In this forum, I've seen all those recommendations for inflatable lifejackets that you can wear around your waist. I spent 35 years with inflatable lifejackets and know them to be &*(%$^%. The lever mechanisms and puncture pins always corrode up, the CO2 capsules leak, and you don't know where you stand unless you do very DETAILED maintenace daily. They are something like Dumbo's feather, a magic talisman to satisfy a legal requirement with no true practical value. The last thing I elect to do on saltwater is to trust my life to ferrous metals or their alloys.
Who has a foam lifejacket that they feel offers a good comfortable fit that does not interfere..much...with their stroke.
I've seen the Mocke advertised by Ocean Paddle Sports, but know it is NOT USCG approved. I look at it and cannot see where the foam is. I also note it has a place for hydration, which has to make it heavy when it is on your back out of the water.
Yeah, yeah, I know they all chafe and give you an uneven tan. Favorites? Ones you've seen in a catalog or store that you'd buy if you didn't have religious convictions about wearing lifejackets?
Personally I'm thinking of weaving kapok into my jams.