MTI Canyon Type V Lifevest

Note: When Mustang Survival up in Canada purchased MTI a while back, they discontinued the Canyon jacket, which is unfortunate since it was vastly superior to the universal-size Explorer Type V that they sell now. As of early August, 2024, we only have the large/xl sizes left, no more small/mediums. The L/XL is labeled for chest sizes 41" to 52", though it will cinch down slightly smaller, to maybe a 39" chest. It will NOT go bigger than 52" or 53".

Although the basic pattern of MTI's Canyon type 5 rafting jacket has not changed, many cosmetic and durability details have been addressed compared to the earlier versions of this lifevest. For one thing, all the exterior nylon has been beefed up to a 400 denier ripstop fabric, and the areas most likely to stain have been changed to a black color. And all of the 2012's we're carrying will be a three-tone color. We have the small/medium size in both the orange/blue/black shown, and also in red/blue/black. We will only be carrying the red/blue version of the L/XL size. This color combo used to be extremely popular when America's Cup used to have it in the old Ultrafloat type jacket, so we went that way with most of the Canyons.

Very soft, high grade foam is used for the front and wrap-around side panels, with a somewhat stiffer foam in back. The logos are also now attractively woven onto the vests.

The Canyon is a terrific compromise between the features of the old America's Cup Ultrafloat & Rogue models (America's Cup/Wellington is long out of business). A very important feature on the Canyons is the bottom-most of the four straps, running below the actual foam This allows you to snug it far more securely than almost any other type V. The Canyon also incorporates split cells in the back panel, and front foam blocks that are slit horizontally 2/3 of the way up the chest. Both these features increase your ability to bend forward or backward when paddling & rowing.

These come in two adult sizes (plus the Youth size, which is listed separately in this section of our site). The chest sizing shown on the jacket interior for the small-medium is 30" to 40", but in actual testing here we have found this size will cinch as small as 29" with no problem, and it goes up to a full 43" on the chest if you loosen all three pairs of straps on both sides. So it and the large-xl overlap somewhat, which is good if your paddle crew droids come in varying body sizes. The small/medium has 25-1/2 pounds of buoyancy and the l/xl has about 26.5.

One other thing to note is that the Canyon vest is perhaps the warmest type V we've ever checked out, which may or may not be a good thing depending where you boat. With the very secure bottom strap though, you can unbuckle the upper straps in the calm stretches to cool off. The Canyon is one of the most comfortable type 5's and the best at staying where it belongs on your torso.