Based off the old school “arm floaties”, it improves on the design by attaching the floaties to a mini vest which straps around the child’s chest to keep it secure.
It’s designed for small children, most often between 30 and 50 pounds, and constructed of a comfortable material that prevents chafing and makes it easy for your child to wear.
Puddle Jumpers keep both the chest and arms afloat which helps promote a natural swimming position. Your child slips his or her arms through the arm floats of the puddle jumper, and then it is buckled behind the back to secure it.
Puddle jumpers are approved by the Coast Guard and are considered a type III personal flotation device. The recently introduced Body Glove Puddle Pals line looks to improve on the Puddle Jumper design by adding a shoulder harness to keep the swim aid in place even better.
Time will tell which design will prove to be more popular but it’ll be hard to catch up with the huge head start the Stearns Puddle Jumper has.