Still Skunkless on Willard 4-22-21

[TubeDude]

   Pat, just some info you may find valuable:  When I accidently water tested my PFD at Mantua, I learned an additional valuable lesson. My PFD inflated as advertised, kept me afloat BUT it dang near strangled me.  When it inflated, it blew up around my neck so tight, I had to release the buckle so I could breath. So it would have kept me from drowning, but had I been unconscious, it would have choked me to death.  I bought a new one from West Marine, longer in the sides with the head support pillow and a wider opening in the front like a old horse collar.  This new one, I inflated it manually by blowing it up with my little pancake compressor to see how tight it got around my neck. Much better.   A bit pricier than my first one, but now maybe I won't drown, or choke. 
Recommend you test fit your PFD with it inflated. You can either blow it up by huffing and puffing, use a small compressor, or pull the cord.

 Good advice.  But I think the incident of strangling is usually addressed by the manufacturers in their testing processes.  However, as you found out, they are not infallible.  Not likely to pull the cord and waste a cartridge on checking mine out.  But definitely worth manually airing it up to check the fit.  That would be a bummer on the death certificate..."Strangled by PFD".