Kite Tube!?
Just reading the Toronto Kite Fliers mailing list today and someone posted a link to a bizarre “kite” that is towed behind a boat. It’s called the WEGO KITE TUBE produced by SPORTSSTUFF.
So the idea is basically you convince some fearless individual to climb on top of this inflated disk, tear down the lake at top speed and with some “control” the rider can launch the kite tube in the air and remain air borne. As long as you have enough speed, and you keep the right angle of attack you should be ok. (mildly insane but ok)
Personally I don’t think I would do it… there are a few spills in that video that look like they could have been a lot worse… you can check out the video here: Kite Tube Video.
March 3rd, 2006 at 4:33 pm
The wego kite tube by sportsstuff is definitely going to be an interesting ride, living in minnesota, I have not been able to get on this tube yet (it was released in january and our lakes are froze, obviously). But I sell this tube at MN Boat Shows, and as such, I have personally watched this video a few hundred times.
The WEGO will be a very safe tube if used right, as you can see in the video that if you don’t want to spill on the tube, you will not have to. The girl in the video stays at a constant 5-10 feet off the water when she wants to. I personally can not wait to ride this tube. We are currently thinking about taking this tube in the locks, where there is open water right now, simply because I am so excited to ride it. And you will not have to go “top speed” the maximum recommended speed to pull this tube is 14-28 m.p.h, depending on the wind speed on your lake.
March 6th, 2006 at 8:22 am
That looks like a blast! You get one and I’ll try it
March 7th, 2006 at 11:51 am
we live on a small lake that we ski and tube …..we were wondering if the tube can be turned in air since our lake is only about 1/2 mile long…….plz reply……jack
March 9th, 2006 at 4:31 pm
Hello Jack,
Go ahead and get one man its crazy. Speaking from riding the Kite tube it is speechless. A 1/2 mile lake should be ok on the turns all you have to do is slow down and bring the rider down to the water and then turn. This not like a regular tube where it is rider versus boat driver. You have to watch the tube so if he gets to high you can gradually slow down to let him down out of the air. I have ridden mine like a regular deck tube and lower speeds and wind conditions and it performs awsome. Going on a whip the all sudden it catches a litte air then off to riding it like a deck tube again. My friends have gotten 3o to 40 feet in the air on this thing. One friend only want to go 5 feet in the air so we watched him in the reer view mirrow of the boat to make sure he didn’t get to high. In summary i would say to get man you can always go to a bigger lake to for long runs. But short lake it will work. I remember we practiced like 10 rides and we were able to do a gradual turn not like a whip but gradual in the air. Going against the wind is key when going with the wind you don’t get as high but thats ok we just ride like a huge deck tube with occassional ups and dows of 1 foot or so. SO GET MAN AND TELL YOUR FRIENDS! Oh ya there is a instructional video and riding vidoe at there website. WWW.SPORTSSTUFF.COM
HOPE THAT HELPS POST YOUR COMMENTS IF YOU GET ONE OR ANYMORE QUESTIONS!
April 8th, 2006 at 9:43 am
Just bought a new Malibu V-Drive, traded in my 2005 Supra inboard for a larger, faster, v-drive with a tower. Can’t wait to try this out!! Is it any more difficult for the driver to control the boat with the tube in the air? And have you ever tried hooking it up on the Tower to get more height? Let me know.
Thanks!
Chris
April 18th, 2006 at 3:16 pm
Hey Chris
I had the same idea about hooking it up to the tower, 3 out 5 guys landed in the ER that night, The air we caught was unreal. Approx 40ft on a 65ft line. It was cool but insane all at the same time. If you do hook it their be prepared for a rough fall. Good Luck
Marc
April 19th, 2006 at 4:55 pm
Does anyone know what will happen if I hook it up to my pylon with a 100ft. barefoot line? I was thinking about running 40mph into a 20mph head wind. How tight would that be?
April 20th, 2006 at 12:53 am
Using a 100 foot line or tieing to the tower is just stupid. I did a nose dive at 10′ and ended up in the er. If someone does that at 40′ or 75′ their dead.
April 23rd, 2006 at 3:05 am
we used the 65 ft cord and to the tower on a ski nautique 210 air and got AT LEAST 50 ft before he fell on his neck….knocked him out but us Texas boys dont go to the ER till there are limbs hanging off…..
