Kite Tubes
 

Hey there -

Just wondering if anyone has one of these kite tubes (I believe they are new? Haven't seen them on the lake before...) Our family is considering buying one but wanted to see what people thought of them first and to make sure they are actually legal on the lake before we do....

Thanks so much!

They say there is no such thing as a dumb question so here goes; What is a kite tube?:confused:

Manta Ray
 

I'm not sure if there's a whole class of them but this is the one I'm aware of.

http://www.sevylor.com/towables.html

I can't see any reason why they would be illegal, just subject to the same rules (2 person max, spotters, etc) as other tubes.

I have done a fair share of looking into the kite tubes. If I was going to buy any, I would go with the Sportstuff WEGO Kite tube.
Here is the video:
http://www.sportsstuff.com/towables/wego/movie.shtml
:D :D :D
Its more steady in the air and I think more useable as a float when stopped.
Its 10' wide when inflated, so you can use it as a lounge.
But with every sport you do on the water, the DRIVER of the boat is RESPONSIBLE for the rider behind the boat!!! You must pay attention to the height of the rider in the air and watch how much control the rider has. If not, You WILL shoot up to over 30', depending on your rope length, at which time flight is uncontrollable and injuries could be severe. There is 1 confirmed death in Texas,a 33 year old man and I think there was a another woman in the south somewhere.
http://www.kfdm1.com/engine.pl?stati...koutlocal.html

So is it dangerous??? Yes. Does that make it fun? Yes. Is it worth the risk?
If you trust your boat driver with being able to watch the rider and watch possible wind gusts and watch where he is going then I say GO FOR IT!!!:liplick: :liplick: :liplick:

I know of several shops on the lake and nearby that will not sell these because of the potential liability. Like it says on the side of the kite "never kite higher than you're willing to fall"

Check out - "Kite Tube Claims Life" at http://www.steadywinds.com/

wego tube
 

It comes with an instruction dvd for the driver of the boat and rider. Paying attention to the video and acting responsibly, it will be a blast. Dover Marine sells them for about 489.00

Thank you very much for the tips!!

Appreciate your help! :)

Different injuries occurring
 

Reports are coming in that these kite tubes are very unstable. I don't know how the boat operator checks for wind while traveling at high speed at the same time.

Chief among physical injuries is cervical spine damage, a circumstance that is nearly impossible among water skiers, but among kite tubes is fairly frequent.

Last Wednesday, one such incident occurred in Wisconsin:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,201346,00.html

Wego Kite Tube - safety
 

I've seen many of these tubes on lakes around the country – including Winni. If you haven't seen them, they are 10' diameter tubes, designed to lift a 150 pound or less rider into the air a couple feet. The problem is, many people misuse them, causing serious injuries or deaths.

I predict there will be a serious injury on on Winni this summer on one of these tubes (or the similar Manta Ray by Sevlor). The Wego Kite Tube is made by SportsStuff. I'm hoping this post can prevent one of the injuries, but I have my doubts. If you see someone using it irresponsibly, please warn them they are likely to hurt the passenger, and warn them that they are illegal at Lake Powell (because of deaths).

The problem really is a matter of driver error – risking the life of the passenger. Often too big a rider tries to get into the air, so the driver goes too fast, like 40 mph. The rider then flies into the air, falls off the tube, and breaks their neck when they hit the water. Or, the driver thinks it is funny to see the passenger fall off, but falling from 20 feet in the air out of control is not fun. I know many dedicated water sports enthusiasts who refuse to ride one of these tubes.

So, if you insist on using this tube, and they can be fun if used properly (which is rare), follow the warnings. Do not exceed 25 mph (they say 20 mph), always head into the wind to fly, and don't go more than a few feet off the water.

If you are the driver, be careful with the safety of your passenger and back off on the throttle if the rider gets more than 3 feet off the water – and keep the speeds down. If you are a rider, pick a driver you would trust with your life, because that is what you are doing.

Sailing Away
 

There may be a reason that we have not seen more of these things, aside from the fact that they are a fairly new offering on the consumer market. Here's something to consider:

http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/...-d/270-d-4.htm

So....are you towing or flying?

