What does 35 lbs. of buoyancy mean?
A 35 lbs. buoyant apparatus is capable of supporting 35 lbs of a very dense material such as lead, iron, gold, granite, etc. It will not allow the material to reach the bottom. The question most people ask is how can this help a 200 lbs. person? The answer is that the average adult only weighs approximately 10 lbs. in the water. Unbelievable? Actually, it is simple science and works like this: a 200 lbs. man is approximately 80% water, which equals 160 lbs. of his total weight on land. Water has no weight in water. A 200 lbs. man is also approximately 15% fat, which equals 30 lbs. of his total weight on land. Fat is lighter than water and therefore it floats. When you do the math, the man’s actual weight in water is equal to 10 lbs. (200-190=10) Thus, a flotation device with 35 lbs. of buoyancy is more than adequate to keep the average human afloat!
