Kite Tube DEATH

[AbunDiga909]

Anyone who is subscribed to the Yahoo! Hydrofoil Group chat list should have gotten a couple emails about this. Pretty scary stuff....

ARTICLE (http://www.kfdm1.com/engine.pl?station=kfdm&id=14598&template=breakoutlocal.html)

VIDEO (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3662795352661557160&q=kite)

[surroundsound64]

DUDE!!!!!!! That is insane!!!! Did he really die?! lol He was so high on that last fall!!

[surroundsound64]

Oop, sorry. I just read the article.

[jroyal]

Poor guy. That skull and cross bones on the bottom of that thing is so appropriate. Adding stabilizer fins to that tube wouldn't be a bad idea.

[Nates78Ski]

my buddies & i were @ a friends cottage last year after i convinced him to buy a "manta Ray" tube, similar to that one, we put like 150ft of line on it & went directly against the wind (as to avoid the crosswind),, & never go over 25-30 mph & i got like 30-35 ft in the air my friends say, one of them has it on his camera phone still i believe, i thought it was a good time until i saw that someone died from just 15 ft.

[Onthewater]

surround, i do not believe that the video was of the person that died.

this was merely an accident, fall wrong wakeboarding and you could break your neck or another life threatening injury.

[AbunDiga909]

Yeah, the vid isn't of the dead guy, but just what an example of what the falls are like on that thing...

[M3Fan]

I still think we need to get one of these for the CC reunion... I'll see what I can do.

[Andrew]

there is a message on the tube that says something like "don't go any higher than u are willing to fall"

that is complete crap. the rider has absolutely no control on the height. when the kite wants to go up it does, and it does it really really fast

[Andrew]

yeah, a friend of mine just bought one of those. the first day out another friend (girl) fell from about 30ft up (she caught a gust of wind and had very good balance) when she got to about 30ft, the tube jerked and she fell. i swear it was the sickest thing that i had ever seen. i thought her left ribs were going to puncture both lungs. turns out she only had a nasty bruise and coughed up blood for a little while (which i thought to be very scary and tried to persuade her to go to the hospital, but she refused)

anyway, the things are great fun but at the same time EXTREMELY dangerous

[Andrew]

after watching that "40ft" video, i change her height to 60 lol. that wasn't 40ft, but if it is she went much higher than that

[ScarletArrow]

Yowers...that guy was just catapulted off of that thing!

[Hydrofoilmaniac]

Here's a post I saw on the "Hydrofoil List":

"Going back about 8 weeks ago i watched this boat towing a Manta Ray in front of our shack.He took of flat out and then the manta ray took of and flew about 30 feet straight up and spat the bloke of big time.He hurt himself and got back into the boat.His mate then jumped on it and of they went.Flat out again spitting the second guy off hurting him as well.Well to top all this of a young girl about 15 years old jumped on it for a ride.I thought to my self this idiot better slow down for her,not.Again flat out,the manta ray shot up to about 35 to 40 feet,rolled over and spat her out.She hit the water so hard and was knocked unconscious,floating face down.It took about 30 seconds for the boat to return.They pulled her out and she came too.They then slowly motored back to the boat ramp and called an ambulance to take her to hospital.This all happened in a 1/4 mile. Stupid driver ,and dangerous toy"

[redelf75]

There's not doubt. After reading these posts I'm sure of two things. I won't be buying any of these flying tubes, but if you want one, you better grab one quick, cause they're all going to bo of the market soon.

[ihaveansv211]

a lot of tubes out there now will do this same thing. we have a 10 ft diamter flat round tube. with one person on it, it will go 15 ft high easily, the only thing thats different is u cant control it like it looks like u can on the kite.

[Andrew]

lol, don't kid urself. the little handles on the kite tube provide no control whatsoever. only thing u can do is try and keep ur body centered. if u ever start rocking from side to side ur screwed.

