Choosing the right towable tube for your next lake day can be difficult. You want to make sure it’s the right size and weight for your rider, as well as that it will be durable enough for the conditions you’ll be riding in. There are a lot of things to consider before you buy. Read on to find out how to choose the best towable tube for your next lake day!
—Consider Your Riders
Towable tubes are a great way to enjoy the water with friends and family. The first step is to determine who is going to be riding the tube. If you have a group of people, then you may want to consider a tube that can fit 2 or more riders. Also, You should also consider whether or not there are any children in your group. Children may need a larger tube so they don’t get bumped around too much during travel.
Children, especially younger ones, need tubes they can sit in, not on. Why? Let’s look at it from their perspective. No matter how many times they’ve seen people having fun in a tube being pulled behind a boat, they will be nervous when they finally decide to go for a ride. By having a dedicated well for them to sit in and handles they can hold tight to, they will feel more stable and in control. They’re going to grip those handles until their knuckles turn white, but because they are sitting in a little pocket, they will eventually loosen their grip and begin to enjoy the ride. They can do that if they don’t fear falling off-and being left behind.
As your children’s minds and bodies mature, they will start to develop their own list of preferences, and that’s when you can start having some fun with choosing a towing tube. There are options for the number of passengers, shape, maneuverability, riding position and even the ability to go airborne, and those kinds of tubes aren’t for beginners. Lots of companies sell tubes and other watersports equipment, and you can compare the specs easily online. Super Inflatable sell a wide variety of tubes, so finding one that meets your needs shouldn’t be difficult.
—Research & Read Reviews
If you would like to see how they behave on water beforehand, nearly every model in use can be found on YouTube. Although the videos have been put together by either retailers or manufacturers, they still give you a good understanding of how they perform on the water as intended.
—Multiple Tubes & Upgrading
Towable tubes are the ideal way to get kids onto the water to have fun and potentially develop a lifelong love of watersports. Before you purchase your first tube, keep in mind that you will more than likely buy another one, and then have to advertise the first one on Craigslist once your kids move onto kneeboarding, wakeboarding and wakesurfing.
The watersports ladder begins with tubing and progressively gets more difficult. Kids do eventually outgrow them, and by the time they enter elementary school, you might have gone through a few of them. It could cost you a couple hundred dollars per summer, but when you factor in the amount of time that money allows you to spend with your kids on the water, it’s time and money well spent.