Re: [VFB] float tube adive

[StevenOjai]

So what type did you get, Bob?
I started with the old donut types 20 years ago. I had three or four of them for family members and would just throw them into an equipment bag, deflated after each use. They lasted about 15 years this way. The breakdown was usually the stitching - so try not to overinflate. My brother had to wrap his tube in Kevlar when a spiny bass took a leap and landed on the tube, spine first. He barely made it into shore.
The newer tubes are not tubes any longer but are bladders designed for u-boats, pontoons, etc. IMO (I left the H out) they are not as dependable as the old car innertube but are lighter and have the ability to fit different styles. Many of these bladders have problems with the valve assemblies. I have an Outcast Super Fat Cat. The device has a couple of polystyrene rigid seats that makes for bulky storage. I put mine into a Rubbermaid storage bin with a lid. It doesn't fit ;-) . The seats are too rigid for my 50 year old butt, so I added a hemeroid bladder. Now I can sit in it for 12 hour days and am up high enough for some good casting and midging. I also use a Pontoon type also by Outcast but rarely use it. It's great for larger waters, has oars, and is the best thing you can have under windy conditions but it's so darn big. I'm taking it down the lower Kern River this summer about 8 miles for small mouth bass.
Us SoCals travel from sea level to about 10,000 feet for our "nearest" trout waters. So inflation of your tube at home can  create a large blast somewhere along your trip within your rig. Advice: fill it up when you get to your destination.
Steve Schalla