backpackable float tubes?

Still don't know of a tube that cuts the wind during a walk back from a gusty Lenice.....I seriously hate carrying tubes during high eastern washington winds.

The supercat is one of the better built and functioning tubes I have tried. Stay away from the high off water type...the 'Daytripper', I believe Orvis carries them or they did, plus couple other companies....terrible in wind and even though you sit higher up...it doesnt help for the kicking...at least from my limited experience with them.

The SuperCat is a great PWC. I wanted something that I could get in a backpack though.

It's a pretty tight fit but I got the deflated & folded Trinity and PFD, rolled up Instaflator pump (pretty cool pump, and the Trinity can be inflated by mouth), rain jacket, fleece vest, & rod tube into the Fishpond Tundra Tech Pack. There's additional room for a small lunch. A water filter bottle, rolled up flyweight waders, neoprene sox for the hike out, and fins looped over the rod tube go in the outside pockets, net secured with the wading staff lash straps. With the chest pack clipped onto the backpack straps, I believe it'll work for day trippin'.

Mikey likes it!

My Gunnison pictured above is in ready-to-pack condition, meaning that the packed roll contains the boat and bladder, upper floatation bladder, mesh stripping apron and PVC separator - all secured by a nylon strap. The whole shebang weighs just over 6-1/2 pounds.

I get what you mean about not sitting as high as in an SFC. When I fish out of the Gunnison, the water level is halfway up my thigh. On my SFC, it's several inches below my knee. Feels like I'm sitting about 6 inches lower, which I probably am.

If you really want to lighten your pack though, I suggest you cultivate a taste for whisky and leave the mostly-water microbrews at home. 1 fl. oz of water weighs a hair over 1 dry oz., so a quart of beer (32 oz) weighs 2.08 pounds. That quart will give you a mild buzz and keep you peeing for the next half hour. A quart of whisky will get you so shitfaced you won't remember how to get home - or care. 8 ounces of whisky will give you about the same buzz as a 6-pack of beer while weighing 75% less.

K

What makes the Trinity superior?

I'd really like to see some photos backpacking. Trying to get an idea of the size. If all these (except Curtis types) are large, then I won't be carrying an overnight backpack too. And then I might as well go for a tube with more luxury and durability. The SuperCat vs. Trinity vs. Creek Side Ultralight are what I'm comparing at the moment. Maybe a Fish Cat too.

Bicyclists have a tire inflater now that uses the CO2 cartriges that were used in pellet guns. Anything like that for inflating a float tube after packing it in to a lake?

I have a Trinity. It came with its own backpack, but once you stuff in the tube, the seat, the flippers, the pump, some lunch, a bottle of wine and a few fly boxes, there is not much room left for a tent, a stove, a sleeping bag, a mat and anything else you might bring on an overnight camping trip. For me, an overnight backpacking trip with the Trinity is just an ideal, an aspiration perhaps, but I don't really expect it to happen. Probably the most ambitious use I would make of the Trinity is hike 1 or 2 miles up a trail to a mountain lake for the day. My Trinity has generally performed well and met expectations, but I think there must be some worthy alternatives that offer a better bang for the buck.

I had a Trinity and sold it. It's light. It's well-made. It's design sits me up higher than other designs. The problem is that it uses a valve design that's impossible to inflate by mouth, meaning that a pump is a required accessory. And a pump is just one more thing to go into an already too-heavy pack. By the time you add up all the weight (as you did above), an overnight trip with a float tube ends up requiring a 50+ pound pack to carry all the crap you need for fishing AND camping. At nearly 65 years old, I'd need to hire a sherpa to carry all that crap.

K

Kent, you sold the Trinity for the Gunnison, and prefer the Gunnison?

If going backpacking, Curits/Flytepacker works well, except if cold, raining, getting wet.

You made me laugh, Kent. A Sherpa... that's good.

Naw. I had the Gunnison, bought the Trinity, sold the Trinity.

I had the Gunnison, bought a Curtis, sold the Curtis.

Still have the Gunnison.

Why? The Trinity take too much extra gear which offsets it's slim weight advantage over the Gunnison. With the Curtis (and the Flytepacker), you need you to use your hands to maneuver/stay in position, which means you have to choose between fishing and paddling. I prefer fishing.

