water tubes

Nothing beats a sunny afternoon boating on the river and riding water tubes is a terrific way for anyone to make the most of a day. Water tubes, in case you don't know, are inflatables that you tow behind a boat. Many are made for one to three riders, although a few hold even more. Some are designed to have you sit in them, some are made for you to ride prone, and others are shaped like a torpedo that you can straddle. They're all designed with one thing in mind: fun!

All types of folks can enjoy water tubes. Younger kids, especially kids too young for waterskiing, often like models that they can sit inside. More adventurous ones may prefer a white knuckle ride, lying prone hanging on to the handles and bouncing as high as they can off the wake!

Water tubes are ideal for an afternoon outing with friends who don't have experience waterskiing. Waterskiing is fun, but it takes some practice to be able to get up on the water and ride skis. It's much easier to get started with tubing - and can be just as thrilling. For newer or younger riders, you can always just drive the boat more slowly to get things started. If you have a few kids to deal with, a really nice thing about tubing is that you can get a single tube that holds three+ kids so you won't have any arguments about who goes next behind the boat. (It will just be, "Who gets to ride in the middle?")

Two of the top brands for water tubes are Rave Sports and Airhead Watersports. The cost ranges from a low of about $50-$60 for starter type, single rider towables to as much as $1000 for tubes that hold six riders. Airhead has some cool designs with bright colors, like the Airhead Fusion, that many kids like. They also make some nice tubes for prone riders that aren't too expensive. Rave Sports has a couple nice inflatables that resemble real watercraft. The Rave Ravenger holds 3 riders and looks like a jet ski. Another popular one, the Rave Hydro, resembles a hydroplane boat. Rave Sports also has their Waterboggans, which hold up to 6 riders depending on the model. If you've got a full house, one of their banana boats might be a great choice.

Note to shoppers: some stores call these things towable tubes, boat tubes, or ski tubes instead of water tubes.

As with any water sport, there are a few common sense water safety tips to keep in mind. First, you should know the weight rating for your tube and not exceed it. Second, be sure your tow rope is rated for the type of tube and number of riders you'll be using. Third, wear a life vest.

The boat driver also needs to drive carefully and never forget he is responsible for the safety of his tubers. This includes keeping an eye out for other boats in the area and not driving too quickly. Kids can get a pretty exhilerating ride with the boat never exceeding 15 mph. For younger kids, go even slower. A little bouncing is all good fun, but too much rough bouncing on water tubes could cause injury.