Here's a summary of the PFD situation. European countries require the PFD to be CE approved. The US requires the PFD to be USCG approved. Australia has their own requirement (however it accepts CE approval as legit), and so do some of the South American countries... For the most part they all require a certified construction and a minimum amount of bouyancy - pounds, newtons, etc. If you are an international athelete, you are required to have a whole bag full of PFD's if the SI's or class rules are specific enough to require a PFD that meets the local requirement. More and more often the SI's are being modified to specify a "PFD", no more, no less.

Meanwhile Zhik has chosen to adopt the European "CE" certification because at the moment it is being accepted in Europe and Australia - the majority of the worldwide sailing PFD market. The Zhik PFD is tagged as "Not Coast Guard Approved", and marketed as such. FWIW, Musto, Gill, and Magic Marine also market PFD's that are CE approved, not USCG approved. At this time the cost of getting USCG approval does not make economic sense for Zhik, nor any other non-US manufacturer.

Currently there is an international movement to adopt an ISO9001 standard that all countries can adopt, and end this entire process of certification within each authority.

Regards, Mike Krantz
Zhik USA