Folks what are your opinions on this...

Ive been happily wearing a Baltic Flyfisher 150 manual/automatic inflation for the last 6 years and have used this type for the last 18 years, but I'm beginning to consider an alternative style such as a kayak 70N buoyancy aid.

My reasons for considering a change are as follows...

1. I worry about the lifejacket hindering me escaping from my float tube in the event of a forward tip, especially if my fins prove difficult to get through the stabiliser bar.

2. I am led to believe that it can be difficult to swim in a inflated lifejacket, yet I have swam easily with a buoyancy aid.

3. I always feel like my back needs a little extra to keep me 100 % straight & comfortable & am thinking that the foam at the rear of the buoyancy aids might just do the trick.

4. I like the idea of the extra insulation provided by the foam in the colder months...almost like a bodywarmer.

I am certain the buoyancy aid will be less trouble exiting & swimming. But, my slight hesitation is wondering how a buoyancy aid would perform in conjuction with the waders...my overboard plan would always be to first try get back on the tube or, failing this, grab the swim line I've attached to my tube & head for shore using my fins.

I am just unsure if a kayak style buoyancy aid will keep me afloat wearing my waders, fleece bib/brace, jackets & fins until I get myself together?

Does anybody have any experience or opinions they could offer?

I can swim ok so this restriction is not an issue.

Cheers in advance!

withdrawn etc

hi there pikeflyco could you tell me what tube you use please.as i want to know if it can be tipped up some can some cant. well not by the person in it. the life jacket you talk about is a good idea if your happy with that sort of think but me i use a 200newton life jacket. see the bigger the newton the higher your head is surpost to be out of the water. but a smaller newton is still ok 120 newtons for average man. i hope you never have to find out.falling forword is mostly the offen thing that happens when having a stroke or heart attack in which case you cant blow anything up. then if you have a solid floatation divise on then you will not die of drowning. if you wear a auto floatation jacket then it will keep you up ok if it goes off. so keep it checked. every three years i think. one thing i do agree with you. is the bar at the front its not good i dont have one of those types. mine folds if you push it in any way. thats one of the reasons why i bought it. that bar could kill some one if you fell forword. so which tube have you got.

phil

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stop buying bottled water we have,nt got enuff to fish in now so stop it get the water companies to do there job and clean the water every where!!!!

Thankyou for a great response. Your sharing of actual hands on experience is just what I needed.

You have actually mentioned a another issue that consistently niggles me...what if the life jacket doesnt inflate. I am pretty anal about testing & rearming on a regular basis...but my pfd could get damaged at any time without me being aware of it. God knows it gets stuffed in rucksacks, dry bags, hung up on the shoreline etc etc...and I've got 2 little boys who despite my best efforts, get their hands on my gear from time to time.

Interesting point on the wading belt...I have never used one. Do you think it is a wise investment?

My escape concerns result from the fact that my latest tube has a high seating & stabiliser bar. Now, I love it & find no issue even in strong winds etc. In fact I have only found advantages to the design except that it definitely feels a little 'tippy' towards the front...

Now, I have been testing its limits & there is no chance of a sideways tip...but the front is a little less forgiving...& the stabaliser bar actually takes a considerable effort to remove by way of spaying my legs wide to release it from its pouches & unclipping each end, although I am currently leaving one end still in its pouch but 'unclipped' just in case.

I worry that if the tube tips forward for any reason (ie - overexcitedness whilst playing a big Pike), and I am unable to get the bar out, or squeeze my big fins (Mares Advantis X3), then I might be in trouble if wearing an inflatable lifejacket.

My reasoning for this worry, is that I reckon, with a foam buoyancy aid, even if stuck, I could still stretch out & keep my head afloat until I get things together & initially calm down, but fear that the inflated lifejacket could actually make this more difficult due to the inflation around the back of my neck.

I hope I'm making some sort of sense to you all...its difficult to compress all my thoughts into this post.

[QUOTE=philfish1966;1127542]hi there pikeflyco could you tell me what tube you use please.as i want to know if it can be tipped up some can some cant. well not by the person in it. the life jacket you talk about is a good idea if your happy with that sort of think but me i use a 200newton life jacket. see the bigger the newton the higher your head is surpost to be out of the water. but a smaller newton is still ok 120 newtons for average man. i hope you never have to find out.falling forword is mostly the offen thing that happens when having a stroke or heart attack in which case you cant blow anything up. then if you have a solid floatation divise on then you will not die of drowning. if you wear a auto floatation jacket then it will keep you up ok if it goes off. so keep it checked. every three years i think. one thing i do agree with you. is the bar at the front its not good i dont have one of those types. mine folds if you push it in any way. thats one of the reasons why i bought it. that bar could kill some one if you fell forword. so which tube have you got.

