I'm wanting to get a float tube as a Christmas present for my dad...?

The Wormist

2009-12-18 17:20:34 UTC

I have been using tubes for years. started with an old canvas model l bought at a swap meet for 3 bucks. tried earlier building one but gave up on the project.

1. Who makes the best float tube?

A. used to be wood river but they are now out of business. check "outcast" tubes. right up there.

2. Who makes the shittiest float tube?

A. l bought 2 "stearns" tubes at kmart. cheesiest crap l've found.

3. What are good brands of float tubes?

A. caddis, browning, outcast. all those sold by bass pro and cabelas are decent.

4. What's a good price for a good tube?

A. expect to pay $150 minimum for a good sturdy one.

5. What kind of accessories are available?

A. you name it. rod holders, depth finders, even electric motor mounts.

6. Do they come with an air pump and fins?

A. usually purchased separately.

7. Do they come with anchors?

A. usually purchased separately.

8. Do they inflate easily?

A. yes with a good hand pump made especially for the job. electrics also but be careful of over-inflation.

9. Do they deflate easily?

A. pretty much. yeah, if they have the over-sized valves.

10. Can one be stored in the back of a car or pick up while its inflated?

A. let some air out when storing anywhere. the air WILL expand and they WILL rupture. even sitting in the sun. gotta check 'em constantly.

11. Do they puncture easy?

A. some absolutely do. most for that matter. get one with a 1000 cordura denier bottom or other heavy material. if you are using a round one with a regular innertube, use a heavy oversized truck tube and keep a repair kit handy. fish can stick them with their dorsal fins. had a bass on a stringer do that once. wondered where the hissing noise was coming from. found out. a nice row of little pinpricks.

12. Are float tubes safe?

A. very. you have a very low center of gravity in them. impossible to tip. wear blaze orange for the boats. you want to be SEEN. l have fished in the ocean and local harbors from my tubes. l'm still here. l can't stress enough. you have to BE VISIBLE.

13. Are they reliable?

A. a good one, yes. one you blow up with your mouth, stay away from.

14. Are they comfortable?

A. very. better'n the big chair in front of the TV.

15. Are they fun to use?

A. ABSOLUTELY. l cannot state just how much fun they are. good exercise too.

Please help. I have a $500 budget. That includes float tube and accessories.

bass cat, fish cat, or one of many by outcast. l feel these are the best available and are reasonably priced. got my last one, a $250 job off ebay for a hundred bucks. new.

pump about $20, good swimfins - the kind you can slip over your wading shoes - $20 used at a swapmeet or play it again sports, couple rod holders 20 bucks each, 20 or 30 for an anchor system, $150 for a fishing buddy depth finder, $30 for the float tube attachment for it.

**bOnUs QuEsTiOnS**

1. Will quagga or zebra mussels attach to a float tube while you're kicking around in it?

A. l don't see how but lake casitas seems to think so.

2. Has a fish ever pulled you around in one?

A. happens all the time. especially getting spun around in circles.

3. Whats your biggest fish out of a float tube?

A. 8 or 9lb bass in fresh, 12lb halibut in saltwater.

4. Am I annoying you with all these questions?

A. not at all. l'll even offer to let you email me with others or clarifications to these answers.

2016-12-24 08:21:09 UTC

1

2016-11-14 15:03:46 UTC

Best Float Tube

Fire Ball

2009-12-17 17:43:35 UTC

1. Creek Company

2. No one really

3. Creek Company, Outcast, and Caddis

4. $100 to $200

5. Anchors, rod holders, etc.

6. Sometimes

7. No

8. Fairly easily

9. Extremely easily

10. I can usually fit mine in a car fully inflated and you can carry it with ease

11. No

12. Yes

13. Very

14. Extremely

15. Of course!!

Bonus Questions

1. Probably not

2. Yes

3. 7.5 lb bass

4. No, they are good questions

Make sure to get waders, fins, and a PFD.

2009-12-17 11:27:54 UTC

I would get a White River Fly Shop® Titan® Float Tube for around $200 and spend the rest on supplies.

2009-12-17 02:23:55 UTC

I prefer Caddis Brand. But don't get him the old round style. Get him one of the wedge shaped ones. They are much safer exiting and entering, plus they create a lot less drag in the water.

For accessories, you can get a rod holder, anchor, a stringer if he plans on keeping the fish. I've seen people have an electric trolling motor mounted and drag along an inner tube for the battery, but that's kinda cheating in my opinion.

You have to buy the fins separate. Same goes for the air pump. No anchor either. I made mine.

They inflate easily. I've always just used my lungs. Takes about 5 minutes and I'm a smoker. To deflate them there is a cap about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. You just unscrew it. Deflation takes about 10 seconds.