April 26th, 2006 at 1:06 am
All the videos i have seen have people on the wego kite tube that are about 150lbs, will this tube fly with lets say a 200lb fat boy…. lol
April 26th, 2006 at 9:38 am
I road one last weekend. I could NOT control the height or dipping from side to side ( think real kite ) If I had not had on a professionally ski jacket I would have been ER. I am wearing a 6 inch wide bruise from the bottom of my jacket to my knee.
April 26th, 2006 at 10:16 pm
I put a video on our Family website of us riding this Kite Tube for the first time this last weekend.
(click on Kite tubing Video)
http://www.fauxpas.org/modules/xoopsgallery/view_album.php?set_albumName=album44
The last wipeout in the video is insane…use at your OWN risk is an unserstatement. This thing can be a great ride as long as you have a GOOD boat driver and STEADY headwinds. Do not use in Wind gusts!
April 27th, 2006 at 2:44 am
^^^^That looked like a nasty spill. How was he afterwards?
For anybody interested in purchasing this tube, I would recommend checking out this one… http://www.sevylor.com/towables.html
I rode it last weekend and I was high flying just like on the video in about 15 minutes.
April 28th, 2006 at 12:43 am
A collapsed lung and a broken wrist are pretty serious—BUT at least all of us were tough enough to stay conscious.
May 2nd, 2006 at 11:10 am
I watched a friend of mine die when he fell off of the wego kite tube, it was the most awful thing I will ever expierence. He broke his neck when he hit the water. Please, please don’t use this tube!!
May 4th, 2006 at 9:39 pm
Anyone riding this thing should check this out.
http://www.kfdm1.com/engine.pl?station=kfdm&id=14598&template=breakoutlocal.html
May 4th, 2006 at 11:17 pm
[…] A link to this story was posted as a comment to an earlier post I made about the Kite Tube. Based on this story and a number of the comments to the last kite tube post it’s not safe! Please don’t take your life into your own hands with one of these. The constantly changing angle-of-attack, combined with weight shifts from the rider and the lack of drag make this an extremely unpredictable “kite”. […]
May 9th, 2006 at 9:40 am
I can;t belive the comments that i’m reading about.
i’m realy freaking out.
my friend bought one and we flwe it this sunday and he had a nasty spill whent the thing whent up and flipped over becuase of the wind that threw him off and he’s def in one ear for 4 weeks becuase he broke his eardrum when it smacked him down onto the water surface fter going 29 feet high :(:(
we;re planning on doin it again>
big tip: DON NOT USE IN HEAVY WINDS OR GUSTS, HAVE AN EXPERIENCED BOAT DRIVER.
May 11th, 2006 at 11:08 pm
Meagan, please email me at brianmazzola@gt.rr.com. Thank you.
May 15th, 2006 at 2:22 pm
I bought 1 last week we have come close to getting it flying how fast are you going to get it to fly
May 15th, 2006 at 7:32 pm
Does anyone know which kite tube is steadier the Manta or the WEGO KITE TUBE?
May 16th, 2006 at 3:39 pm
I bought one of these last week and I have ridden it approx. 7-8 times now and getting pretty good with it, Yesterday I flew about 20′ or so probobly 5-6 different times with good control, it was really steady going up and coming down, when I was first using it, it come down sideways a few times but I just held on and it corrected itself. Now on the other hand, a friend of mine was on it yesterday also and a gust of wind caught him and he quickly soared to about 30′ and got out of balance and flipped it and fell 30′ at 30mph and he thought he broke his arm, although he didn’t and he is alright. I honestly love this thing and think its a blast but after yesterday I don’t think I’m going to let my friends get on it unless they sign a release form or something and I will probobly only let like me and my brothers on it anymore. It can be dangerous but everything that really gets your adrenaline pumping is a little dangerous, I suggest just doing like the manual and video says and starting with the 45′ rope for 12 times then the 55′ rope for 24 times until you get used to it then the 65′. Good luck and stay balanced.
May 17th, 2006 at 7:55 am
scott,
i have had mine for 2 weeks. flying it great! we were only doing about 27mph or 30. into a 10 to 15 wind
what is your email and i will send you some pics.
May 17th, 2006 at 7:58 am
correction on the speed only going 20 to 25mph
May 17th, 2006 at 2:22 pm
We have tried 25-35 mph we can but the winds were no more that about 10mh my e-mail is maxie5612@yahoo.com pics would be appreciated.
