Nearly a decade after introducing its original Personal Surf Inflation Vest, Patagonia has unveiled the PSI Vest 2.0, a ground-up refinement of the inflatable safety system developed with some of the world’s best big-wave surfers. And it comes just in time for what may prove to be a historic El Niño winter in the Pacific.
“We’ve been working on this idea for more than a decade, and we’ve learned a lot along the way,” Hub Hubbard, Patagonia’s line manager of Oceans, said in a press statement. “The PSI 2.0 comes from our team working with our ambassadors and friends, listening to what they need, and continuing to make the vest better. It’s another tool for surfers when the conditions get serious and the consequences are high.”
A Better PSI Vest
Following the 2011 death of big-wave surfer Sion Milosky, the team at Patagonia began working on an inflation system designed to give surfers a better chance of reaching the surface after serious wipeouts. The company ultimately patented the technology in 2014 and brought their first vest to market in 2017.
The new version is the product of another decade of testing and feedback. Patagonia redesigned the bladder using a new polyurethane material engineered to withstand extreme pressure and moved the CO2 canisters to the back, getting them away from the chest. The company says the repositioning improves board connection, comfort, and paddling, while also making the vest more comfortable for women.
The vest is also thinner and lighter, with less material across the chest. That’s important when you’re wearing an inflatable device under a wetsuit and then asking your body to paddle, duck dive, and potentially get launched over the falls at a wave like Jaws or Nazaré. The updated design also expands sizing and uses a gender-inclusive fit intended to work equally well for women and men. In other words, Patagonia didn’t simply slap a new colorway on an existing piece of equipment. They went back into the guts of the thing.
Patagonia
Preparation Still Comes First
It’s critically important to understand that the PSI Vest 2.0 is not intended to turn someone into a big-wave surfer. Patagonia continues to require surfers to complete specialized safety training through the Big Wave Risk Assessment Group (BWRAG) before purchasing the vest. It also must be worn underneath an impact wetsuit.
Since the program’s inception, Patagonia has made it a point to put safety over profits. They opted not to patent their original PSI Vest tech, instead encouraged other surf brands to get on board. In true Patagonia fashion, licensing fees have been directed towards environmental causes, and in 2017, they donated $150,000 donation to Fundación Punta de Lobos to support efforts to permanently protect the iconic Chilean surf break, Punta de Lobos.
Right Place, Right Time
NOAA’s latest outlook describes the developing 2026-27 El Niño as perhaps biblical in nature. Its August outlook gave a 69 percent chance that the October-December event could reach a threshold that would put it among the strongest El Niños recorded since 1950. More recent modeling continues to point toward an exceptionally strong event. That’s not a guarantee of a “winter from hell,” but it sure is a promising sign.
Perfect timing for the release of the PSI Vest 2.0, if the forecasts play out the way everyone is hoping, we could be looking at a banner big-wave season in the Pacific.
The PSI Vest 2.0 is available exclusively to BWRAG-certified surfers. Patagonia will also showcase the new vest during its Out the Back surf tour, with stops in California, New Jersey, British Columbia and Oʻahu this fall.
Related: Commitment Counts When Hunting the World’s Heaviest Waves