They would fit in the back of a pickup or say a Subaru Outback. I think you would be hard pressed to get one in the back seat of a compact while inflated.

They do not puncture easily. They have an outer covering made of cordura usually that protects the inner air bladder. I did find myself in the middle of a lake one time with a slow leaking tube. I yelled at a buddy for help but he was just out of ear shot. The less air, the less hydrodynamic they are. I kicked as hard as I could for an hour with little progress made. I could not bend my torso low enough to blow more air in. Since then I always carried a piece of hose that would fit in so I could re-inflate if the situation arose again. They come with repair kits, but I threw it out. I wasn't going to trust that one again.

I think they are safe and reliable. But, like many things, it depends mainly on the user. The only real draw back is the aren't fast. About half your body is in the water so that slows you down. The are also not good in a stiff wind. They are also NEVER advisable in any kind of current, ponds and small lakes only. If he wants something a little more versatile they make those inflatable pontoon boats.

I think they are very fun to use. It is quite relaxing and does wonders for my bad back. One thing that is required is a good pair of waders. If he is going to be in fairly warm water get breathable ones. They are far superior to neopreme ones.

I believe Cabela's and Bass Pro Shops sell them. You can look at one of their catalogs or online to get a good idea on prices. For waders mmaybe$100, fins $20, anchor $15?, That leaves a lot of room in your budget for the tube. $250 is the most I've ever spent on one but my buddy still has his first $100 tube after about 10 years.

1. Yes

2. Yes

3. 17 lb summer run stealhead

4. No

dpsa98

2009-12-17 10:54:48 UTC

I will answer some of your questions and hopefully it will help. I would go with any of the FishCat series float tubes. They are extremely strong (they don't pop easy). They sit up nice and high out of the water so your back will not get soaked if your in waders. The V shape design makes it easy to menuver them around the water. They are extremely comefortable. They are easy to blow up on site and very light weight. You can deflate them in less than 2 minutes. It will fit in the back of a pick up inflated and all of the accessories you usually have to purchase seperate. For $500 you can get the float tube and every thing else you need to go with it.

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0052634320291a&type=product&cmCat=SEARCH_all&returnPage=search-results1.jsp&Ntt=float+tube&Ntk=Products&sort=all&_D%3AhasJS=+&N=0&_D%3Asort=+&Nty=1&hasJS=true&_DARGS=%2Fcabelas%2Fen%2Fcommon%2Fsearch%2Fsearch-box.jsp.form1&_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1

2009-12-17 14:57:39 UTC

I starred this question in hopes that Grand Master Basser answers this question. He'll tell you about getting pulled around in a float tube by a 44lb carp. But I'll leave the story to him.

Mike

2009-12-18 04:58:36 UTC

The simple answer to all of your questions 1-15 is to be sure you get a float tube that will be comfortable for your Dad. But, to humor you, here are the answers in order from 1-15:

try Cabela's, don't know, try Cabela's, under $300, many, some do, no, yes, yes, yes if you secure it and don't go 90 mph, not really, yes, yes, yes-some more than others, yes!

You really should also consider a similar/different type of outfit for your Dad. These float boats cost about the same as a good float tube and I think they are way more fun to fish out of. With these, you are up out of the water and it's way more enjoyable and warmer for me. Good luck and have fun!

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0065156320766a&type=product&cmCat=SEARCHFEAT_all&returnPage=search-results1.jsp&Ntt=pontoon+boat&Ntk=Products&sort=all&Go.y=0&_D%3AhasJS=+&N=0&_D%3Asort=+&Nty=1&hasJS=true&_DARGS=%2Fcabelas%2Fen%2Fcommon%2Fsearch%2Fsearch-box.jsp.form1&Go.x=0&_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1

Bonus questions:

1) absolutely could if they are in their vellager stage (larval); however, upon drying out, they'll die so you don't need to worry about transporting them around. If you do go to more than one lake in a day, you should definitely disinfect your boat/gear with a 10% bleach solution if you are fishing in a water with know zebra/quagga mussels.

2) Yes. Fun. Northern pike ~18#.

3) See question #2.

4) not at all since I know this will be the best answer you get and I'll get the 10 points :)

?

2016-03-02 04:12:10 UTC

Agree with breathable, stocking foot, light weight (not rubber or neoprene) waders. I have only bought expensive Simms and Dan Bailey waders but since buying my last pair I've fished with friends who have Hodgemans and a brand called D-A-M and IMO they are just as good. No waders are puncture proof so spending a ton of money won't buy you longer life. Hodgemans are probably the most readily available of the good, inexpensive (100-150) ones.

