My Fat Cat 66 is in its 8th season and I am looking to eventually replace it. I know that there are a number of people on this site who have recently purchased H3 Free Style tubes.It seems that by and large most are happy with their new tubes. At Tubedude's suggestion I started to look into ordering one from Cabela's. I figured that there would never be a better time with our Canadian dollar as strong as it is right now. Well when I visited the Cabela's site I was rather surprised to find two rather unflattering reviews of this tube.
[url "http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/item-link.jsp_A&_DAV=MainCatcat20431-cat360010&id=0043102319663a&navCount=1&podId=0043102&parentId=cat360010&masterpathid=&navAction=push&catalogCode=I"]http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/item-link.jsp_A&_DAV=MainCatcat20431-cat360010&id=0043102319663a&navCount=1&podId=0043102&parentId=cat360010&masterpathid=&navAction=push&catalogCode=I[/url]
The tube was given a 2 out of 5 rating. Read the reviews offered by two less than satisfied customers. How do you H3 owners respond to the criticisms put forth in these reviews?
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Those reviews are crap. I read the one that is 3 out of 5 and that review dinged the tube for not having the apron and being shipped the wrong apron. And the second guy is just smoking crack. I am 5'10" and love the thing. I have been in really bad winds and rough water and it handles great. I had no control issues what so ever. I have had mine out probably 10 times since mid April and have to say if you can not land a fish in this you need to work on you fishing skills or go back tot he bank. I find it no different than landing a fish from my ODC420, SFC (older), round bucks bag or my buddies pontoon. I personally take most reviews on store reviews sites with a grain of salt . I know they are just opinions but neither reviewer offers a comparison to something else. I think the first review has a little merit but the second is off the mark IMHO, with the exception he did note there was a failure around the valve. I would always look for something similar to TD's review it is pretty much on the mark. Me personally here is how I rate the H3.
Control ability *****
Storage *****
Ease of setup *****
Lack of an apron for 400.00 gets a .5 to 1 star depending on the primary use (spin or Fly)
Warranty ***** (and the best Warranty is the one never used)
Overall for me it is a 4.5 of 5
Majja
PS I added a review to Cabela's site as well
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[cool][#0000ff]As with most things we buy...cars, clothes, food, fishing tackle, etc...opinions on float tubes are going to be biased by several factors. The first is going to be the relative knowledge, experience and sophistication of the user. People who are not ready to "graduate" to an "upscale" tube just might not be ready for some of the refinements. Then again, if the craft does not feel right or perform the way they want it, they have legitimate beefs.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]In the first review, the complaint was directed more at customer service. Dave Scadden has an apalling reputation in the industry for slow deliveries and errors in complete and proper assembly. The way to get around that is to buy his craft through a dealer that has good backup service...like Cabelas. As I found out in "working a deal" to buy direct, I sacrificed almost a month of fishing waiting for my complete order to be delivered. If I had ordered from Cabelas...or drove down to pick it up...I would have been in business a lot faster. They are a small company with a small overworked staff. Dave himself is on the phone all day, every day. He does not delegate customer service to someone else and the end result is that things fall through the cracks.
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[#0000ff]The complaints of the second review are mostly from the viewpoint of what I would consider to be an unsophisticated tuber. His complaints of "faulty construction"...the torn cover...may be valid, and are subject to replacement. However his other complaints are about the "strong points" of the craft...higher seating, etc. It makes me believe he just graduated from a round tube and does not know how to use or appreciate an open ended craft...with higher seating.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]My guess is that there will be more reviews over time, by more happy campers. Two reviews...from unqualified reviewers...should not be enough to keep someone from buying one if they have otherwise done their homework and feel confident in their purchase. And, with the Cabelas return policy, you will not be stuck with it if you do decide you don't like it.[/#0000ff]
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I know the guys (Dave, Larry and Ryan) from Northfork personally and have for many, many years. Dave does have STATE OF THE ART gear, but he does get a little to excited and over extends himself. A little company that has become VERY popular, mistakes will happen.
