Fishing The Fly Scotland Forum

Dave Mundie

Size of deflated tube?
« on: 18/01/2009 at 17:23 »
Was thinkg of getting a tube but have a few questions.

1. What is the approx size of a deflated tube?
2. What waders do i need?
3. Life vest/jacket?
4. Fins/flippers?
5. Anything else i need?

Dave

Kevin Muir

Re: Size of deflated tube?
« Reply #1 on: 18/01/2009 at 19:50 »
Hi Dave

1, The size of a deflated tube depends on the make and model.  If we talk about the tubes available in the UK just now, the best models are the shakespeare Expedition availablefor about £100.00 possibly £120.00 depending where you buy from.

Some tubes come with a foam padded seat that appears to be made from close cell camping type foam about 10mm thick, this is fitted between two layers of Cordura type material for the seat of the tube, this can be a little bulky to pack in a bag but it is usually not too much problem, A regular tubing mate manages to pack this make of tube into a large rucksack for any long walk into the hill locks together with neoprene waders, life jacket, fins etc.  Steve Parton also makes a great tube. The Shakespeare Expedition tube was designed by Steve Parton and is manufactured abroad to keep the cost down, still a great tube though.  One point to take on board with either of these tubes is that the main V hull has three seperate bladders for safety, again a Steve Parton design.  The Sparton Tube also has a back rest bladder while the Shakespeare tube has two back rest bladders although I do not think that the top bladder is required as this takes up space you can use for additional gear (food, jacket, extra fleece in a small dry bag, small fish smoker etc).  You can post to the USA for a huge range of tubes although with the current exchange rate, the tubes available in the UK are a good buy.  I understand that Snowbee are about to release a new float tube, I have no info on this, it may be worthwhile waiting for a few weeks until more info is available on this tube before you buy a tube.
The best thing to do is to book a day at Haddo to try out a tube, Mike will sort you out and proivide any help you require.  Mike may be able to source a tube for you, ring the fishery to check if he has any tubes available for sale.

2, I tube mainly with a group of friends, almost all of us have bought Vision stocking foot neoprene waders, I have had mine for five years and have walked many dozens of miles in them (not out of choice, only when walking a short distance, at most up to a mile from the car to the loch), still no leaks.  One of our group uses breathable waders without any problems, I just prefer neoprene waders.    I use Hi-Tec V-Lite leather walking boots three sizes larger than my normal shoe size for tubing, very poor grip on wet rocks but great for walking the hills with a tube on your back when you jump for loch to loch as we always do in the Assynt area.  The leather boots provide support.  If you already have wading boots they will do for a start but felt soled boots provide no grip on wet grass.

3, ALWAYS WEAR A LIFEJACKET when tubing, a bouyancy aid will not do.  The collar style lifejackets are available for about £40.00.  Steve Parton always advocates a jacket with manual inflation to prevent accidental inflation.

4, If you can afford them, Force Fins seem to have a good reputation, the standard Caddis style fins with the plastic strap around the heel of yor boot would be fine for a start, one member of our group has modified standard diving fins and they also work very well and did not cost the earth.

5, I would never go on holiday with a tube without a tube of Aquasure, great for mending any pin holes if you drop your tube on thorns or a barbed wire fence, it has been known to happen.  You will need releasable cable ties or proper fin retainers to prevent you fins from sinking if one comes loose when you are out on a loch.

6, Most important, a friend to tube with, you should never really tube on you own, especially on the larger remote lochs.

If you have never tubed before, track down a fishery or friend who has a tube and get out on the water to see if you like it before spending a lot of money.

I am sure some of the other tubers on the forum will add their comments and experience.

You could do a lot worse than travel through to Haddo and try tubing there.

I hope you enjoy it when you get out on a tube.

Kev.

Iain Goolager

Re: Size of deflated tube?
« Reply #2 on: 18/01/2009 at 20:01 »
Hi Dave,

firstly - go for it don't think about it DO it!

I can only speak for myself and my limited tubing life but here's my thoughts;

