Among the highlights of last year’s Paddle Sports Show was the 2026 Product of the Year Awards, organized in partnership with KS Publishing and the Paddler’s Guide. Each year, the contest spotlights the best new paddlesports gear for the upcoming season. This year, NRS‘ Vector Pro PFD won product of the year in the Apparel & Equipment category. The Vector marks a five-year evolution in paddlesports safety, combining the gender-neutral, ergonomic comfort of the Orbit Fit System™ with a groundbreaking, first-of-its-kind integration of RECCO® locator technology for search-and-rescue. We asked the team a few questions about their award-winning technology to understand how it works and how it came to life.
Congrats on winning 2026 Product of the Year for the Vector PFD at the Paddle Sports Show. Can you introduce your product in a couple of sentences?
Thank you so much! We are incredibly honored. The Vector represents a new standard in paddlesports safety as the first and only whitewater rescue PFD to integrate RECCO® locator technology, allowing professional Search & Rescue teams to quickly pinpoint a paddler’s location. Beyond the tech, it’s a high-mobility, professional-grade vest designed specifically for the rigors of steep creeks and technical rescues.
How much time and effort went into bringing this product to life?
The Vector isn’t just an iteration, it’s the result of a five-year journey in performance engineering. After the initial three-year development of the original Vector—built based on input collected from professional whitewater athletes—we spent the last 24 months strictly focused on the integration of RECCO® technology and user-focused upgrades to the original Vector design. RECCO® integration required intensive collaboration with Search & Rescue professionals to ensure the tech was perfectly positioned for maximum searchability without compromising the PFD’s structural integrity or ergonomic flow.
Does it build on ideas or designs from previous products you have created?
This is the culmination of years of research and development, beginning with the NRS Zen PFD to the original Vector and now to the Vector with RECCO® technology. Our goal all along was to create the world’s most comfortable and capable whitewater rescue vest. Through our process of continual improvement, and countless hours from our design and product testing groups, we’ve arrived with the RECCO Vector.
Was there a moment during development when you realized this product was special?
The second we put on those first prototypes, the energy in the room shifted. We knew right then and there we’d successfully balanced technical rescue specs with absolute freedom of movement—that’s when we knew the Vector was going to change the game for our sport.
What feature or innovation are you most proud of in this product?
Safety has never felt this streamlined. The Vector unites our Orbit Fit System™ technology and Every Body Design™ philosophy with the world’s most advanced rescue tech. With two RECCO® reflectors embedded into a low-profile, high-mobility frame, we’ve created a vest that redefines searchability without sacrificing the fluid range of motion paddlers demand. And with sustainable construction that combines a post-consumer, recycled ripstop nylon shell and inner nylon liner, PVC-free foam that is 100% free of harmful PFAS chemicals, this is the future of whitewater protection.
Orbit Fit System™ and Every Body Design™, what do they actually mean? How are they designed to fit most? What’s the secret?
By layering multiple pieces of precision-cut foam into a flexible, pre-curved shape, the Orbit Fit System™ effortlessly conforms to your body. Graded Sizing takes into account the appropriate amount of flotation needed for individual body types resulting in a better-fitting, more comfortable life jacket for all. This innovation is part of the NRS Every Body Design™ philosophy, which reimagines PFD performance to eliminate the need for gender-specific models—and give paddlers the best-fitting PFD they’ve ever worn on the water. In the Vector, we’ve included continuous, interconnected webbing that creates an internal harness for maximum security in live bait scenarios and when grabbing users by shoulder straps.
Can you tell us how RECCO® works?
RECCO® reflectors revolutionize wearer safety on remote missions through a two-part system featuring an active rescuer detector and a passive user reflector. Embedded in the new Vector generation, these reflectors are maintenance-free, battery-free, and designed to last a lifetime.
What sparked the inclusion of this feature?
The unfortunate reality of whitewater paddling is that incidents will occur where rescue is required. As a community we prepare for this with proper safety equipment and training needed to utilize that equipment. The addition of ‘RECCO’ reflectors to the NRS Vector, rescue PFD, is yet another tool to support paddlers when professional search and rescue operators are called upon. The Vector represents a groundbreaking first in paddlesports safety as the first and only whitewater rescue PFD to integrate RECCO® locator technology. While this essential search and rescue tool has been widely adopted in snowsports and mountaineering, its application here represents a major leap in water safety and remote mission security.
For more info on the Vector, visit the Paddler Guide website.
For info on NRS, visit their website.