OT: Stupid fun, kite tubing!

[Paul_E_D]

I was at the lake yesterday and my pilot friend Tyler got this enormous tube for his boat. It's so wide that once you hit 25 mph or so it just goes airborne and you try to control it like a hang glider. It was frikken hilarious! Tyler got the thing 35 feet in the air at one point. If the wind shifts, it goes into a death wobble that tries to fling you off at whatever height you've achieved. This thing will be illegal in a few years, so try it soon! (anything this fun will be illegal in America)

[brewmaster]

Sounds like a riot! Got any pic's?

[HBerry]

Whats the name of the float?

[highsider]

Originally posted by Paul_E_D
Tyler got the thing 35 feet in the air at one point. If the wind shifts, it goes into a death wobble that tries to fling you off at whatever height you've achieved.

I would wet myself. Which I suppose would be ok, since you're in a lake, but then the float would have piss on it, and that would suck.

[akira700]

Paul
that sounds like it could give you a good pounding !

35 feet in the air going 25 MPH...
sounds scary to me...
after all water is not soft!

think I prefer lowsiding into a gravel trap ! ;-)

One thing though, does your GP racer contract allow for such fun?

[stoinkythepig]

We saw one on Long Lake in Maine on Saturday. Looked scary but crazy fun. I hear there have already been a few deaths on these this season and some lakes have already banned them. There was one out last year, calle dthe Manta Ray but it was more like kite and required a wakeboard tower to work properly. The new tube is less kite shaped and more tube shaped and can be flown off a water ski tow eye. I think they cost $500.

[Paul_E_D]

The one I tried was called the Kite Tube, and it defitely seemed pretty dangerous...but only if you panic and let go of the float while High up there. We realized that as long as you hang on, the float breaks your fall quite nicely!

Akira, my team manager was strongly against it, but you know racers!

[NinjaSwan]

Nothing like pounding a 12 pack then jumpin on the Kite Tube!

Anyone remember the Airchair?? we rented one of those a couple years ago and it was by far the most histarical thing I have ever seen watching someone trying to figure it out.

[stoinkythepig]

Originally posted by NinjaSwan


Anyone remember the Airchair?? we rented one of those a couple years ago and it was by far the most histarical thing I have ever seen watching someone trying to figure it out.

Not the best shot, but that's an Airchair right there.

[OreoGaborio]

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

[NinjaSwan]

Originally posted by OreoGaborio
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBa9wdOANHw

Umm driver... Bridge!!!

there is a section in the clip with two riders and the one boat crossing in front of the other... wicked dumb. dude would be fish food if he fell.

matter of time before someone gets stuck in a tree with this thing.

[stoinkythepig]

The wakes generated by the boats towing the Manta Ray make it look like it needs quite a bit of speed, I'd guess 35-45 MPH, to get airborn. Compare them to the 25 MPH needed for the Kite tube and there appears to be a huge difference in speed.

[NinjaSwan]

Originally posted by stoinkythepig
The wakes generated by the boats towing the Manta Ray make it look like it needs quite a bit of speed, I'd guess 35-45 MPH, to get airborn. Compare them to the 25 MPH needed for the Kite tube and there appears to be a huge difference in speed.

I remember knee-boarding at aprox. 35-40 mph and that was way to freaking fast. At those speeds hitting the water is not so nice.

[ancosta]

That looks like insanity! How that is legal to sell (largely because it looks both fun and deadly) is beyond me.

[Tricky Mike]

Yeah. I'd say if this is something you'd like to try out you should get right to it... won't be long before the kite tube goes the way of the lawn dart.

[Stoneman]

Originally posted by NinjaSwan

That's the one Big Shirl & I were thinking about getting. If you look a bit closer, that thing has LIABILITY written all over it...

[highsider]

I saw one of these things on Lake George this weekend. The boat towing it didn't seem to have enough power to sustain any height, each time the rider got it up in the air, the slowed the boat down too much to keep flying.

I still want one.

[benVFR]

I was up on Lake Champlain all last week and I saw the Kite Tube quite a few times.. it looks fun, I'd try it.

As long as you're not going all that fast I can't see the problem.

Being in/on the water is inherently dangerous, lots of ways to mess yourself up. I can't see how this is really a problem.

Fall off a jet-ski at high speed, fall wrong on water skiis, accidental jibe in a sailboat, swamp a big motorboat or sailboat, etc.. all dangerous, all just require the right attitude and care to have fun.

[ssg]

most require a fair to decently good buzz to accomplish improperly too.

Screw safety, they should have a beer scale

This Ride approved for riders w/6-12 beers.

[NinjaSwan]

Originally posted by somestrangeguy
This Ride approved for riders w/6-12 beers.

Any less then you ride the baby floats. Drunk-kite-tubing is the shiznit.

[NinjaSwan]

VIDEO!!

After watching the vid, I think I'll pass on the kite tube... ouch.

http://www.jokaroo.com/funnyvideos/extreme_tubing.html

[RdDevil]

looks like they are being banned on new england lakes

http://www.wmur.com/news/9646089/detail.html