20 Best Tubes For Boats (2022 Updated)

Amazing tube! My kids favorite and the original tube lasted three years with heavy use so we gladly purchased another. This new tube is not the same quality – they cut major corners! Used to have three nice valves.

Now the only good valve is for the main chamber. The valves on each side are absolutely horrible. Worst design ever. Just terrible. They are cheap! Only tube I’ve ever seen with a valve that doesn’t hold air inside automatically.

This loses air as soon as you take the air pump out and it leaks until you rush to get the plug back into place. Not easy to do since the opening for the plug isn’t even lined up well and will get worse with use.

I bought one of these in the summer of 2013, we’re going into our 5th lake season with it. Other reviewers complained about wear and durability, but I haven’t had that problem with mine. We use it every other weekend from May to late October every year, and it’s held up.

We did have a hole in one of the pontoons, but that was from the kids ignoring my suggestion that they not jump on it while it was laying on the ground at the camp site. It patched up, and has made it two seasons since then with the patch still holding.

The hot dog is versatile, it’s an easy smooth ride if you choose to do that. My wife has fallen asleep on it riding, as has my daughter. If your kids like to be thrown, it’s a little harder to sling people off the hot dog than a conventional tube, as the pontoons provide a lot of stability.

I’ve found that running a tight figure-8 a few times builds a nice bed of waves in one of the loops, that is sure to launch people. My youngest enjoys riding the hot dog the length of the lake while we’re cruising, as well.

We have bought 4 additional tubes since I bought the hot dog, and no one likes them as much, so this year, I’m just going to leave those at home. The only problems I’ve noticed in nearly 5 years of very extensive use (hundreds of hours) are that the canvas cover has faded from exposure to the sun, and while there are three seats, we’ve never been able to get it to stay up with three passengers.

Even in a best-case scenario with one adult and two 8-year olds, with the adult in the back, the front submarines with a third passenger. And that’s with using a stabilizer egg (keeps rope above water and out of the wake) on the rope halfway between the boat and the hot dog.

When this one finally does die, I’ll definitely be buying another.

This hotdog towable works well, is very stable, and our kids love it, but it doesn’t hold air very long. I aired it up until it was pretty firm and after about an hour of use it was kinda floppy and needed to be filled up again.

I would give it 5 stars if it would just hold air. I have read other reviews that complained about this same issue and still purchased it. It may be a flaw in the design or materials. I would not recommend this toy unless you are okay with adding air every hour to keep it firm.

There were really no directions on blowing it up. After a few tries and a trip to get a battery operated pump, it blew up easily. Our grandkids, 13 and 17, and their friends truly enjoyed it. The fact that two of them could go together increased their bravery and fun.

Even my adult daughter had a try and loved it. We are on the ocean which sometimes curtails our taking them tubing due to strong winds or rough seas. However, I would definitely recommend this tube. It seems well made and provided much fun.

This is a great tube. The tube itself is not expose. The canvas cover is completely around the tube which helps from the tube moving and it sits high off the water and really rockets across the top of the water.

Kids wanted to be able to double tube so we purchased two of these. Look great!!

The entire family enjoyed this double seater towable last summer. It held strong as it should. We used it 2-3 times a week for hours at a time through out May-August. The only downfall is if two adults are riding, as soon as you put tension on the rope you have to take off to get the the tube to plane out, if not then you’ll have your back in the water until sufficient speed is met to pull the tube up.

The tube is a pretty smooth ride and you can really sling it around. Make sure you wear googles or get a orb to keep two line out of the water or y have water in your face the whole ride. Over all I give this tube a solid 4 star for the price and product.

Both the 20-something kids and Mom and Dad give this five stars. We’ve never had a towable before so I have nothing to compare it to, but it inflates easily, tows nicely and was easy to figure out. I wanted a towable that could accommodate two adults but still be balanced and practical for one person to use.

This accomplishes both missions. My 190 pound 6-foot husband fit nicely into it along with a 6-foot 170-pound young man. We’ve also towed it with two slender adult women, but have no experience with towing smaller kids.

