Hammar inflation system - in water performance

The technology in your automatic inflatable life jacket is as trustworthy at land as it is in the water. It activates when you need it to – it inflates – only when you are being submerged into the water.

  • If you fall into the water face down: the life jacket will inflate automatically. It will also turn you around so your head gets out of the water.
  • If you fall into the water and the inflator do not reach 10 cm water depth…
    • … you will float anyway. However: if you still want the lifevest to inflate, you can easily inflate the Hammar life jacket manually with the pull-tab.
    • … you will float anyway, and can have more latitude swimming to safety.


Illustration MA1 in Water

How does the Hammar Inflator work?

The Hammar Inflator activates automatically when submerged and a pressure difference of about 10 cm is reached. The lifejacket will reach full buoyancy within seconds and it is designed to ensure fast and reliable activation, only when needed, even in the most extreme weather conditions. It is important that you don the lifejacket according to the manufacturer’s instructions in order to secure the function of the lifejacket and for automatic inflation.


The technology behind the Hammar Inflator

Technology behind Hammar


The technology behind the Hammar Inflator

The automatic inflator consists of a hydrostatic valve, a water sensitive element, a gas cylinder inside a bladder with an airbubble trapped inside. When the Hammar Inflator is exposed to sufficient pressure it will open its hydrostatic valve, allowing the water to meet the water sensitive element and start the activation.

Measuring the pressure

The Hammar Inflator uses the pressure difference between the internal and the external pressure of the inflator. The external pressure is determined by the water depth of the inflator. The internal pressure is determined by the trapped air bubble in the lifejacket bladder. There is always some air left even in a well vacuumed lifejacket bladder.

When the lifejacket enters the water, the air bubble inside the bladder will move to the highest point of the bladder. If some part of the lifejacket is above the water the air bubble will move to that area, or if the whole lifejacket is submerged the air bubble will move to the highest point, closest to the surface.
The pressure difference is determined by the depth of the inflator and the highest point where the trapped air bubbles have gathered. If this distance is more than 10 cm, the inflator will activate, and the lifejacket inflates.