Hi Phil, I'm currently using a guideline drifter. Ive been tubing for just under 18 years...started with a few doghnuts then the U Hulls then progressed to the V Hull.

I was always wary of the new styles with a higher seating due to the constant winter winds in Ireland, but decided to give them a go a few years ago.

I have tried many of the latest models inc the new Snowbee & the Imago but the guideline proved to be my favourite by quite a margin...so bought it a while back.

I have heard a few mention they think the seating may be little too forward which I believe is true, but it outperforms anything else for me, and I am finished with buying tubes from the states.

There is a lot in this thread ....

I have been wearing a non-inflatable foam waistcoat type buoyancy aid for 30 years. I'm still here!

Why bother with inflatable? Advantage: compactness, but problem with exit means inflatables are not (in my opinion) suitable for tubing, and never were.
Disadvantage water and damp creep will set off auto inflatables with boring regularity while in the back of the car on the way home!

Disadvantage with foam sleeve-less jacket type I wear? Too warm in strong sunshine, not good in summer.

Need for a wader belt? Why make your chesties harder to put on and take off? There is no safety advantage. But if you have one, and trip in the shallows, you might take in less water with a belt in the seconds it takes you to get up again!

Bigger lifejackets always? No not always better. Sometime it may happen to be a problem not being able to get underwater to fix something! Adequate buoyancy is adequate.

Exiting the tube? Most of the time not necessary, as it will keep you afloat, while you figure out what to do next.

Exiting? The one time you get face down in water with the tube inverted, it will be resting on the back of your body holding you in a position where your face is awash/semi submerged, and not a good place to be. Doing a doggy paddle with your hands will lift your face. Turning to the side will roll it until you are face up, but will everyone do that in that situation, or will those few panic?

How to flip one? Get in a vee tube and note where there is no buoyancy - right in front of your seated position! Get high, lean forward, and sort of hoike it over, no problem. In a very big wave the water tilts you this way every time the tube rises to the crest of the next wave. Now it is down to your boatmanship, but it was always about boatmanship, wasn't it?

Some people have no ability to manage any small craft whether it be dinghy or tube. I took a friend out once. He opened my eyes! He fishes from huge lake boats and I found out why. He sat high, tilted, lifting the tube out on one side and pushing it down the other. Like a floating Leaning tower of Pisa. He then lost a fin in the first 15 seconds. I saw the writing on the wall and suggested we bankfish instead!

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Norm

Float Tube Fishing 30+ years
Float Tubing Info Resource

Again, lots of really genuine good advice & its much appreciated!

Yes you are correct Irishfloattube, I have seen a few guys in my time who would have been much safer on dry land...common sense counts for a lot.

You mention a few more points I have always pondered ie - the high buoyancy hindering me in certain circumstances.

I feel pretty safe in the Guideline, or any float tube for that matter...and I know that I am experienced enough after almost 18 years tubing, to at least be able to recognise certain hazards & make attempts to minimise the potential for a disaster, but I suppose this is really a case of me wondering 'what if,' regarding an albiet unlikely, but yet 'possible' scenario. So again, a big thankyou everyone for responding so comprehensively.

I tried on a few kayak pfds recently. One was a Yak Koast...it felt like I'd just slipped on a nice bulky, comfy sweater & had a great chest pocket...I think your responses have persuaded me to at least try the alternative.

There will probably be a Baltic Flyfisher for sale somewhere soon!

Much obliged!

withdrawn etc

Thanks again everyone!!!

hi there pikeflyco i agree with your choice of buoyancy aid if you can use it i would im thinking now of taking one with me as a spair. and the wading belt is a must they are the dogs if you end up in the water and your still consouse. well i do beleave that the tube your on about does have a rep for tipping forword. but if your an old tuber you will be awear of these things.Irishfloattuber knows whats what. im going to get one of those buoyancy aids after thinking about it. i think if theres room for what if then it needs looking in to. phil

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stop buying bottled water we have,nt got enuff to fish in now so stop it get the water companies to do there job and clean the water every where!!!!