A life vest (20) having a built-in two-way radio (30). The two-way radio (30) may be mounted behind a protective covering (44). The protective covering (44) includes contours that match buttons (36, 38) for the two-way radio (30), and depressing or otherwise actuating the contours results in actuation of the corresponding buttons or controls (36, 38) for the two-way radio (30). A life vest (220) may have an MP3 player (230) in a pocket (242) of the life vest (220) and may be behind a protective covering (244).