A campaign where people can swap their old and unsafe life jackets for new ones at a discounted rate will visit Wānaka tomorrow (Wednesday January 24).

Coastguard’s Old4New Lifejacket Upgrade campaign is all about ensuring everyone's safety on the water, Coastguard senior communications advisor Ben Parsons said.

“By trading in old, damaged, or ill-fitting lifejackets for newer, discounted Hutchwilco ones, we can help reduce preventable drownings across Aotearoa.”

The Old4New team will be at Trev Terry Wānaka, 54 Anderson Road, from 9am-3pm tomorrow.

There will be a range of discounted lifejackets suitable for boating, watersports, kayaking and sailing available, Ben said, in sizes ranging from infants to adults.

It’s the next stop in an annual eight-week trip by Coastguard team members to more than 70 popular boating spots around the country to share the Old4New Lifejacket Upgrade offer.

The swap is one of the Coastguard's leading water safety initiatives and around the country more than 20,000 life jackets have been replaced since the programme’s inception. 

Ben said there is a real gap in Kiwi’s understanding of how to maintain the safety of a lifejacket and what constitutes a fit-for-purpose lifejacket.  

“Each previous year of the Old4New campaign we’ve seen lifejackets in varying conditions, being traded in. We regularly see lifejackets aged 40 to 50 years old, if not older.

“If one of the old kapok-filled lifejackets gets punctured, for example, it can get waterlogged and become no better than a wet pillow around your neck.”

Your jacket should be replaced if it is more than ten years old, but there are also other steps Kiwis should be taking to check if their life jacket is still fit-for-purpose, he said.

Do the following: Pull the straps, hard, and any of them stretch or tear, do not use the lifejacket, and replace; look for tears, mould and sun damage in the fabric, and if there are any, do not use the lifejacket.

Inflatable lifejackets need to be serviced every year. To check it is functioning correctly, blow the mouthpiece to blow it up and leave it overnight. If it deflates overnight, get a new one.

Anyone wanting to take part in the Old4New Lifejacket Upgrade can visit Trev Terry Wānaka between 9am-3pm tomorrow.

For anyone who can’t make it tomorrow, the Old4New discount will be available at the store through to January 31.

PHOTO: Wānaka App