[EricH]

Originally Posted by jason701802

The life jacket and helmet are for if you fall out of the boat at some other time than the rapids, if you fall out during a class V or VI, a life jacket and helmet are not going to do much of anything

You missed the point entirely. The point was that if you're going to do something that a lot of people are going to regard as rather stupid, dumb, or ill-advised, then you really need to make sure that you have the proper equipment to have a chance at coming out alive and uninjured. In the case in the picture, there were risks of running into walls, getting fingers caught in chain, and getting snagged in and dragged by the robot, with no mitigating factors (helmet, handles, and that sort of thing) apparent.

(And, if you fall out during a class VI rapid, having a life jacket and helmet on a) provides some, though not much extra padding for impact and b) makes you and/or your body easier to spot and recover if a rescue operation is needed. Better than the next guy to fall out finding you a couple of years later when he lands where you did...)