We’ve also towed it with just one person and it is comfortable to sit in the middle solo and the unit stays nicely balanced. Tip: Make sure you fully, firmly inflate it. The first time we left it a little soft and it was fun, but the next day we inflated it until fully firm and it gave it much a much more pleasant ride,.

We bought this to use on our home made slope slide and it is perfect. Cushioning for the bottom which is perfect for the steep slide. The cover seems very durable and after numerous trips down the slide, shows no sign of wear.

I like that there are three separate fill ports, which give it good structure. A little on the pricey side, but the construction detail shows. Would purchase again.

This product is perfect for one adult or two smaller riders. It is significantly improved over our old tube The biggest improvement is in the much more user friendly handles for the kids to hold on to theyare very comfortable.

This tube is the perfect size, but I would not recommend it to anyone unless you plan on riding it while always wearing a wet suit. My kids and their friends can ride this tube and have a blast, but after about an hour of riding they are done because the material the tube is made out of rubs their skin raw on their knees and elbows! once their knees and elbows get rubbed raw, then they are done because every time they get in the water after they ride it the water sets them on fire where they are raw.

We tried putting a couple different things on their trouble spots, but it didn’t help. We’ve used the tube for a couple of different weekends now and love how it rides so we are looking into getting a new cover made for it out of some different fabric.

The only problem is that we can go buy another tube for less than what it will cost to get this one recovered and this one is only a few weeks old! Therefore we would not recommend anyone to purchase this particular tube.

However, if you are looking to purchase a tube Wal-Mart. com makes it very easy to purchase one and it will arrive at the store you choose in just a few days. I would recommend checking the material out before purchasing your next tube though.

Thanks!.

I am not sure why there is bad reviews on here. We are a bunch of 20 year olds going crazy on this thing. IT NEVER TORE. This thing was used for 6-8 hours every weekend this summer. It even survived at the lake of the ozarks lol.

We were very hesitant to purchase this due to the reviews but we haven’t had issues at all. Ropes on the other hand did not last too long. Taking care of the tube is just as important. We always lay it out after to dry so it does not get moldy or break.

We also lost it on our way to the lake it flew out and landed in a wheat field haha and my dog got to enjoy it as well! We are going to buy another one next year so we can have two to pull. Highly recommend this to families and/or any boaters!.

We purchased this tube in July 2014 for lake vacation. It is huge and easily fits 4 people. We did not have any trouble keeping the tube full of air. It is so large that filling it up took a while. It worked well and did not flip easily at all.

We had to keep our weight back on the tube a little when starting and stopping (the front dipped a little if we did not). We were pulling it with a fully loaded (with people) 115 hp pontoon and i think this and always having 4 tube riders contributed to this.

A great product. Our kids can’t wait to use it again!!.

OK, have used larger 3 person tubes in past, and bought this because I’m tired of inflating the huge ones for 1 person. Quality seems great, especially for price (half of most everything else I see) But DARN it’s hard to get on 13 year old girl who didn’t weight a heck of a lot, tried about 30 ways to get on thing without it flipping and dumping her right back in.

and when we did get it going? VERY tippy, I think she just didn’t weigh enough. sitting she flipped back wards as soon as she hit a wave, Laying on her belly, she’d slide off the back end. Great tube, but just not the most comfortable, or easy to use.

smaller kid or larger adult? Might been a different story, but we have a lot of fun with it none the less.

We needed a tube, preferably a yellow/blue tube, towable, 1-rider for the boat in the water that is air pump inflatable and found this one!! It’s a blast!! Who new an airhead could be such a blast!! Love it!!.

It’s ok, it skip good on the water and you don’t need strength or skills to ride this tube. Constantly splash water in your face. Because the fabric don’t cover the tube completely you can get bruises from rubbing against the edge of the fabric if you fall of the tube.

i got a bruise the size of a soft ball on my hip.

This unit seems well made with solid construction and good materials. I haven’t yet used it on the water. I purchased it primarily for towing camping gear behind a performance catamaran sail boat. It appears as though I can fit 4 dry bags in it comfortably and use the handles for carabiner hold downs or straps for securing dry bags.

The Airhead 2 has sporty graphics and this one has a bright red color for visibility on the water.

