Sleds & Snow Tubes

Tubing, also known as inner tubing or even toobing, is a recreational activity of riding an inner tube, either on water, snow, or through the air. The tubes themselves are also known as \"donuts\" or \"biscuits\" because of their shape. more...

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Variations

Water

Tubing on water generally consists of two forms: towed and free-floating, also known as river tubing.

Towed tubing usually takes place on a large body of water such as a lake or river. One or more tube riders (often called \"tubers\") tether their tubes to a powered watercraft such as a motor boat or a personal watercraft. The riders are then towed through the water by the watercraft.

In free-floating tubing, the tube riders are untethered and often conveyed by the current of a waterway. Texas and much of the southern U.S.A. have adopted the spelling of 'toobing' and 'toobers'. People paddle with their hands to steer. Without steering, you generally float towards the bank of the river. Groups of tubers often rope their tubes together creating a large floating group. This generally slows down the float but allows the group to pass food, drink, and other party implements around the group. Because of this, free-floating tubing often takes place on rivers and streams (natural or artificial). Longer expeditions often include tubes mounted with coolers for food and beverages.

Popular riverside tube rentals normally warn against glass due to riverside dangers. Some law enforcement offices have prohibited kegs which were popularly chilled in metal tubs harnessed within larger tubes.

Major water parks often have specially designed courses for tubing. These may consist of a circular, artificial river on which riders are conveyed or a linear course such as a water slide.

Kite tubing

A variant of towed tubing dubbed \"kite tubing\" has begun to emerge.

When tubes being towed on water reach high speeds, they may begin to experience a tendency to take flight. This is because the body of the tube acts as an airfoil and creates lift. In this way, the tube becomes a kite. A tube's ability to achieve and maintain flight depends on a number of factors including the speed at which the tube is traveling, the shape and size of the tube, the weight of the rider, and how the tube itself is oriented. As most tubes are not designed for flight, the rider often has little or no control over a tube after it takes to the air. This can lead to a violent crash as the rider, with or without the tube, falls back to the surface of the water.

To address the poor flight characteristics of most tubes and to target thrill seekers, tubes specially designed for kite tubing have been introduced. These tubes may feature channels to allow air to flow through the tube's body, a transparent \"window\" for the rider to signal the boat operator, as well as more streamlined, aerodynamic designs.

Read more at Wikipedia.org