[Nates78Ski]

honestly ive ridden the Manta Ray up to heights of 30+ft and yeah it is dangerous & somewhat stupid & after reading that story i would definitely think twice or probably just not do it at all anymore, but it also helps to have a good driver, (1.) drive only directly into the wind, when turning around just basically idle back to your starting point. (2.) once the tube's in the air DO NOT just let off the throttle, causing the tube to sink like a rock. (3.) understand your own body strength/weight ratio & be honest with yourself if you can handle it, dont take it to heights that exceed your control. it is possible to keep the tube within 10-15 ft from the water, you just need to take the right precautions.

[BigBald]

I have seen some amazing statistics about injuries and deaths from tubing accidents. I can easily see that these flying tubes are pretty dangerous...but you would be amazed at how many accidents are happening each year from just basic tubes.

Nates78Ski has got it nailed...so much depends on the driver. The rider is totally without control. So it's the driver's responsibility to watch the tube, speed, rope, waves, other boats, obstacles, and the shoreline. That's a huge responsibility. I am really glad that both my boys have switched from tubing to kneeboarding. Much less stress and easier on the gas comsumption.

By the way, I tried to find where I had seen the data about tubes and I couldn't find it....sorry...

[ag4ever]

When I was younger (in my teens) my cousin who was in his 30's and I would compete on who could stay on the tube the longest. My dad would drive, and creat double and triple up that you could only imagine. Then he would sling us across it. We were probably traveling over 40-50 MPH when we would hit the wave. Well my cousin got the brite idea to wedge his feet between the tube and the outer covering to help hold him in the tube. When he hit the wave, it snaped both of his ankles. After that we would not tow any tubes behind the boat. After they came out with the totally enclosed tubes, then we started to tow them again.

I would say that there are some really stupid designs on the market now. You do have to admit that sportsstuff is trying new ideas, and most of them are flopps (like the wearable tube, man that thing sucked). But, if they stumble upon the one that is an all star, then good for them.

We as consumers need to learn to take responsibility for our actions, and if we do some thing stupid, don't blame the manufacturer, not that anybodey here has, but I see it coming.

[Onthewater]

I would say that there are some really stupid designs on the market now. You do have to admit that sportsstuff is trying new ideas, and most of them are flopps (like the wearable tube, man that thing sucked). But, if they stumble upon the one that is an all star, then good for them.

We as consumers need to learn to take responsibility for our actions, and if we do some thing stupid, don't blame the manufacturer, not that anybodey here has, but I see it coming.

I couldn't agree more. Are you refering to that "sumo tube"?

[skiswm]

I would have to believe the Consumer Product Safety Commission can't WAIT to get into this one. But, i think we can all agree some of the dumbest things we've seen are done on tubes. Someone gets a brand new boat, has never towed anyone before they get the tube out and start whipping them all around. Never looking once to see who's around them until they hit someone else, get too close to the shore, or flip the person off but don't bother to see the person is now off the raft. I rarely take out my tube, maybe once a season at the most. I thought the flying tubes looked cool, but I just can't see spending that much money on something that you have to take an hr to blow up and then worry about storing on the beach all day long.

I'd tend to agree with the others who have said, if you want one you best go find it now because they are gonna disapear pretty soon I'd have to guess. I gotta imagine some lawyers at Sport Stuff and other such companies are sweating right now and hoping to locate all product not sold ASAP. Yellow_Flash_Colorz:

[BigBald]

The Kite tubes are in the news again. I saw an interview on the Early Show this morning...

http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/earlyshow/main500202.shtml

Go to the lower right section and look for a video called "Dangerous New Water Sport".

And it looks like the Kite Tubes are being banned all across the country. For sure in Missouri, Arkansas, Lake Powell.

http://www.thekansascitychannel.com/news/9466955/detail.html?rss=kc1&psp=news

http://www.fox16.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=3CC634B1-BFD6-4FDF-8D65-81140E1CED52

http://www.denverpost.com/extremes/ci_4009434

http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_3944049

And, its looks like there is a federal probe that is starting to investigate the safety of these tubes.

http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,640189574,00.html

Amazing to think about...but this might start some other interesting issues. The Lake Powell ban also included Parasailing and Kite Surfing. These type of investigations start to get me worried that the statistics related to Wakeboarding and other "high impact" water sports, might become scrutinized? I would hate to see some lakes use this as a reason to ban water sports that they don't like....like monstrous wakes from wakeboard boats?

