Hi, Milt, I would look very hard at Winslow. After reading tests for years done by various organizations and published in Practical Sailor, they seem always to come out on top. Givens is very good also, with their ballast system. I have an 8-person Givens on Seahorse, and am thinking of swapping it in on a 6-person Winslow. Another point to keep in mind that a too-large raft can be dangerous. Seems that unless the crew can be stuffed in to capacity, after a time in heavy seas they can no longer hold on and get tossed thru the canopy into the sea to perish. There is documentation on this somewhere, but I can't recall. I think there are always examples of this following major disasters like Fastnet, Queen's Birthday, and Sidney-Hobart. Usual disclaimer. John "Seahorse" Milt Baker writes > Having never had to actually use a life raft for anything more than a > drill. I confess to being life raft ignorant. What features and brands, > PUPsters, should I suggest that my friend look for. Getting a really good > life raft is far more important to him than saving a few bucks.