Deflated SECUMAR Alpha 275 3D. The outside looks like a normal SECUMAR life jacket.

<b>Buoyancy chamber improves rotational properties</b>

Air pockets trapped in heavy work clothing or in dry suits often cause great problems if a life jacket is to rotate the person overboard into the safe face upwards position. Bernhardt Apparatebau’s technical department have come up with a new solution in their intelligent design of the SECUMAR Alpha 275 3D. The secret of the success of this life jacket from their industrial range lies in the shape of the buoyancy chamber.

Compared with the conventional type of buoyancy chambers, the Alpha 275 3D’s buoyancy chamber is shaped in such a way as to additionally form two almost triangular air cushions when inflated. These stretch almost vertically away from the mid-chest area of the life jacket wearer. They reach upwards – into the „third dimension“, hence the description 3D.

Anyone who has ever tried to juggle an upturned bottle on his fingertip will recognize the advantages of this: you have to contend with a small contact area and a high centre of gravity – this is why the bottle will easily tip over. This is exactly how the SECUMAR Alpha 275 3D works when its wearer falls face down into the water. The buoyancy chambers inflate automatically, and the weight of the person wearing the life jacket immerses them in water. The buoyancy of about 280 N gives rise to turning forces which tip the man overboard straight to one side and reliably turn him on to his back.

The new, patented design of the buoyancy chamber has a further pluspoint: the improved visibility of the wearer. This buoyancy chamber protrudes about 20 centimetres higher over the surface of the water than conventional types. A life jacket light can also be fixed to the jacket at the highest point. This means the man overboard can be more easily seen in heavy seas.


Furthermore the EN 399 approved Alpha 275 3D work vest shows signs of the usual SECUMAR quality. A snug fit, the low weight, and a soft neck fleece give the life jacket great wearability.

With one glance, the SECUMAR viewing window in the rugged protective cover allows the wearer to check the status of the life jacket’s inflation device which, incidentally, complies with the strict requirements of the US Coast Guard. A single green indicator in the SECUMATIC 4001 S denotes that the gas cartridge is full and correctly inserted, and that the water-soluble pill which actuates the flow of gas into the buoyancy chamber is in place. A new type of locking device prevents loosening of the carbon dioxide cartridge.

The SECUMAR Alpha 275 3D of course also has an integral recovery harness with 260 daN load capacity. SECUMAR’s patented click buckle – as easy to use as a car seat-belt - is used to fasten the 50 millimeter wide waistbelt.

	Inflated SECUMAR Alpha 275 3D. The special new bouyancy chamber system creates the 3D effect.