Float Tubes

[acurrie]

Anyone have any favorite float tube brands?

I was thinking of picking up a Basic Fish Cat 4 for some local still water angling, but looking around there are Sooooo many options (not to mention huge price differences).

 

Thanks,

Drew

[maxwell]

i would stick with the fishcats!

[KingSalmon]

You can't really beat Outcast. I have the Fish Cat 4 float tube, and also a Fish Cat 8 pontoon boat. No problems with either one. That being said, I also have a Caddis Nevada float tube that is light enough to put in a backpack for high mountain lakes. It is a great boat too, and very affordable.

[Jayhad]

I have been looking for a new boat as well. I was thinking of the Fish Cat 4, but now the mention of the Caddis Nevada Gold being lighter has peaked my interest. Is it considerably lighter then the Fish Cat 4??? most of my boat fishing is hike in lakes.

[H2O]

If your interested in taking the thing into hike in lakes then I would recommend the Outcast Trinity, very light and easy to pump up, comes with a backpack and a pump. I love it because you sit high out of the water which is great when the weather is cold. I get a lot of use out of it and have yet to get a hole in it. Outcast has awesome customer service, I sent mine back to them for repair and they called me soon after. They said "Your Trinity looks like it was half eaten by a wild animal" I said Yes that's exactly what happened while I was camping at a hike in lake" So they say, "No problem, we're sending you a new one today" No charge except shipping cost. Not sure what the Trinity costs these days but a couple of years ago it was 300.00. Already got 3 trips planned with it for this year

 

 

[H2O]

If your interested in taking the thing into hike in lakes then I would recommend the Outcast Trinity, very light and easy to pump up, comes with a backpack and a pump. I love it because you sit high out of the water which is great when the weather is cold. I get a lot of use out of it and have yet to get a hole in it. Outcast has awesome customer service, I sent mine back to them for repair and they called me soon after. They said "Your Trinity looks like it was half eaten by a wild animal" I said Yes that's exactly what happened while I was camping at a hike in lake" So they say, "No problem, we're sending you a new one today" No charge except shipping cost. Not sure what the Trinity costs these days but a couple of years ago it was 300.00. Already got 3 trips planned with it for this year

 

 

I should also mention that if your hiking with a regular backpack the Trinity packs down very small and deflates quickly.

[acurrie]

Sounds like outcast runs a tight ship. I don't hike into all that many lakes, maybe 5 a year, so carrying an extra 2-3 lbs isn't that big of a deal. One of the big issue's I've heard about is moving in the wind and sitting to low, but know one seems to have a problem with the outcasts. Anyone have any feedback on the "Classic Accessories Togiak Float Tube" they are roughly the same price, and both are "pontoon style" and not a round tube.

 

Thanks for the feedback so far.

 

[KingSalmon]

My FishCat 4 is the one that has foam inserts for the seat part, so I didn't want to be packing those in the backpack too. I think the newer versions have blow up seats. The Caddis definitely is lighter and more compact though either way, so that's why I picked one up for the high mountain lakes. Plus you can blow it up by mouth if you don't have room for a pump.

 

Drew: I've been out in some windy days with the FishCat, and had no troubles. It is really nice as far as float tubes go, because you do sit out of the water a little higher than regular float tubes. It seemed a little easier to control than my other one too...not sure if anyone else has found this to be true too?