1) Shakey Expo - folds down to approx. 16" x 16" x 10" (guess) - this can very on how well you remove the air and/ or fold it.
2) I use neoprene waders as I tend do do little actual walking around with the tube when I'm 'wadered up'. Keeping warm and reducing the amount of cold in the kidneys is important. There are posts raising the concern over the the longevity of breathables generaly and the fact that you are creating a lot of contact at the inner thigh/ knees due to continual back pedaling means I keep these for summer river wading.
3) Again there is a post specificaly targeting lifejackets & I use an Englands' one which is both manual & automatic, I think it has a 150N rating. Never go anywhere without one! as a novice in open water you will be very conscious of the potential for danger.
4) Fins/ Flippers - without a shadow of a doubt I'd recommend neoprene trainer like rock boots coupled with the traditional tubing type flippers. very comfortable & light. again see a previous post. I do own neoprene wetsuit type boots wjhich I have used in conjunction with 'proper' flippers and they work well - I would use these either in a large water or in a big wave where maximum effort is required to keep station, move location or manouver around when playing a fish. I've seen me take 15 min's to get back to shore on Loch Loirston, which is not big when you start talking Scottish Loch tubing.
5) a whistle
6) a decent net - snowbee do a nice net which Mike has at Haddo - I bought one and it's the biz - short handled pan net but with a large deep net. The elasticated clip which retracts into the handle is a good tubing feature.
7) a waterproof bag for camera, phone, wallet, whatever.
8) an over the head waterproof jacket - zip up the front arm around the side normal jackets cause me a bit of aggro when sitting in the tube - this is kept in the non-inflated top compartment of the shakey (thanks for the tip Mike).
9) a velcro backed fly patch which sits on the forearm of the sponson - this will allow the dropper flies to be kept out of the way when unhooking a fish or changing flies. Line control during the various function is very important - it's easy to take your eye off the ball and end up with fly line around your flippers or flies in your waders, tube, etc.
10)Lots more cheap things , modifications that make your life easier but these will come to you in time.

If I get a chance sometime I'll post a picture of my tube and most recent set up in detail.

Iain

p.s.

a compass might be handy - one my first trip to loirston it was very foggy - pea souper - after playing a fish I realised that I didn't know which way was which, fortunately the size of the Loch negated any safety concerns that I had and as I moved further back toward my 'launching' shore I came across a straw boom which was a great lesson because I was actually moving in the totally opposite direction from what I thought! I now have one but am still to take it out with me. Very unlikely you'll need one I know!?

Iain Goolager

Re: Size of deflated tube?
« Reply #3 on: 18/01/2009 at 20:08 »
Ah Kev,

missed your post.

correct about the fin retainers, I used bootlaces looped onto the fins and tied 'army style' around the ankley shin type bit of your leg.

Tubing with another is something which I haven't done often but there is nothing more reassuring than fishing in pairs/ groups. I'm talking larger or remote waters.

Barry Robertson

Re: Size of deflated tube?
« Reply #4 on: 18/01/2009 at 22:55 »
Iam looking forward to my first outing alot now, the more i read about it the bigger my smile grows - I am such a big kid  :z4

Peter McCallum

Re: Size of deflated tube?
« Reply #5 on: 19/01/2009 at 16:40 »
Hi Dave

1, The size of a deflated tube depends on the make and model.  If we talk about the tubes available in the UK just now, the best models are the shakespeare Expedition availablefor about £100.00 possibly £120.00 depending where you buy from.

Some tubes come with a foam padded seat that appears to be made from close cell camping type foam about 10mm thick, this is fitted between two layers of Cordura type material for the seat of the tube, this can be a little bulky to pack in a bag but it is usually not too much problem, A regular tubing mate manages to pack this make of tube into a large rucksack for any long walk into the hill locks together with neoprene waders, life jacket, fins etc.  Steve Parton also makes a great tube. The Shakespeare Expedition tube was designed by Steve Parton and is manufactured abroad to keep the cost down, still a great tube though.  One point to take on board with either of these tubes is that the main V hull has three seperate bladders for safety, again a Steve Parton design.  The Sparton Tube also has a back rest bladder while the Shakespeare tube has two back rest bladders although I do not think that the top bladder is required as this takes up space you can use for additional gear (food, jacket, extra fleece in a small dry bag, small fish smoker etc).  You can post to the USA for a huge range of tubes although with the current exchange rate, the tubes available in the UK are a good buy.  I understand that Snowbee are about to release a new float tube, I have no info on this, it may be worthwhile waiting for a few weeks until more info is available on this tube before you buy a tube.
The best thing to do is to book a day at Haddo to try out a tube, Mike will sort you out and proivide any help you require.  Mike may be able to source a tube for you, ring the fishery to check if he has any tubes available for sale.

2, I tube mainly with a group of friends, almost all of us have bought Vision stocking foot neoprene waders, I have had mine for five years and have walked many dozens of miles in them (not out of choice, only when walking a short distance, at most up to a mile from the car to the loch), still no leaks.  One of our group uses breathable waders without any problems, I just prefer neoprene waders.    I use Hi-Tec V-Lite leather walking boots three sizes larger than my normal shoe size for tubing, very poor grip on wet rocks but great for walking the hills with a tube on your back when you jump for loch to loch as we always do in the Assynt area.  The leather boots provide support.  If you already have wading boots they will do for a start but felt soled boots provide no grip on wet grass.

3, ALWAYS WEAR A LIFEJACKET when tubing, a bouyancy aid will not do.  The collar style lifejackets are available for about £40.00.  Steve Parton always advocates a jacket with manual inflation to prevent accidental inflation.

