e.g., for better visibility during portages) or because it’s meant for rivers where a full pin kit isn’t necessary. Those points may be valid, but they don’t really address the core issue. The concern isn’t about how much storage the Indus has—it's about how that storage is accessed. If the intent was to discourage stuffing gear in the pocket, the solution should have been to reduce the pocket size—not to maintain a full-sized compartment and restrict access with a tiny zipper. As someone who uses this PFD in demanding environments, I’d simply ask that Astral consider reworking the zipper design. A slightly larger opening—something that allows access to more of the compartment—would make this vest not only more functional but safer, especially when fast access to small tools or essentials is needed. Thank you for making gear that continues to push the envelope in safety and performance. I hope this feedback helps refine an already outstanding product.
Originally reviewed on astraldesigns.com
June 13, 2025
Indus High Float PFD
I felt the need to upgrade this year to a high float jacket for some of the bigger water runs I do a few times a year. Moving on from the tried and true Green Jacket was a difficult decision for me but after a few runs wearing the Indus a won't be turning back. The initial fit seems a bit bulky at first but once you get used to the extra material around your waist it feels quite natural and I didn't feel my movement was impaired in the least. I ran a few creeks and then a high water Upper Animas during peak flows. Also took it down the San Juan and had fun floating a couple of rapids to test the floating. It's so great having your head clear out of the water!
Originally reviewed on astraldesigns.com
April 23, 2025
Float like a butterfly, Sting like a bee
A great new standard of high flotation from Astral! I definitely notice the Indus when I'm wearing it a little more than the GreenJacket but this is the inevitable trade off of having more flotation! As the vest has "worn/broken in" over time it has become more and more comfortable and form fitting. The pocket actually fits much more then I would have guessed and I have yet to have it come open on me even in the rowdiest of big water Stikine beatdowns.
Originally reviewed on astraldesigns.com
March 22, 2025
Could have been so great (the pocket is awful)
I was thrilled when I bought this, a high float option from astral! I'd been using the green jacket for years and appreciated the extra security of the high float for bigger water. I've used this pfd for a whole season before choosing to write this review. The good; the foam on this pfd is well engineered and doesn't feel any bulkier than my green jacket. As to be expected the jacket is constructed very well and the material and workmanship is excellent. The bad; I truly loathe the pocket system on the front. In my green jacket clamshell I could fit a bar, rescue cpr mask, chapstick, sunscreen, frame tool and my dang phone if I wanted. Yes it was bulky, but if I didn't fill it up with nonsense it was slim. This pocket is so small you can't fit half of what you could in the clam shell and since it only has a tiny access you're always fishing blindly with two fingers for whatever tiny items you managed to squeeze in there. The sideways zipper is a travesty in itself, forget to zip it, or have it come unzipped when pulling yourself into a raft or paddling and all you stuff just falls out. Finally my biggest issue/concern is one the green jacket shares. The knife placement. For a kayaker it's ergonomic and out of the way, but for a raft guide it's downright dangerous, when you rescue a swimmer you pull them in on top of you and if your knife is mounted in the supplied location it hits them in the teeth. So you can opt for a folding rescue knife that you can fumble blindly for in the terrible pocket or you can do what I've seen most that guides do and zip tie your knife out of the way on a shoulder strap. I feel like this pfd was supposed to be a great opportunity to refine the small imperfections with the green jacket and instead you guys didn't address it's one biggest issue, (knife placement) and went and messed with a universally loved feature that wasn't broken (clamshell pocket). Also I'd like to point out that I use (and love) the integrated throw rope that it's marketed with and that single item creates more bulk in the PFD than anything that could ever fit in the clamshell pocket, so what were you really saving us from? As I sit here gearing up for my first river trip of the season I was reminded to write this review when looking at my old tired green jacket and considering taking it because of how much of a let down the Indus was. And I write this review not out of spite or anger, but out of longing and sadness for a product that could have been. If there is any chance that a PFD could be created that uses the high float foam arrangement of the Indus, the clamshell pocket from the green jacket, and had a mount for a river knife that perhaps was up towards the shoulder and maybe had a flap of stiff fabric to protect the rescued swimmer and maybe reduce possible entanglement issues it would be the holy grail of pfd's that I hoped the Indus was going to be. I truly enjoy many products from astral and I'm in full support of the gear you make, some items I have bought again and again. But I feel the mark was truly missed with the Indus.
Originally reviewed on astraldesigns.com
January 11, 2025
Indus PFD
For such a high float PFD, it fits like a glove! Looks great and it's an essential piece of kit that just keeps giving - Astral, you've knocked it out of the park...
Originally reviewed on astraldesigns.com
January 5, 2025
Best PFD for kayakers
Best PFD on the market. As a curvy female I was worried about the comfort but it feels so natural paddling in this vest. On a nasty swim this thing got me to the surface fast and made swimming to shore easier. It doesn’t affect my ability to roll at all and I love the storage. Astral set a new standard with this jacket!
Originally reviewed on astraldesigns.com
November 18, 2024
Amazing PFD - Indus Tested
I just got back from a 30 day trip to Pakistan that culminated in paddling the Rondu Gorge of the Indus. With 20 days on the water and a whole crew of four using the Astral Indus PFD, I got a really good for how this PFD works in the context it was designed for - class five big water paddling. I personally took three swims in the Indus. Two of the swims were relatively expected with large holes and a crew of safety at the bottom. I was stoked to have the extra flotation and it was noticeable when as soon as I flushed out of the hole I was quick to the surface and able to get to shore with the help of the safety crew. I did however have one swim that was unexpected and scary. In a rushed attempt to set safety for a friend, I seal launched into the water and quickly was pushed into an undercut on shore in my boat, alone and with the rest of my crew up at the top of the rapid I was forced to swim after multiple attempts to get upright in the undercut. I flushed when I swam but was then pushed into a siphon on shore. Here I believe the Indus PFD really helped me to self rescue. As compared to other swims I have encountered in the Astral Greenjacket and other notable pfd's from Kokatat, where even when swimming you are seriously at the mercy of the river. I found that in this specific and dangerous situation, the floatation from the Indus PFD actually held me up on the surface - I caught my breath and was able to get oriented in time to see that I could actually pull and climb out of there without getting pushed from the force of the water under the rocks where my fate would have been different. This is not a glory story, but an honest testament to this PFD used in the river it was designed for - a river with consequences. A big thanks to Astral for designing a PFD that will continue to support the safe progression of the sport.
Originally reviewed on astraldesigns.com
October 22, 2024
Great PFD but...
I would have given the indus a 5 star rating but my only complaint for this new PFD is the access zip to the pocket and the pocket itself. One of the things I loved about the green jacket was that big front pocket with different spots to separate your items in the pocket. I've always carried a simple pin kit in my front pocket i.e prussics, sling and caribinars also ear plugs and a knife. Never been a big fan of the external mounted knives as I've found that they tend to be a snag point and also can easily fall out. I love the extra buoyancy and the overall fit feels very similar to the green jacket. If it was up to me I'd suggest the green jacket 2.0 (same jacket more buoyancy)
Originally reviewed on astraldesigns.com
October 11, 2024
Living the extra floatation
The extra floatation has been great for teaching river rescue and I haven't noticed the extra bulk when kayaking. The zipper pocket no lt near as good as the classic clam shell. It is still new so I am finding hard to keep tight enough. I think once it is worked on some more the straps and foam will not be as ridged and slippery
Originally reviewed on astraldesigns.com
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