May 19th, 2006 at 10:27 am
My friend purchased the wego and we took it out, it was really fun at first, but then I was riding it and for no reason it took off about 40-50 feet in the air and went out of control and slammed me down hard onto the water. Now I am an avid wakeboarder, tube rider, thrill seeker, but this thing is going to kill someone! I recentely read that it did actually kill some one. Well we decided to try it again the next day and my friend was on it and it did the same thing to him went about 30 feet up then took a hard nose dive right to the water it wrapped him up in the tube and slammed him so hard it tore his acl in his knee and broke 2 ribs. This tube is a great idea but they need to redesign it. They had better watch out or as sue happy as this world is there will be a major lawsuit against them.
May 21st, 2006 at 9:12 pm
Chris,
we have been getting some serious air on the tube also. One of my buddies stayed up for 35 seconds( our longest ride of the day). he was @ 10to15 feet on this ride. i can relate to the nose dive, were you guys in cross winds or calm day?
May 21st, 2006 at 10:20 pm
I just bought one of these today and I will say it is alot of fun, but this thing can get out of control. As a former member of the Coast Guard I guess I should know better but I was pulling my friend and decided to push the envelope and I sent him into orbit, probably about 40′. My natural reaction was to pull back on the throttle, well that was the wrong thing to do becuse he came barreling down into the water and messed his knee up bad. Anyway we are going to keep using it, but we are going to be alot more careful.
May 22nd, 2006 at 3:55 pm
Quick note I have ultimatly decided to sell this thing, I don’t want to be responsible for killing a friend. I now think this thing is much to dangerous. I saw somewhere earlier that there are some guys from Texas. Just to let you know that a buddy of mine is a game warden here in Texas and this thing will be ILLEGAL to use buy the end of this summer, he assures me. So I guess if you are in Texas I would start thinking about selling as soon as you can because you won’t be able to sell them after that.
May 23rd, 2006 at 12:54 pm
My friends and I had this monster out yesterday here in Illinois. We are all over 200 lbs and in good shape and thought this thing would be easy. We hooked it to the back of our wave-runner and began at 45′. We were able to hop across the water but the tube was definitely unsteady and would throw us off without notice like we were rag dolls. Towards the end of our first run we were able to get the tube to around 5 foot above the water for a few seconds at a time. The last run at 45′ (before we were going to extend the rope to 55′) I was at 5-8 foot above the water and the tube decided it was done and turned over and face-planted me into the water. I thought my jaw was broke.
Since my jaw was not broke, we went to 55′ and began to get this thing to 10 feet. However, not matter what we did, if we hit a gust of wind or a cross wind, the tube would twist and turn and thow us off. All this time we were keeping the MPH’s around 30-35 because we wanted to learn first. Then one my friends signaled to go faster so we upped the speed to 40 MPH and up he went to approx 15 feet. He seemed to have major problems keeping the tube steady at that height and speed and right before (and I mean right before) the tube decided to turn over and nose dive to the water, he jumped off and landed on his feet. We all think we was lucky.
We finally decided to try the 65′ foot length and I am man enough to say that we were not ready (or “I” was not ready). I was the first to try it and wanted to increase the speed to 40-45. During my run, I was easily flying 10-15 feet in the air and it seemed to me that I was getting the hang of it. But then I caught a huge gust of wind that took me to 30 feet in the air instantly and then, even faster, it turned to the left and then whipped to the right and threw me off into the water and I landed right on my back. It knocked the @^%!$@ out of me and I could hardly breathe for a good 5-7 minutes. I thought my neck and back were shattered. I have not gone to the doctor yet but I have eaten two bottles of aspirin since yesterday. It does disturb me that I landed exactly how that 33 year old guy landed in Texas that was killed. AND HE WAS ONLY AT 15 FEET. I was double that.
Anyways, we do many extreme sports but are always in control and we can always push the sport to our abilities. One thing I know for sure, you cannot see the wind nor can you control it and while on the Wego Kite Tube it is hard to control it as well. One thing I notice in the manual you get with the tube, it states that the weight limit of the tube is 200lbs but it seems to me that the lighter the person is, the more uncontrollable the tube will be since it is 10 feet wide. I thought the weight limit was 200 lbs because the tube would not get off the water at weights above 200. WRONG!!!! In fact, at the end of the day yesterday we decided to put two guys on the tube and ride it like a conventional tube whipping them in figure-8’s and stuff like that. This is 425 lbs on this monster and as I whipped them around the first circle, they GOT AIR and were 2-3 feet over the water!!!!!
