[dudders]

I have a regular one person ski tube and a 3 person Hotdog.
What my wife complains about on the one person tube is her getting heaps of water in her face and she gets a sore neck sitting in it.
What I am looking at getting for this summer is a really good 2 person Ski tube (we actually call them ski biscuits in Oz).
Can anyone recommend a good 2 person tube that has those back rests and wont get water in the little darlings eyes?

I blow it up from the cigarette lighter on the boat with the 12v tube blower and then harden it up with a foot pump to make it nice and firm.
It takes about 2 minutes for the tube and 4-5 minutes for the hotdog. I keep the motor running to ensure the battery doesnt go flat, is this a bit of a waste of time?, will the battery handle this load no problems?
Also we cant get heaps of different manufacturer types of Ski Tubes in Oz so I will probably have to buy via ebay and get delivered.
Any help would be appreciated. Cheers,
Tony

[schweddy]

Your charging system should handle the load without problem.

As for tubes... Two brands come to mind HO Sports and Connelly (both owned by the same company). I am an engineer at HO Sports and can attest to the quality of their products (they are also very lenient with their warrantees and will help you out as much as possible). Both make great tubes. HO’s “Ion”, “Atom” and “Molecule” are pretty cool, and are by far the fastest tubes I have ever been on (very low water resistance due to the “balls”).

The biggest thing to remember about having tubes is keeping them out of the sun as much as possible when storing them, and drying them out by separating the bladder from the shell after every use – if you do this, they last a really long time. I know Mariahman follows this strategy with his tubes (at least two of them are a good 4 seasons old), thrashes the hell out of them, and they are still like new.

[dudders]

Thanks for the info Schweddy - are "ion, atom and Molecule" 2 person tubes?

I give my tube and hotdog a wash down with tap water after each use but dont take the bladders out. Its not real easy getting the bladders out of them hotdogs. Will just giving them a good wash and letting them dry then storing them in the shed be ok?
Do you know if this company will ship to Oz?

[Z 202]

I've always just made sure the tube was fully dry before storing it, I very rarely dis-assemble it. For storage, I always roll it up into a "log", tie it up with a cord and lay it out in the shed.

[schweddy]

Pulling them apart just quickens the drying process - as long as they are dry before you put them in an environment with limited fresh air.

HO Sports does not sell directly to consumers - they sell to stores/distributors etc.. I know for a fact that HO products are sold in Oz, check the website for dealers near you.

The Ion, Molecule and Atom are all multi-person tubes.
http://www.hosports.com/gear?id=25

[dudders]

Fantastic, thanks Schweddy, I will go and have a bit of a sqwiz at them when I am home next.
Their website has some awesome looking tubes.
Thanks for the lead.


(new smilies eh guys?- very nice).