K

They're ok as an emergency fill for bikes but that's about it. Typically one cartridge would give you enough air to get out of the woods on a mtn bike, for example, but would not fill the tube entirely. Anyhow, the ones I know of don't contain nearly enough air to do a float tube justice. Kent's idea of lung power works just fine, and traditionally that's what I've done (most of my trips are same day with the tube pre-inflated). More recently I spoiled myself with a K-mini. I use it mostly to top off but it does a better job than my lungs and no headrush. If you'd rather use a pump for the entire fill, probably the K-100 is the best balance of compact and horsepower. If your valve allows, I'd try it without a pump at home and then decide if a pump would suit you better.

My new Trinity has Summit valves with L extenders that I can inflate by mouth, but I would probably be dizzy for an hour afterwards. I took nozzle parts from a damaged Instaflator pump Flyweight Designs sells and used them with 7 feet of Seal-a Meal freezer bag stock to make a 4.5 oz super duty Bernoulli Bag pump that rolls up to the size of a hand towel. It takes longer than a foot pump to inflate but it seems to work pretty well. I think the $5 1.8 oz Instaflator would work great for float tubes with old pool toy style valves or newer Boston valves.

A Trinity day trip kit weighs about 20 lbs for everything including pack, pump, flyweight waders, fins, rod & reel, fly box, fleece vest, jacket lunch and water filter bottle. It's a snug fit but I have crammed it all into a 1600 cu inch Fishpond Tundra Tech pack. I believe I would be well under 50 lbs with a hammock tent or bivvy shelter on an overnighter.

I've been looking at this same subject for a bit now and discovered probably the lightest weight option for pack trips the Deschutes Classic Float Tube.

http://www.amazon.com/Classic-Accessories-64103-Deschutes-Float/dp/images/B0001AG90O

Seeing the majority of the weight in an average float tube is all the pretty nylon they make the case in to hold the air bladders, this seemed like a no brainier, reduce the nylon, reduce the weight.

I just scored one on an eBay auction for $22 including shipping, another 15 for a truck inner tube at Schwabs, and pack trips here I come. I'll post a review when it comes in and I have a chance to test it local before any expeditions.

Duplicate post.

K

Yep, there sure is less nylon. But the tire tube is gonna weight a LOT more than a modern vinyl bladder. Plus, you're gonna find out firsthand why they call those old round float tubes the 'donuts of death'!

K

That's not reassuring.

Kent, you beat me to it. A standard truck tube that falls within float tube dimensions usually weighs somewhere north of 10 lbs. Creek Co's Round Boat, now discontinued but probably the best roundie choice out there, comes in at slightly over 5 lbs. total. More modern roundies do not have an issue in terms of weight (older models such as the Buck's Hi & Dri did, due in small part to the overbuilt outer but mainly from the bladder which was a standard truck tube). The issue with roundies is more about comfort and convenience when in use and, moreover, about their weight capacity. As in, much over 200 they are no longer an option. I still fit them and prefer to use one. Pros: Lightweight, easier transport, incredibly maneuverable to fish out of, incredibly stable - once in you pretty much can't flip them given the physics of your positioning. Cons: Bummer getting in and out compared to open designs, less comfortable in the water. In terms of safety, from everything I've heard, read and experienced, a round tube is less safe than open designs while getting in and out, but more safe overall once afloat. Admittedly the safety part is up for discussion so I'm not claiming any of that as gospel, just my observation.

Incase anyone ponders that Deschutes setup with a modern vinyl bladder, there's a potential safety issue that concerns air capacity. Don't know if that design even allows for a bladder vs. truck tube, but with a standard roundie the nylon dimensions are a lower volume than the bladder will inflate to. That means the nylon outer will tend to give way before the bladder blows out when air pressure increases beyond the limit. I've experienced that firsthand and it's a very good thing. In my case the stitching began popping first and I had plenty of time to let some air out before anything more happened.

IMO, if your size allows, a standard roundie is your best overall option where hike-in fishing is involved. Easily had for under 50 bucks. Beyond that, you don't see a lot of them anymore because of the above mentioned comfort, easy entry/exit and more accomodating weight capacities of the open U and V designs and newer inflatables.

Wow - that must have been a come-to-Jesus moment for you. How long did it take for you to figure out what was happening and how to respond?

K