My 2 cents
 

After seeing one of these things in action, this is a point where the consumer must remember the marketing company is out for money. New idea means new sales means more money....The know the risks but put enough labels and warnings in place and they are all set. We as people need to look at these things and realize how dangerous they are and not buy them.........

Instead people get caught in the momment don't think, and go on a whim.....

Once in the air you are out of control.....heck who needs a kite tube at less then 150 lbs.....I remember getting plenty of air when I was that size on a regular tube going only 20 mph or so.......

Interesting find
 

I was online looking for somethings (regular towable tubes) at Overtons and Barts watersports and found that on both sites have suspended shipping of the WEGO kite tube.....

Here is a link with some further info on this subject:

http://www.steadywinds.com/archives/...ego-kite-tube/

and right from the Consumer Product Safety Commission

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml06/06202.html

U.S. Corps warns of kite-tubing dangers
 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap_travel/20...lpBHNlYwMyNjgz

Looks like kite tubes are now banned by the U.S. Corps of Engineers on its lakes in Arkansas and Missouri.

"Victims have reported coughing up blood, torn muscles, whiplash-type injuries, broken ribs, punctured lungs and cervical fractures," according to a safety alert from the park service.

Wego kite tubes recalled
 

Just saw this Wego kite recall for safety reasons. http://www.wmur.com/money/9510436/detail.html

More recall links
 

Here are a couple more links about the recall. Parafunalia had already figured out they were too dangerous and stopped selling them awhile back.

http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_vi...ml?id=1798812n

http://www.sportsstuff.com/news/07-1...ages/06210.pdf

Recall
 

They went from being best new product to being recalled within about 2 months.

Funny (or not so funny), the watersports shop down in Wolfeboro was selling them as of this past weekend!

Kite Tube article
 

I was just reading the Laconia Citizen and I see that NH is checking into the injuries and deaths associated with this type of tube. Here's a link to the article.
http://www.citizen.com/apps/pbcs.dll...225/-1/CITIZEN

Recent action taken in NH regarding "Tube Kiting":



Federal agency bans tube kiting at its recreation lakes


CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has banned a new form of extreme water sport called tube kiting from its recreation lakes in New Hampshire as well as in other New England states.

The agency instituted the ban at its 31 federal recreation flood control reservoir projects in New England late last month. The agency said most of the reservoirs are too small and too shallow to support any type of speed boating use. It said the seven lakes where boat speeds could support tube kites, the lakes are not large enough or deep enough to allow the activity safely.

In New Hampshire, the ban affects Blackwater Dam in Webster, Edward MacDowell Lake in Peterborough, Franklin Falls Dam, Hopkinton-Everett Lakes in Hopkinton, Otter Brook Lake in Keene and Surry Mountain Lake in Keene.

Tube kites are large, sometimes round, inflatable water devices that can be more than 10 feet in diameter. The tube is hooked to the back of a boat by a tow rope and the tube rider pulls back on a rope to lift into the air as the boat reaches speeds of between 25 and 35 miles an hour.

Well,I guess we'd better ban water skiing,tubing,knee boarding etc. There are far more injuries and deaths relating to those sports....and if we really want to protect the public....why not hang gliding,snowmobiling,and ,yes, even football.
I guess you see where I'm going with this.All sports can be risky.It's up to the individual to decide not some third party that feels the need to protect us.As near as I can figure 2 people (two) have died or been seriously injured in the entire United States of America and all of the social engineers are scrambling to save us. PUH-LEEZ

Video of Kite Tubing fall
 

Here's a link to a video of a kite tubing fall.

http://www.break.com/index/tuber_goe...wipes_out.html

Now you can see how you can get seriously hurt.

Kite Tubes
 

Hey all

From todays Boston Globe

http://www.boston.com/news/local/mas...fety_concerns/

If I am not mistaken the tube depicted was a manta ray, not a kite tube. These are meant to skip over the water and not fly high like a kite tube. Judging by the depicted speed in the video that boat was flying!!! With the manta ray you have to pull back on it with a good amount of strength to get it to pop up.

