The Basic Swiftwater Safety Gear List

Swiftwater Safety courses are highly recommended by CKS Online and are available year-round through various agencies across the country. These hands-on classes immerse students in real-world river scenarios, spending significant time in the water to develop essential rescue skills.

Before attending, it's crucial to invest in gear that keeps you warm and comfortable . Learning effectively becomes difficult when you're shivering on the riverbank or battling hypothermia. To help you prepare, we’ve put together a swiftwater safety gear list with the essentials you’ll need—plus a few optional items for added comfort and protection.

Essential Swiftwater Safety Gear

• PFD (Rescue PFD preferred)
• Helmet (Designed for whitewater use)
• Closed-Toe Water Shoes (For protection and grip)
• Whistle (For signaling in emergencies)
• Wetsuit or Dry Suit (Depending on water temperature)

Having the right gear ensures you can focus on learning, practicing, and building confidence in swiftwater situations. Stay safe and gear up before hitting the river!

During the course, you will learn the finer details of rescue gear, so you can always wait until after your course has completed to buy items like ropes and more technical gear. Alternatively, if you buy this technical gear before your course, you can use the course as a chance to learn the specific gear you own. 

For obvious reasons, this is first on our list. A Type V Rescue PFD, like an Astral Green Jacket or NRS Zen, is preferred.

If you own an Astral Bluejacket, Astral Layla, or Astral Ringo PFD you can easily purchase and add a rescue belt to it. 

Your helmet should be lightweight and fit you snugly. Make sure your helmet fits comfortably and drains well before attending your course.

It's important to wear a shoe that is easy to scramble around on the river bank. This is great not only for a swiftwater course, but for any rescue scenario. 

All of us at CKS are huge fans of Astral water shoes. They have a grippy, flexible sole and drain well. Astrals also work well off the river, so they're worth the investment.

You can also bring booties, but they don't make much sense as they lack the tread and grip that soled shoes provide. Some paddlers swear by booties, but we prefer the utilitarianism of Astral shoes.

It's an inexpensive but necessary piece of gear that every paddler should have. There's really no excuse to not have one on your PFD.

Swiftwater Courses often happen in rivers filled with spring melt, so appropriate technical apparel for cold water is necessary.

Wetsuits can definitely get the job done, but if your goal is to be a serious boater - invest in a dry suit. Wearing a dry suit will allow you to layer up or down depending on the temperature.

Plus, if you are wanting to become a more serious boater, owning a dry suit means there's one less barrier to you saying "yes" to floats and trips and getting out there. Owning a dry suit will open up an entire new world of paddling to you and is *the* best investment you can make for extending your paddling season.

Some courses provide their own throw bag, and some don't. We recommend getting your own throw bag so you can take your skills and practice at home. 

Do your feet often get cold? Bring Neoprene socks to wear under your Astral shoes. We prefer this combination for added warmth instead of wearing booties. 

If your hands get cold quickly while dry, you should definitely bring a pair of neoprene gloves with you to your swiftwater safety course. You will be constantly in and out of the river. If you don't end up using them, no worries - they're small and packable enough to stay out of the way.

One of our most repeated sayings at CKS Online is: if you bring a rope, bring a knife. This is just basic Safety 101 on the river.  

The great thing about this basic list is that all this gear can and should be used on your next paddle. With regular maintenance, this gear will last for a few seasons at least.