Ed Wahl
06-14-2009, 09:13 AM
Well, I up and did it. Dropped a wad on a new ride.
I've been eyeballin this since I saw it at Kiene's Expo.
I looked to solve my problem of a truly packable float tube. This seemed to be answer.
I took it up to one of my favorite hike in ponds for the acid test yesterday evening.
Man, what a pleasant surprise that trip was, all the way around.
When I hit the parking lot to set up I stood the 'toon up and used 2 bungees to hold my gear bag with waders, boots, and fins inside to the back of the frame. It turns out the frame has spot just perfect for this. Shoulder straps are a built in feature, they are attached to the straps that also form the support for the seat back. So inside of 2 minutes I'm off and walking with this thing rather comfortably on my back.
And I got to look like Rocket Man, how cool is that?
It's just under a mile to my pond so that gave me enough time to decide that this thing is going to the mountains with me this year.
Upon arrival at the pond I snapped the seat into position, rigged up and hit it.
The first thing I noticed about this 'toon is that you sit up quite a bit higher than my old tubes. Very comfortable. Easy to kick.
I stayed on the water 'til dark then packed it out, again I just couldn't believe how easy this was going.
It's still too early for a final analysis but so far this seems to be the perfect pack in watercraft.
Bill, here's those pics of the 'toon I promised you. I got several different angles so you could really see the whole thing in use.:wink:
Here it is before I got it wet and muddy. That's my gear bag next to it. All I carried in my hand was my rod.
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a288/edfish333/Bass/Bass002.jpg
Here are the other angles I took of the 'boat'. Hee Hee.
This one shows what the top of it looks like when you dangle a fish over it.
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a288/edfish333/Bass/Bass003.jpg
When you dangle a fish over the stripping apron it looks like this.
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a288/edfish333/Bass/Bass004.jpg
Here's a shot showing the side of the toon with fish giving it a hug.
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a288/edfish333/Bass/Bass010.jpg
Okay, Okay, this is just a fish picture.
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a288/edfish333/Bass/Bass011.jpg
Here's a pic of what the orange stripe looks like after dark.
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a288/edfish333/Bass/Bass012.jpg
And here's what it looks like when you fly over a bottomless abyss and threaten to drop a Bass into it.:D
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a288/edfish333/Bass/Bass018.jpg
I know there's not a lot of reports out there about these things, so I'll be using mine a lot and I'll be able to answer questions about it.
I'm not a rep just a happy camper.
Ed
I've been eyeballin this since I saw it at Kiene's Expo.
I looked to solve my problem of a truly packable float tube. This seemed to be answer.
I took it up to one of my favorite hike in ponds for the acid test yesterday evening.
Man, what a pleasant surprise that trip was, all the way around.
When I hit the parking lot to set up I stood the 'toon up and used 2 bungees to hold my gear bag with waders, boots, and fins inside to the back of the frame. It turns out the frame has spot just perfect for this. Shoulder straps are a built in feature, they are attached to the straps that also form the support for the seat back. So inside of 2 minutes I'm off and walking with this thing rather comfortably on my back.
And I got to look like Rocket Man, how cool is that?
It's just under a mile to my pond so that gave me enough time to decide that this thing is going to the mountains with me this year.
Upon arrival at the pond I snapped the seat into position, rigged up and hit it.
The first thing I noticed about this 'toon is that you sit up quite a bit higher than my old tubes. Very comfortable. Easy to kick.
I stayed on the water 'til dark then packed it out, again I just couldn't believe how easy this was going.
It's still too early for a final analysis but so far this seems to be the perfect pack in watercraft.
Bill, here's those pics of the 'toon I promised you. I got several different angles so you could really see the whole thing in use.:wink:
Here it is before I got it wet and muddy. That's my gear bag next to it. All I carried in my hand was my rod.
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a288/edfish333/Bass/Bass002.jpg
Here are the other angles I took of the 'boat'. Hee Hee.
This one shows what the top of it looks like when you dangle a fish over it.
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a288/edfish333/Bass/Bass003.jpg
When you dangle a fish over the stripping apron it looks like this.
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a288/edfish333/Bass/Bass004.jpg
Here's a shot showing the side of the toon with fish giving it a hug.
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a288/edfish333/Bass/Bass010.jpg
Okay, Okay, this is just a fish picture.
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a288/edfish333/Bass/Bass011.jpg
Here's a pic of what the orange stripe looks like after dark.
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a288/edfish333/Bass/Bass012.jpg
And here's what it looks like when you fly over a bottomless abyss and threaten to drop a Bass into it.:D
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a288/edfish333/Bass/Bass018.jpg
I know there's not a lot of reports out there about these things, so I'll be using mine a lot and I'll be able to answer questions about it.
I'm not a rep just a happy camper.
Ed