Patent ID: 7331836

Claim:
An aquatic apparel comprising: a life vest configured as a personal flotation device for a wearer, the life vest defining a neck opening, a torso opening, and a pair of opposed arm holes; the life vest having at least one front panel extending over the wearer's chest and a rear panel extending over the wearer's back, each of the front panel and the rear panel having outer and inner surfaces; the life vest including an attachment feature configured for securing the life vest around at least a portion of the wearer of the life vest; the life vest further having one or more substantially rectangular slots for use as handles, wherein each substantially rectangular slot is oriented substantially vertically and sized for receiving a hand of an adult human, wherein each substantially rectangular slot is defined by two pairs of opposed walls extending between the outer and inner surfaces of the front panel or the rear panel to define an aperture through the life vest, the opposed walls of each pair being spaced away from each other, and wherein at least one wall of each slot comprises a plurality of raised portions to accommodate the fingers of hand to permit the user to grip the life vest.