First off I find the negative reviews weak and not valid. They state it does not come with an apron. Now when they first started showing the tube it had a killer apron:
[inline "LarryTullisandtheH2 400.jpg"]
Not to mention a different color back then. When I order an apron I got this one:
[inline "H3 Apron 3.jpg"]
Now the reason for this apron is it works with all his toons and Tubes. At first I didn't care for it and wanted the older one which they are checking into getting me one, but I am really getting to like this apron.
As far as the second review, I agree with TD that he must be a donut dude. I am 5'7" and I sid well out of the water byrt I have no problem with my feet in the water. I will agree that maybe 10" of my leg is in the water, but my flipper extends about 8" to 10" from my toe so kicking, even in the wind, is not an issue. No different than a pontoon.
Even if I didn't know Northfork, just seeing the H3 would have sold me and the reviews would not have made a difference, cause like I same they are LAME.
The bags on the H3 are huge and FANTASTIC. Insulated so you can fill them with ice and your favorite beverage if you wanted to. Not to mention the trunk LOL:
[inline "H3's 006 400.jpg"]
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Thanks everyone! Like I said I was pretty surprised to read those reviews as they seemed to run counter to the experiences you guys (and gals) have had with tour tubes. In the meantime I'm restitching the cover on one of my fat cat pontoons while i save up for my replacement which will either be the H3 or the Outcast prowler. Did any of you consider that tube before going with the H3? I know the hydration bladder seems a little silly especially when the H3 has insulated pockets. The air filled floor was a point of interest that i would have liked to know a bit more about.
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The big selling point of the Prowler would be the weight rating and I do believe that the H3 is still higher. I looked at the prowler but did not feel it was worth the money.
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[#0000ff]Joni told me about the review. I read it. I laughed at it. Come on Outcast, you can do better than that.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Here's carpetcleaner or whatever his name is one star review:[/#0000ff]
Save your money and don't buy this Float tube. The only reason I even gave it one star is because it floats!! First of all you set so high you can not use your fins hardly at all.I am
6 feet tall with average length legs and my fins only were only
about 10" in the water. The cloth cover has torn away from the
air filler locations. The pockets are a joke and if you look at the picture you can see they tilt outward. In the slightest wind
you spend all effort controlling the tube not fishing. If you buy
the optional fish net/screen you will probably throw it away.
The pontoons are so long you are always having trouble
landing a fish without a tangle with them.
Dave had a good idea but he missed the boat a mile with his design."
I am 6 feet tall with average length legs and my fins only were only about 10" in the water. [#0000ff]I think his "average legs" must be only 16" long. I agree with Majia. The review is amazingly bullcrap.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]The "cloth cover was torn away from the "air filler" locations? I guess it's possible when you take it to the C-Store to inflate it with the "25ยข For 2 Minutes of Air"[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Next he says the pockets are a joke- they tilt outward? I think CM's head is tilted outward.[/#0000ff]
"In the slightest wind you spend all effort controlling the tube not fishing"- [#0000ff]With 16" legs, I guess anyone would have a problem.[/#0000ff]
"If you buy the optional fish net/screen". [#0000ff]What in God's name is a fish net/ screen?[/#0000ff]
"The pontoons are so long you are always having trouble
landing a fish without a tangle with them." [#0000ff]Dude, you're in trouble if you ever decide to buy a kickboat. With that, I doubt your fins would even touch the water.
[/#0000ff][#000000]Dave had a good idea but he missed the boat a mile with his design." [#0000ff]Now that really makes sense[/#0000ff].[/#000000]
Majja, the Outcast is 25 lb less, $50 more and not as big. 5 year warranty as opposed to 10 year(10 year on Cabelas website, 15 year on Northforks site).
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Mojorizing,
Do you think this is an Outcast conspiracy? When you click on the Outcast Prowler you have two rave reviews for that tube. With the magic of the internet all of those posts could have been contrived, even written by one person. You don't think they would stoop that low do you?
Read the "Prowler" reviews and see what I mean.
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sm89-No, Outcast is a class act. I was saying
-in-cheek. At least I hope no one from there would post something that crass. I like Outcast products, I just like Northfork better. I've had both.
As for the reviews, if there were a couple hundred reviews I would pay attention to the majority. With just two writups on each tube, I would hardly take a couple reviews of each tube to seriously sway me to or from a purchase.
I would believe the people here first. You know them and love them[laugh] and they tell the truth. Or something like that.
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