I am calling Sportsstuff today for answers to my questions and will advise as to what they say.
Does anyone have experience on the Mantra flying tube? It is easier to control when flying? I have watched the video and it does seem easier but then again it was being ridden by a professional. Someone please advise.
May 24th, 2006 at 9:48 am
The Manta is much safer than the WEGO, it has rope handles that you hold onto so that you can suck the wings in to steady it out, and fly for a few minutes at at time. I knew the WEGO was gonna be bad news from the beginning. Now I won’t even be able to do my favorite thing come to the end of the summer.
May 25th, 2006 at 3:27 pm
We just got our Wego and it is AWESOME! I was a bit nervous the 1st time out, but now I can’t get enough. If you and the boat driver/spotter take the time to watch the instructional DVD, read the manual and actually use as directed it’s a great ride! It takes getting use to and I recommend starting with the shortest of the ropes until you get comfortable with it, but we have had no problems towing at around 25-27 MPH. I can see how it would be dangerous if not used properly, but you can say that about anything. Common sense-it says right on the tube, only kite as high as your willing to fall. I give it two thumbs up!!!
May 26th, 2006 at 11:21 pm
Wrap me in bubble wrap and give me a helmet, I’ll try it!
May 27th, 2006 at 11:44 am
My son (18 years old) had a nasty crash on a Wego Kite Tube May 25th. He suffered a broken back and three broken bones in his left foot. He will be in a back brace for 6 - 8 weeks and require surgury on his foot. He missed his High School graduation and all night party too. Worse he has lost his summer employment at a youth camp. This is a very dangerous toy.
May 28th, 2006 at 11:00 am
Hi, i am thinking about getting a wego, but am wondering if our boat can handle it, its a 79 doral 6cyl mercruzer 165h, can someone tell me if this is sufficiant, to pull this crazy thing, thanks James.
May 29th, 2006 at 10:54 am
my name is lil ripper and i just got back from the hospital last night from crashing down off the kite tube we had it hooked up to the tower in out boat not a good idea..i dont really rember what happened b/c i suffered from amniesa but i was told i feell from 20 feet in the air and became uncounsious i recomend not getting one!!!!!
May 30th, 2006 at 11:28 am
I wrote earlier and told ya’ll about my buddy that fell from about 30′ well he’s getting better with a little shoulder pain still but will be ok. I had this thing out again this weekend and I have to say that I personally am getting pretty good with it, I can fly it about 15′-20′ very smoothly and bring it back down no problem, I do have to say though that I ride motorcycles alot and do have pretty good balance, which I believe is the key to the kite tube. I am still the only person that has been on my kite tube who has not flipped off at some point. I love it and can’t get enough. If the wind isn’t blowing very much I’ll get my wife to drop the throttle all the way down to about 40mph so that I can get more air but if the wind is blowing pretty good or it is gusting then 25 works really well, I can get 15′ with the 45′ or the 65′ rope easily. But I can see were a cross wind could throw you off course and put it out of control if you didn’t expect it, so I suggest staying balanced and expect the worst and hope for the best when flying high but I have had no problems at all. Oh and 165HP should pull it fine, I have a 19′Chaparral with 190HP and it has no problems at all pulling it. Just be careful using the kite tube and follow ALL of the instructions or ride at your own risk.
May 30th, 2006 at 2:41 pm
Ive taken hard/high(30′) falls and next time im wearing a protec helmet and neck brace…maybe even a mouth piece, just dont use it in high winds,cross winds. use alot of air in the tube and alot of balance when your up there. also pull into the wind as straight on as you can
May 31st, 2006 at 12:35 am
hi,thanks chris ,i will ride carefully, cheers James
May 31st, 2006 at 8:52 am
Had my first experience this past Memorial day. Chris is dead on with the wind situation. It was pretty windy that day. The kite goes up very well, but if you have some wind gusts, no amount of balance is going to help you. It is like trying to fly an airplane with one wing. it started the side to side shaking very violently and I came off of it at about 25′. Needless to say, the water feels like concrete when you hit it at that height and moving at about 35mph. On a good ligt wind day, you should be able to fly it with some nifty balancing. Even though it hurt when I fell, i will get back on it again. A glutton for punishment i quess!!
