I attended the Great Lakes Sea Kayak Symposium last weekend, and heard Nigel Dennis speak on many topics, including gear. Of course he was pushing gear, because he is the Nigel Dennis of Nigel Kayaks Ltd. of England, maker of Romany kayaks and related gear. His PFD had many pockets on it, loaded with emergency equipment, and he said it probably wouldn't float by itself. Of course, he hasn't had to wet-exit in years. US PFD's can't have that many pockets so that they can't be loaded up with gear like that. One maker gets around this by making a buckle-on mini backpack of sorts that clip to the back of the PFD. It's not part of the original PFD, so it passes without the pack.

Dean