After months away from the board, because of buying a house, 20+ credits last semester in school, and moving up in my job, I am finally back and ready to tear up the local waters. I'm going to be buying a float tube in the next couple of weeks and am wanting to stay around $100 or so. I'm looking at Ebay for the most part. Any suggestions for a good value for that kind of money? Also, wondering what waters are doing good right now. I'm within easy driving to Deer Creek, UT Lake, Strawberry, and Scofield. It's good to be back.
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I recently bought a WW Grigg V-6000 tube from Sportsmans Warehouse, and can't find much about it I don't like. Only $74.95, and it has all the features and good quality. I have put quite a few hours on it this spring, and feel it is an excellent value for the money. The only small problem I had was the separator bar. It is made of very thin walled plastic pipe (to save weight I guess). There is a strap that comes up between your legs when sitting in the seat, and connects to the middle of the bar. I had that strap adjusted fairly tight so I would ride a little higher. During one particularly strong kick, my knee bumped the bar and it snapped in half. No big deal, I just replaced it with a solid piece of 1" sched 40 PVC which has worked fine ever since. I really like the V shaped tube, the heavy 600 denier fabric, multiple rod holders and D-rings, the backpack straps, and the extra high back rest. It is very comfortable to sit in for long periods, and easy to enter/exit. For under $100 I doubt you can do much better. I highly recommend it.
Libertized,
I have the exact same tube, and my bar broke as well. I was going to send it back but I think I will take your advice and use my own. I do love the tube though and you can't beat that price.
tuber
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...I have the exact same tube, and my bar broke as well... [/reply]
Tuber,
It's a piece of cake to replace the spreader bar, and the pvc is about 10 times stronger than the original thin plastic junk. Just hack saw the 1" pvc at an angle on both ends to match the original, round off the sharp edges, and slide it into the bar pocket. Be sure to turn it so the angled ends lay flush against the air bladder and not "digging in" when the bar is attached. The pvc also has some flex to it, so even if you pull the seat strap real tight and kick hard it won't likely ever break again. It's a cheap and easy upgrade.
I just thought I would post something that happened to me after my bar broke on my V6000 Grigg tube. I am taking Libertized advice and making a stronger bar, but I also sent an email to WW Grigg and Tom Grigg responded the next day and asked for my address to send a new bar, no questions asked and no cost. The one they use is much thiner but I thought it was pretty awesome that I didn't have to jump through hoops to get the bar replaced. Initially sportsmans told me I would have to pay shipping, etc. Anyway, I love the tube and appreciate that great service I got. Just thought I would pass it along.
tuber
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