May 31st, 2006 at 5:41 pm
O.K. guys here is our story… memorial day weekend. friend of ours was riding the kite tube on the 65 ft line. was flying great! at @15 to 20′ all of a sudden he went to 40′ in a split second. he had excellent control of this thing. he got a bit nervous and couldnt figure how to get it down lower. we backed of throttle a bit and tube went sideways and threw him off. unfortunally he suffered a compressed vertabrae. i have posted here before and wanted to see if you guys could control the up and down on this thing. the fall he took was not really from the 40ft because he was comming back down when we throttled back. the side of the tube actually hit the water first and then slung him off. we have been very carefull when flying this thing. we all will still ride. i really believe this is the most extreme water sport out there.
May 31st, 2006 at 5:45 pm
Hey chris send me some pics!!!! stevewbarco@aol.com
May 31st, 2006 at 5:54 pm
FTC,
let me know when you talk to sportsstuff. im interested in what they have to say
thanks
June 1st, 2006 at 4:13 pm
Steve,
Not saying it was the boat drivers fault in this case but I’ve been thinking about this same situation and this is what I have come up with. If he was flying it great at 20′ then the only thing that shot him up further was a gust of wind unless someone was playing around too much and dropped the throttle to send him up higher. I think if the driver would have remained steady on the throttle that just as soon as that gust of wind settled down then he would have come down as well. I have experienced this and just remained balanced and it would come back down after a few seconds or so. But another thing I’ve been thinking about is this…if someone is 40′ in the air on a 65′ rope then that only leaves about 50′ horizontel distance from the kite tube to the boat and at 30mph you cover approx. 44′ per second so if the boat driver panics and drops the throttle all the way down and the boat stops it wouldn’t take much for the kite tube to drift over the boat and drop the rider into the boat, which could mean serious injury or death. If my math is off I am sorry but this COULD I believe happen, someone please correct me if I am wrong. But like in your case you said the kite tube was already decending then you backed off the throttle, so in a sense you backing off the throttle caused the kite tube to lose any lift from underneath that it might have had to bring it down smoothly which caused it to flip sideways and down into the water. I really hope your friend gets better and I have sent you a few pics but I still have to get some better ones.
June 1st, 2006 at 4:22 pm
Ohh I forgot to tell you guys that I rode the kite tube backwards this past weekend for a few seconds, I just sit down and grabbed the handles and it went up maybe 4′ off the water…felt kinda wierd and I didn’t have much control and didn’t want to break my record of no falls so I turned back around but my brothers were tripping out. It was a nice view though…you could actually see very well just how high you really was.
June 2nd, 2006 at 8:33 am
used the kite tube for 1st time last weekend,everything was great til i shot to 30′ instantly,the tube started getting very unstable up there,so i bailed,hit the water so hard it ripped my shorts in two,rested on the beach for 20 minutes,tried agian,same thing ,back up to 30′,came crashing down,i don’t think my body can handle a 3rd violent impact,and everyone else is to scared to use the tube because they might get shot to 30′+.so my question is if we go shorter than 45′ on the tow line,to say 25′ will this eliminate the threat of going to high,but still allow for some lift off the water,and being a safe distance from the prop?????
June 2nd, 2006 at 11:35 am
Man just my opinion, 25′ might be a little too short, it might be difficult starting off with the washout from the inside of the wake being so close, I would think it would try and submarine really bad, I would try 35′ or even 40′ first, but if you called sportsstuff they might have a better answer for you from the safety end, I don’t think the prop would be an issue though. Something to keep in mind for next time, I know you can’t see the wind or anything but if you shoot up to 30′ really quick then it may be gusting too bad to fly it for that day, I think the DVD that comes with it says something about it.
June 3rd, 2006 at 1:08 am
My brother recently went to 65′ rope, and he got it on video. His friends are absolutely nuts and some of the wipe outs are downright violent. There’s two videos at the following link if you want to check it out.
HeyTone.com movies
June 6th, 2006 at 3:33 pm
We saw this video at Bass Pro Shops and went out and bought it. We started out at 65 feet of rope at approx. 35 MPH. My friend Kevin was doing great for the first 5 minutes and we were amazed at the hieght we were getting. The next thing we knew he shot up high in the air and was slammed down on his right side at full speed. He was knocked unconcious and had to be pulled from the water with rescue breaths given to revive him. We took it back the next day.
