I fished Hardy last Sunday, right as we were getting ready to get off the water a CO came by and asked to check our fishing licenses. Not a problem, then he asked to see our life jackets, not a problem, until.... I had pulled one standard life jacket out and then the throwable seat cushion and then showed him my manual inflateable waist belt. I asked if that was approved and I said yes " it is USGA approved, says so right on the belt." I even pointed it out to him, I told him I would have never bought the belt had it not said that. This belt is the same concept as the suspender style that most guys were in tournaments. I thought this was even better, however, there was no "type" posted on the belt. Lesson learned, all PFD's must be Type 1,2,3 or 5. The cushion was a type 4. Also, the manually deployed suspender style is only a legal PFD if you are wearing it. I did not know any of this. CO was nice about the whole situation, I will be dishing out more cash now to upgrade. Hopefully this will save you from buying the belt style without checking to make sure it is legal. best of luck