befu

iTrader: (2)

Good evening. The kids want a tube for Christmas this year to use behind the formula, hoping for a four person one.

Does anyone here have any experience with 4 person (or 3 person) tubes and pulling them with a boat like a 272 formula?

any input is welcome and thank you,

Forgot to add the kids are 12 to 5, so has to be somewhat stable also.

Brian

buck183

SportsStuff makes the Big Mable that's a 3 person, and a Great Big Mable that's a 4 person. Either one works great.

Airhead makes a Storm III and a Storm IIII. Obviously a three and four person respectively. We own a III and like it a lot.

Keep in mind any 3-4 person tube will likely be stable due to its size. Ours is difficult to flip. If it does flip it's usually due to older more aggressive riders being on it along with a driver that probably owes them a favor or two. Even then it's still hard to do.

I've towed both of the above mention products behind our 26' Scarab and our 28' Cig. I'd say the Scarab is closest to your 272. I had no problems towing anything behind that boat. At slower speeds the tabs were a must. Other than that I say go get one and enjoy.

Buck

US1 Fountain

iTrader: (1)

We won a Airhead Wake Surf 3 (3 person tube) this fall from our marina during a boaters appreciation shin dig. We have no need for it. I found it cheapest here when we tried selling it in our neighbors yard sale.
http://www.boatersoutlet.com/airhead-wake-surf-2-1.aspx

befu

iTrader: (2)

Looking at the great big mable as a Christmas present to the kids. Of course the super mable at 3 people looks pretty good also when you consider the size of the kids right now and how long it will take for them to outgrow this tube. Heck, i might have a larger boat by then and the tube will probably have been used up by then.

definately want to go with a sit down type that is wide with some bottom rocker. Mables look like fun.

Brian

dirtymike72

We've had a big bertha since I was a kid, and its still fun with me and some college friends . The more people you add the more fun it gets

bcfountain

try the monster tube.3-4 people.a few summers back we had 3 adults riding it at 60mph behind my buddys scrab.crazy ride it was.

befu

iTrader: (2)

How do the big tubes like big bertha and the monster tube do for handling waves and not tipping over? Seems like they would be tippy, but at over 6' wide I guess they have a pretty solid base.

Wondering how they would do compared to the super mable.... Definately cheaper, I could put two of them behind the boat and still be cheaper than the great big mable. (Actually, three of them would be cheaper...)

Brian

SLT Kota

We had alot of fun with our big bertha, it didn't tip for waves but you could get sling shot out if the waves were just right (think double bouncing someone on a trampoline)

Overall it was very stable and lots of fun but you could still get thrown off (esp the way we drove)

On a side note, be sure to get an towable rope for a multiperson tube. We had a standard one fling up into the boat like it was made of rubber after it broke.

FINMAN

i had the great big mable and it was great for our kids. We could even put more than 4 smaller ones on it. The issue was that when it was inflated it was huge and weighed a ton especially when water got into it. The seams came apart after a couple years so I trashed it.

Fin

befu

iTrader: (2)

I have been reviewing them online and it seems that you will get two years on average on the larger "non tube" towables, some longer, some shorter. At $350 that is something to consider. Still far less than the gas to tow it around, but no need to throw money away.

On the other hand, the monster tubes seem to last longer and are much cheaper. But I was worried about that many kids up on top and it tipping, but those are big at over 6' in diameter. Of course, could put two of them behind the boat....

Will definately get the proper tow lines, using one two weak can be very dangerous with stored energy in the line when it breaks.

Decisions decisions.....