Grand Master Basser®

2009-12-17 23:26:37 UTC

Well, since Backwater Charlie already spoiled it for you, I'll answer your bonus questions first.

1 ) No. It's not possible at all. Float tubes are not in the water long enough, not even after a whole eight, ten, or twelve-hour day of fishing.

2 ) Yes. Small fish will even spin you around.

3 ) Forty-four-pound, eight-ounce carp. Fifty-two inches long.

4 ) Not at all, I like a challenge.

I was fishing for bass from my old Fish Cat 4 float tube using a six-inch, Texas-rigged oxblood/red flake plastic worm and eight-pound line. I'm cruising the shoreline in my tube, casting my worm out to the side into deeper water and slowly bouncing it back at an angle. I don't feel any tapping, I don't feel a hit, I don't feel the bite at all. It was just a nice, hard jerk followed by a hell of a run. When I reared back and set the hook, I thought I had hooked THE bass, but after a couple seconds of that long run, I figured out what it was. 2 1/2 hours later after being dragged around this arm of the lake, I finally tire out the fish and get it onto my tube. Both it's head and tail hung six inches off each side of my tube. 44-8 is what it weighed after I got it to a scale at the marina. I was using a 5 1/2 foot Fenwick Fenglass Lunkerstick 2000 rod and an Ambassadeur 2500C reel. It was an AWESOME experience!

*sparks up a cig and commences to answering the important questions*

1 ) Wood River. Before they went out of business, their cheapest model, the v-shaped U-Boat started off at $350.00 and went all the way up to almost seven hundred. Now, it would have to be OutCast. Their top of the line tube is the Prowler, $499. I use an older Fish Cat 4 and it's an absolutely GREAT tube.

2 ) To me, any other company besides OutCast. That's an opinion.

3 ) Wood River, OutCast, Caddis, Water Skeeter, Creek Company, etc; in that order.

4 ) $149 to $250. When my tube first came out, it sold for $149. Now the new model, Fish Cat 4-LCS, is $189.

5 ) A whole assortment of accessories. Specialty rod holders (fly, spinning, and baitcasting), rod tethers, anchors and anchoring systems, depth/fish finders, GPS systems, trolling motors, stripping aprons, storage bags, etc. I personally arm mine with two rod holders and a Fishin' Buddy depth finder. Straps hold all three onto the tube.

6 ) Not usually. Some stores offer deals where tubes come with both fins and a pump, or one or the other. A good set of "premium float tube fins" will cost you in excess of a hundred bucks. Regular diving fins work just as well, only the true float tube fins give off more thrust on the up and down stroke. Double-action air pumps (blow air into the tube on both up and down strokes) are cheap, $25.

7 ) No. Those are always sold separate.

8 ) Yes. With the right type of valve and pump, you can inflate a float tube in less than two minutes.

9 ) Yes. Thirty seconds at most, then you have to push down or roll them up to completely get the air out. Easier to store that way.

10 ) Yes. In a pick up, as long as its tied down WELL (float tubes aren't very aerodynamic) and the vehicle isn't being driven too fast, it's safe.

11 ) No. The materials good tubes are made from does not tear easy. A lot of them have vinyl on the underside for extra protection from bottom, rocks, sticks, fish spines, etc.

12 ) Very. I don't know how to swim at all and I trust one of these with my life, as long as I have my life vest handy. I keep in the "front deck" instead of actually wearing it. I trust it it more than I trust a canoe or a kayak.

13 ) The better brands are. Josh said they aren't fast... V-shaped tubes aren't fast per se compared to a boat, but when you have your legs in the water and you're kicking around, you'll be surprised how "fast" you can actually go. Put it this way, you'll leave a small wake and water will slap the hull. Round tubes ARE in fact slow. Ugh... stay away from those pigs.

14 ) Yes. A lot of float tubes have inflatable seats that make you sit higher, see farther, and stay drier, which is a plus when you're wearing waders.

15 ) Very fun. Fishing especially. Imagine being pulled around for two and a half hours by a fish longer than the tube is wide and more than three times its own inflated weight. Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase, "Nantucket Sleigh Ride". They're not just only fun to fish out of, but they're great for just kicking around in and exploring shallow areas or spots closed to boats. Its great exercize too.

So you have five hundred bucks to spend. Okay.

Tube:

Outcast Fish Cat 4-LCS - $189

Accessories:

Double-action hand pump - $25

Float tube anchor package - $32

Float tube cooler bag/dry storage - $69

Float tube bag - $69

Scotty rod holders** - $16 to $55

Angler's Inflatable PFD* - $120

Rearming kit for PFD* - $25

Outcast Fins - $35

Package Total: $476

*not included in price

**$28.50 for Baitcasting rod holder x 2

http://www.outcastboats.com/outcast/