Its troublesome BUT
 

It looks like there is little control by the boat driver over the kite tube performance. One minute its bobbing over the waves, the next it shoots way up into the air and flips over. That makes it extremely dangerous in my mind.

However, this is a state where we don't require motorcycle helmets. If we're not going to be worried about helmets ...

But I'd sure hate to be the merchant that sold this to someone who's kid winds up with a broken neck and is paralyzed for the rest of their life. :(

Known vs unknown risk
 

Ideally it comes down to whether the buyer knows the risks involved. I'd be satisfied if big warning labels (hey we got them on everything else) were on the package stating you could be, and people have been, seriously injured or killed using the device. Perhaps some statements about what not to do and what to do when you do it anyway and things go bad. Thusly warned people could be free to choose the risk vs reward ratio they desire. Of course this won't happen because the government believes it's job (partly) is to protect people from themselves. This leads to a loop wherein people stop thinking for themselves and start believing that the gov't will stop anything bad from happening to them. We are defeating Darwin.

How bad might a crash be ? Let's think about the dynamics of the situation for a moment ... how fast will a rider be going when he (or she) hits the water ? Let's neglect any slowdown due to air resistance and have the boat going 30 mph and the tube ~30' high* when the rider and tube part ways**. If I remember my high school physics correctly that would have the rider doing about 30 mph towards the water plus 30 mph forward so the combined velocity is about 42-43 mph. Certainly enough to hurt you but no more so than water skiing and "tripping" over the wake after a strong cut. Moreover the rider would have ~1.4 seconds to prepare, where my skiing falls have happened real quick. :blush: His impact angle is a lot worse than mine though but then again if he had balled up before impact I doubt any harm would result (image a 30 ft bellyflop :eek: ). This is where a little forethought would pay off. And that would apply to the manufacturers as well. I betcha a little testing would have shown these things have a tendency to spin out of control and I'll wager a better design that reduces this tendency could be (and perhaps has been) done. Now it's probably too late for this type of product. Just my 0.02 ....

*just to bookend it, 25 mph and 15' has you doing 32-33 mph when you splash

** this isn't the worst case scenario but it's illustrative

Not clear on the subject...
 

Last weekend, I saw a 30-something guy wearing a helmet while riding one of those kite things. If anything, a helmet would make a cervical-spine injury MORE likely!

You'd think the skull on the tube and the warning don't fly higher than your willing to fall would clue people in.

Manta Ray
 

All you safety nazis can go fish.

Let the younguns show you how it's done...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=4IhVtr-K8CQ

Mr. V.....first of all I am a a younguns, myself..... and believe that there is only so much stupidity you can protect people from. However I want to note somethings after watching your video.

1) it appears you where the only boat on the lake. Its not to hard to keep things safe when you have all the room in the world to work with.

2) well you seem to be getting nice air and cruising quite nicely though the air, there didn't seem to be a lot of wind.

In short what I am saying here, is sure these things can be safe. But when most people want to use them on the weekends, when the lakes are crowded, safety and prdictability are main concerns. And once that tube is in the air the only control is for the boat to slow down. Throw in the wind to push you around some and the probability of you going where another boater doesn't think your headed increases significatly. Maybe your the type that thinks these things through and doesn't go out when it is busy but plenty of people don't think about things all the way through.

Manta Ray
 

I think you are NUTS, but it is a cool video.

Nice job!

Smitty

More bigger air?
 

.:confused:

I will never get those 8 minutes of my life back.:laugh:

Video -- Location in Moultonboro area?
 

Mr. V,

One of the only videos on youtube that offers any entertainment value. ;-) Thanks for sharing!

It looks like the video was shot on the Moultonboro side of the lake. Can anybody identify the area and narrow it down? Just curious.

Merry Christmas to all!
Gravy

The Manta Ray buzz is sweeping the world.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBa9wdOANHw

Australia, USA, Norway...

Reminds me of one of the space shuttles coming in for a landing.

Thanks

interesting video
 

Interesting video.... however it would seem that safety is still a big issue....Did everyone notice all the warnings.... Also I noted that once again this is a video making this towable look nice and innocent in almost perfect conditions.... none of the footage showed any indication of wind or heavy boat traffic..... conditions which most users have to deal with.....