[Onthewater]

They will get away with banning these in certain areas but watersports that already have a foundation even if they are considered somewhat dangerous. I think it stems from the fact that the rider has less control than the driver. I don't think it has to do with lake associations or goverments not liking kite tubes.

[nautique06]

I bought one a few months ago from Bart's, used it one time and hurt my knee pretty bad, and then I saw all of the news releases about deaths and injuries from these things. I called Sportstuff and expressed my concern to them, they referred me to Bart's. I talked to Bart's and wanted to know how I could get refunded and they said send it back to them and they would credit my account the full amount of the tube. One week later I was given a full refund. I think these companies are realizing the dangers of these things, and don't want any additional liablility if someone asks for a refund.

[AbunDiga909]

I am surprised there hasn't been a lawsuit against SportsStuff yet... just a matter of time IMHO...

[Hydrofoilmaniac]

Here's another........................A couple weekends ago we were sitting in the water at the far end of our lake getting ready to foil and a guy in a MC went by us pulling one of
these things. The rider was probably 15-20' above the water and the boat
had to be going at least 30 mph. I wasn't concerned about that part except
the guy had to snake between a couple boats and he came within 80-100' from
us. It would have been a special landing if he would have caught a wind
gust. I don't think he was close enough to hit our boat but who knows if
he would have been flipped off. Regardless, he would have had to clean out his shorts if he was tossed.

I forwarded some of the recent posts I've seen on the list lately to my
cousin. He then had forwarded them to his buddy. Here's a copy/paste of
his e-mail response after he got hurt last week. They must have not followed the instructions:

__________________________________________________ ____________________
Too late for my buddy in Chicago....I forwarded this stuff to him but not in
time.
Sent: Monday, July 03, 2006 7:49 AM To: xxxxxx Subject:
RE: Another tube death..
Well buddy, I appreciate this. Wish I would have seen it before I left :(
Got back late last night. We put the boat in the water at 4pm Sunday night,
I was in the ER by 7:30. Massive concussion, torn ligaments and trauma to
the back and neck. I'll give you a call after work to give you the details,
but in a nutshell..... This thing is SUPER unpredictable to say the least.
It's pretty stable at about 5-8 feet, but once it gets slightly above the
boat it catches full wind and climbs until it can't climb any more. Boat
speed 30-34mph, tube height estimated by everyone witnessing the event is
about 25-30 feet. She climbed as high as it could go, stalled out, inverted
and dove straight into the water on top of me. Kent said there was about 30
minutes I couldn't even speak let alone know my name, where I was at or who
I was with. I don't remember anything until about ½ to the hospital, then
throwing up in the ER, followed by CAT scan, MRI and x-rays. Not a good way
to start out vacation, and needless to say this thing is going back on Ebay!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[redelf75]

I frankly can't believe the manufactures didn't recall them after the fist wave of bad press. It's too late now, the law suits will be forthcoming...THe fact that they put the disclaimer "don't ride higher than you're willing to fall" only indicates that knew there could be serious injuries.

[Hydrofoilmaniac]

agreed

[Bobby]

i know that those things are banned on all Army Corps of Engineer lakes in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. wouldnt want to ride one anyway

[scottrob]

In watching the videos and reading these, I think the boat driver has too much control. The driver should be targeting to stay within 6-12 feet above the water and adjust throttle accordingly.

I have to admit, I was at Lake Degray in Arkansas two weeks ago and if they had the tube in stock, I would have bought one for the adults - but no kids. Given this, I guess I'll have to live the excitement through watching others, cause I definitely cannot afford that level of risk. Thanks for posting this Austin!

[Mikeski]

I think this is a very important topic... back to the top.

[MNSuperAir]

Here's a story from today's Startribune in MN. Father said it sounded like a gun shot when he hit the water.

http://www.startribune.com/462/story/563015.html

[redelf75]

This just keeps getting worse and worse.