4, If you can afford them, Force Fins seem to have a good reputation, the standard Caddis style fins with the plastic strap around the heel of yor boot would be fine for a start, one member of our group has modified standard diving fins and they also work very well and did not cost the earth.

5, I would never go on holiday with a tube without a tube of Aquasure, great for mending any pin holes if you drop your tube on thorns or a barbed wire fence, it has been known to happen.  You will need releasable cable ties or proper fin retainers to prevent you fins from sinking if one comes loose when you are out on a loch.

6, Most important, a friend to tube with, you should never really tube on you own, especially on the larger remote lochs.

If you have never tubed before, track down a fishery or friend who has a tube and get out on the water to see if you like it before spending a lot of money.

I am sure some of the other tubers on the forum will add their comments and experience.

You could do a lot worse than travel through to Haddo and try tubing there.

I hope you enjoy it when you get out on a tube.

Kev.


Hear Hear full of good advice from Kev!!

As the 'diving fin converter' Kev mentions I bought mine on E-bay for under a tenner then modified them to suit my boots. Lidle/Aldi have deals on fins every so often. I bought a wee set of what were described,I think, as 'board fins' to use in small fisheries since the big fins can be a pain if the waters are shallow, I can groundbait some areas of haddo simply by finning along churning up the bottom. Actually it becomes pretty hard work, but on big waters they are sooooooperb.

If you want to try before you buy get along to haddo & mike will help you with advice ideas and coffee.

Wear Neoprenes, breathables are an option in high summer but are not warm enough in cooler weather. I tubed in lightweight breathables at first but had to come out frequently to heat up in all but the best weather, and big lochs don't really get that warm at all.

Main thing I find is that, as a conformed boat feartie I can tube in big winds where I wouldn't consider a boat!!

Peter

Dave Mundie

Re: Size of deflated tube?
« Reply #6 on: 19/01/2009 at 17:54 »
Some great advise guys keep it coming.
Looking at going to west coast for summer hols with family in our caravan, thats why i need to know the size and what else i would need for getting the car and van packed.

I've been busy the last couple of tube outings at haddo so missed out but will pop over and see mike.

As i said keep the advise coming and any links would be good also.  :z16

Dave

Peter McCallum

Re: Size of deflated tube?
« Reply #7 on: 19/01/2009 at 18:38 »
My tube is one of the big caddis navigator 2 but I can pack it as well as waders, boots, life jacket, fins, tackle etc in a BIG rucksac 70 litres or so with room for a wee pump to inflate it.

Barry Robertson

Re: Size of deflated tube?
« Reply #8 on: 20/01/2009 at 04:55 »
Iam in the proccess at the moment of trying to get together a float tube package for hill lochs  :z4
This is turning out to be a pricey affair  :cry
This is my to get list

Float tube
Life jacket
Waders
Fins
Pump
Wee net
Whistle


What do you think is a reasonable budget to have for getting the essentials for a first outing?
What else would you recomend to add to this list?
Any recomendations where to get any of the above stuff at a good price?

Notice you mentioned rock climbing boots over wading boots Iain - Take it you had to get them a few sizes to big to fit over your neoprenes? Where did you get them anyway?

Cheers
Baz

Hamish Young

Re: Size of deflated tube?
« Reply #9 on: 20/01/2009 at 08:05 »
Baz,
Depends, you could buy some stuff second-hand, or watch eBay for new bargains like a hawk.
You can kit yourself out with what you've listed for under £400, but you'd need to consider tube choice very carefully.
You might consider carrying a torch of some kind, to attract attention should something go wrong or assist in those late night 'recoveries' from the water after a hard days fishing.
Other than that, you've got it covered.

Hamish  :z3

Iain Goolager

Re: Size of deflated tube?
« Reply #10 on: 20/01/2009 at 19:55 »
Baz,

look here for info on the rock boots

http://www.fishingthefly.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=1223.0

Dave Mundie

Re: Size of deflated tube?
« Reply #11 on: 20/01/2009 at 21:13 »
Baz aye you're right it is looking like a pricey affair this one  :cry  will have to price it up see if i can afford it before i make any commitments.
The only commitment i will make is get over to haddo and give it a try :z16

Dave

Jim Eddie

Re: Size of deflated tube?
« Reply #12 on: 21/01/2009 at 09:18 »
Guys

If you are on a budget , you could do that list for  nearer £200.

 :z18

Jim

Dave Mundie

Re: Size of deflated tube?
« Reply #13 on: 21/01/2009 at 12:59 »
Guys

If you are on a budget , you could do that list for £200.

 :z18

Jim

Now yer spikin my tounge Jim any links? :z16

Dave


 




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