The Viper is built to be bomb-proof. It rides nice in water, at all speeds. Im a big guy, and can ride comfortably on it. Because you are sitting up with feet forward you dont have to fight as hard to stay on/in it, making it nice for us old folks.

The center area is big enough so that someone less than 5′ tall can easily sit all the way down in it, so the little ones can safely have a turn on it as well!.

We just bought this tube 3 days ago. We’ve been out on it twice now. I have 5 children that ride this ages 13 to 5. The 5 year old and 7 YO go together. They get the slow and straight ride without much wake crossing.

They love it and so does Mom!!! It’s safe and stable for them. When my 13YO and 11YO go one they get almost full throttle and a lot of “S” curves and figure 8’s. They get soaked and have a ball doing it.

I don’t know about other tubes, as this is our first one, but it seams to be pretty easy on the gas too. I pull this behind a 16 foot bowrider with an 85HP OB and I can’t go to full throttle because they would go too fast.

Get one, you’ll enjoy it.

After using this just once my kids and I could tell that it skimmed a lot better than our old one. That translates into less stress on the tube the rope and the boat and makes for a more exciting ride.

I would expect it to last a little longer also. It is 56 deflated as I think most tubes are measured I assume for marketing purposes to make you think it is bigger than it actually is when it is inflated.

Anyway we have just finished using it for an entire day with two teenage kids at a time and are very happy with it. I would probably buy another one when this one breaks”.

We bought this tube a few years back and it was great. easy access. nice handles. I bought a different tube because it was thicker but it was not as comfortable. I will buy another Rave today!

This tube is GREAT! Especially for the price. I have only had one other tube before (airhead) and paid double. This guy seems to be built to the same standards hopefully it will hold up so far so good used about 5 times on the lake and it still looks new.

For the money, the tube is great. Quality seems good. Material seems strong. My only complaint, as others have said, is water spraying in the face. I did have trouble with that, however, my 24 year old son said you have to pull the handles up a bit, hold my arms a little straighter, and that will prevent the water spray.

Also, I noticed other boats with a Buoy Booster Ball, which to my understanding will keep the rope out of the water and am wondering if that’ll prevent the water spray as well. I also felt the tube was a little small (I’m 5’4″), but both my grown adult boys were fine with the size and they’re 5’8″ and 6’1″.

We tried it on a jet boat, which might also be the reason for the water spray, since the jet boat kicks out water. I will try it again on a pontoon and see if that makes a difference. Not to mention, the pontoon has a tow bar (the jet boat didn’t have that) which will hold the rope much higher up.

Its a little thin for two people, even two children, not enough bouyancy, often submarining on take off. Because its so thin, the tow connect often drags in the water, constantly spraying the riders in the face.

Kids could barely see and didnt like it. Overall seems durable for the price. Perhaps at much higher speeds tow connect would not drag and bouyancy would not make much difference.

Top notch product. We are a family that sees tubes as a consumable with how hard we are on them. Handles are comfy and strong and the tube performs well on the water. Recommended.

Right out of the box it has a slow leak somewhere. I could not completely fill up to a level that would allow me to tow it behind the boat without the nose sinking when I accelerated. The fill valve is very cheap and has one of those clear plastic plugs you just push in like those cheap air mattresses you float in a pool on.

I have had O’brien tubes, HO Tubes and those brands have a cap that screws on the fill valve that never leaked. I bought this based on price but likely will return it because it cannot be pulled behind my boat.

Buy something else, -Art.

I bought two of these tubes to replace my O’Brien’s. I had good luck with those but I heard the latest ones did not hold up. These got good reviews so we purchased two of them. I have middle schoolers, usually 2 on each tube.

I was taking them out after that last use a few weeks ago and I noticed that the base of the handles were ripped. I looked at the other tube and it was just starting. I will be contacting the manufacture to see what they can do.

When we first got them, the kids were getting “rug burn” on the back of their hands and elbows. After a few uses, that went away. The other issue is their feet hit the fill flap and rubs a red mark on the foot.

However, the kids liked how the tubes rode in the water and tubing on these. If not for the quality issues, they would get 4 or 5 stars.

