Yesterday, I finally broke down and bought an inflatable personal floatation device.

It was a purchase I had been considering for a long time.

Mostly because I figured it would provide an extra level of safety when I wade and fish in fast water, but also because I believe I will wear it in the boat and canoe, rather than sit on it as I do my old PFD. And wearing a PFD is the smart thing to do.

What I didn’t take into account was the curiosity factor and how it would affect me.

You see the model I bought can be inflated in three ways. You can blow it up by mouth. You can pull a rip cord to activate the CO2 charge that inflates it. Or you can just wait for 10 seconds once you have immersed yourself in water and the CO2 charge will self-inflate.

The problem is the last two options cost you about $45 every time you use them. Which is to say they inflate only once before the CO2 components need to be replaced. This obviously rules out routinely wearing my inflatable PFD in the bathtub. Or does it?

You see I am curious as to what it looks and feels like once inflated. This is only natural. Every time I get a new toy, I try it out.

That’s why I almost immediately inflated the unit by blowing it up. That part is free.

But that rip cord keeps taunting me. They made it yellow so it’s hard to ignore.

I want to ignore it. Oh, believe me, I want to. But the darn thing is yellow. Bright yellow.

Don’t get me wrong. I know it would be pointless and wasteful to spend $45 just to see a life jacket inflate. Then again, how do I know that it will inflate when I pull the rip cord or immerse in water if I never try it? Am I supposed to just take their word for it?

This is a dilemma for me. I’m not a trusting man.

But I also know that if I wore it in the bathtub and it inflated, I would feel silly. After all, I could wear my conventional PFD in the tub for free.

I mean $45 for a new kit is kind of steep.

And even if I did prove my new unit works by wearing it in the tub, I would still wonder about the rip cord.

For instance, does it have another use? Is a parachute somehow packed within that PFD? I will never know until I pull that rip cord. I mean you don’t want to find out you have a parachute when you need a PFD. Plus, the darn thing is yellow. Bright yellow.

Frankly, I am at a loss.

Jenn keeps reminding me that the company that made my inflatable PFD has been doing this forever and notes that they have a great track record in reliability. She says I should save myself the $90 it would cost me to try the other options and just trust them.

Still, she understands that the yellow rip cord is taunting me. They made it bright yellow. But she says that my PFD was expensive enough without the cost of inflation.