The wonderful thing about a kayak, at least the sea kayak variety, is that you can stash much more gear within it than you would ever want to put in a backpack - easily 100 pounds or so. So you can carry lots of nice stuff. Problems arise when you consider that it is all too easy to become separated from your kayak and all that nice gear. Tht is my rationale for a pocketed,roomy vest with critical survival gear.

Of course, it is probably true that one does not always ear their PFD....