Bought this for grandchildren, 11 and 16 years old, neither of whom are heavy. First, it leaked air, second when towing, it dove underwater. I could not get it to tow with a child on it without it diving under.

It is a worthless product. DO NOT BUY IT.

Great fun thus far, have had it out a couple times and it pulls great. Seems to be pretty easy to mount for the kids (11-14). Rides pretty stable and easy to pull with 19 bowrider with 200hp v6, even with a full boat.

Weve mostly kept it slow with the younger kids, under 15 knots; but we hope to open it up this weekend. I love the quick connect, I even picked up a spare connector from airhead for another tube to expedite switch overs from one to the other.

We are still expirmenting with best inflation device, I dont really have patience for the air mattress 12v inflator. I jury rigged up a battery powered leaf blower, but I cant get the pressure high enough to get the tube taunt.

A small shop vac with the hose hooked to the blower side is awesome but can only be run from the dock AC receptacle. The size of this deflated is very convenient, maybe 12x12x16 rolled up and weighs less than 20lbs.

It can fit easily in sm-med duffle or bow storage.

This tube swamps very easily. Even with two heavy people you must get far back o the tube when the boat takes off of the front of the tube will dive. Small children will not be able to get enough weight in the rear to lift the front off the surface of the water.

This tube really like to stick to the water, which may or may not be good or you. Bought two airhead tubes this year and it seems they have done away with thread in caps in favor of plugs. Seems to work ok so far, but skeptical it’s a better solution, but rather just a way to save money manufacturing.

Seems like airhead just doesn’t make things as well as they used to.

This replaced my 15 year old Super Screamer that still was inflated but the handles finally ripped,out and the sun had damaged the neoprene top. I have had many other round tubes and they all had problems with valves, ripping, deflation and overall were not as fun.

This is a low tube that can be inflated very hard for the most fun! Easy to get back on and the best design and towability that I have used in a simple round tube. Very durable and the Lightning valve holds well and makes it easy to inflate.

It is a lot of fun because it relay skims across the wake well.

Great you for the boat, kids love it! We had 2 adults and 3 kids on it going slow, they had a good time! Then we sped up and hit some good bumps, and everyone had a blast!

I bought this specific tube because there would be some smaller/younger children riding. I figured the sides and back would make it safer and it did. More advanced riders may find it boring but definitely good quality and fun.

Nice towable but still loses air and have to re-inflate at least once every 3-4 days,this is the 2nd one to be sent to us.would like another one sent to us ?

Very happy with purchase. Good quality and value. Thanks.

Looks to be a great product, will know when our granddaughter from out of state gets to ride!

Not at all what I expected from a O’Brien product. Doesn’t inflate to cover size and doesn’t whole air. Tried to find if there was a leak but didn’t see one. Order something else.

Bought this for a first time granddaughters ride! The smiles were all we needed to see how much joy we will be getting from the use of your product. I actually rode on it myself for the first time because my 2 and yr.

old grandchildren told me I had to because they did LOL. Great product and was comfortable bouncing up and down on to.

Great tube, planes easily with two adults on board. performs well at slower speeds for children and novice riders yet screams if desired for an experienced rider or two, Quality product.

Ok so we had a blast. Grandparents, children and adult grandchildren. It is so fun my husband and I had as much fun in it and our grandchildren did. Let me explain the tube: it has a nylon bag the holds the tube.

Inflate the tube and it fit the bag. The bag has an attachment hook for the tow rope. We put the tube in the water climb down the ladder plopped our bums in the tube and slowly let the rope fully extend.

The faster you go the further out of the water you come till you almost glide on the top. There is a warning to go no more than 20mph. I was at 17mph that was fast enough for me.

The tube was exactly what we needed! It is great for one maybe two kids! It worked fine with one adult but it is smaller. We used a smaller boat to pull it with and we had no problems. Good quality and so far no complaints! For the price I would not hesitate to buy again!.

This is a great tube to have although the picture does not actually show how the tube looks. The tube has a totally different design than it shows but besides that it’s a great tube for kids because you cant exceed 15mph is what it says.

Besides that its a great tube.