I write this only to possibly help someone that might be a dumb as me and not make the same mistake I did. During the last sale a few months ago I bought a pair of the above. The vest each had a tag on one of the side of the vest that said "Not Armed". Of course I thought, if it was armed it would be blown up. I figured the tag came off when you pulled the lanyard and so on. The other day when cleaning up after fishing I looked closer. Not armed means the CO2 canister is not screwed into the valve and essentially the vest is useless until that is done. Simple process to "arm" the vest. Never said I was the sharpest knife in the drawer.
The only advice I'd give anyone who listens is pick a life vest and buy as many of those as you need. All the *same*. Don't be me with 3 different kinds, searching for different rearm kits. Get all the same. Don't care which, all the same.
When I was trying to find triple points weekend I went into my local West store and asked. He grabbed a sheet from his desk and looked it up. They should be able to tell you when a sale is happening. All the vests I saw in store were West Marine brand.
Defender has a big inventory clearance sale around the end of March. Only for a weekend. Lots of stuff on sale for good prices.