June 7th, 2006 at 8:28 am
I wish we had the problem of getting to high on the Wego Kite Tube. We cannot get the tube off the water. The area just below the recessed foot holds is always touching the water. The first weekend the tube was under inflated, because we had no foot pump, that explained that. The second weekend we had it fully inflated, 150-160 pound rider, 10 mile hour head wind, and still could not get the tube into the air. The riders have all watched the video. We used both the 65′ and 55′ foot lengths and have tried speeds up to 30 miles on hour. We have 23′ - 250 horse I/O - deck boat, with the tow rope attachment about 2/3 of the way up the transom.
Any suggestions would be greatly apprecaited. Thanks
June 7th, 2006 at 11:44 am
Mark,
Keep riding, it will take a few tries to get accustomed to. you should let the tube do all the work. we struggled with this. we were trying to really yank on the handle to make it fly. that is the wrong thing to do. just graddually pull back and the wind should do the rest. make sure the tube is properly inflated very important!!!! be patient. this thing will soar. i have posted here before.. and PLEASE BE CAREFUL!!!!!!!
we usually run anywhere between 28 to 32mph depending on the wind. there should be no problem getting a 150 t0 160lb guy or girl up. send me you email i will send you some pics
June 7th, 2006 at 11:09 pm
We tried this last weekend. It was a blast. Started with the rope at 65 feet behind a Seadoo. Had a little trouble with control at first but once we figured out to go directly into the wind it was fine. If you get out of control just sit down and the tube will go back down to the water. Even my almost 50 year old mom had a blast.
June 7th, 2006 at 11:19 pm
Our family bought the wego kite tube. We all sat down together and watched the instructional video twice!! We are all experienced baoters and have been boating for years. My husband crashed hard on the tube. He was coughing up blood and had to be lifeflighted to closest hospital. Has broken ribs, bruised, and abdominal problems. This tube is NOT SAFE!!!!! We followed instructions exactly. It is totally unpredictable. DO NOT BUY IT!!!!!
June 8th, 2006 at 4:06 pm
We bought a Wego Kite Tube, tried it for a couple weekends, and returned it this week. It can be very dangerous! Please be sure it is properly inflated, do not use in unsteady winds, and the boat driver should never let the tube get more than 5 feet off the water. The kite can easily soar to 25-30 feet, and dump you off hard. We are experienced boaters and tubers, and think this tube will eventually do the same thing to anyone who uses it. It can be a lot of fun, till someone gets hurt. The last time we used the tube, the rider hit the water and was unconscience for about 10 seconds. We experienced a moderate concussion, bruised ribs, coughing up blood, and severe headaches in the short time we used it. Definately not worth the risks!!
June 9th, 2006 at 11:24 am
I just found this site while looking for information about the Wego Kite Tube after a 17 year-old in Winter Haven, Florida sustained a life-threatening injury while using this product. The young man is an experienced wake-boarder who was preparing for the professional circuit (the boat driver was also experienced). This young man sustained a 30-40 foot fall when a sudden gust of wind lifted the tube from 10 feet to that height and then flipped him over. He sustained a dissection of the aorta and has survived only because of prompt emergency care and 6-hour surgery in Tampa.
This product may provide “thrills,” but so does Russian roulette, which is what you are playing every time you take a ride on this kite tube. This young man was not an inexperienced “hot dog”; he was athletic and experienced. This product should be taken off the market!!! Warnings on the tube or on “instructional videos” are not a defense for the continued sale of this product.
For those of you considering purchase and/or use of this kite tube, PLEASE review the many internet postings available. If you still decide to use it make sure you have major medical coverage and funeral arrangements.
June 9th, 2006 at 12:06 pm
[…] Kite Tube!? WOWT | Kite Tubing Writes […]
June 10th, 2006 at 2:46 am
I have been a boater for many years, my family and I love to tube.
When I first saw the Wego Kite Tube (overtons I believe) I had to have one. After 1 trip to the lake and some forum searching, I am putting my tube on ebay. This tube has the potential of hurting many people, and the one ultimately responsible will be the boat driver. This tube will go from skimming the top of the water to 20 feet in a blink of an eye. Now this wouldnt be so bad at 15 or so mph. I had a 190 pounder at over 40 mph before the tube would lift in a low wind situation. Falling off at 40 mph would not be fun.
I encourage anyone to watch the videos posted on this site before purchasing a kite tube. Look at how violent the crashes are. Think of the liability involved if someone gets injured behind your boat, or worse. Friends are friends until they are layed up, unable to work, bills are piling up ……..lawsuit to follow.
June 12th, 2006 at 12:31 pm
I got on one this weekend and I have to say this is sweet!
My brother-in-law took about a 10′ spill on his head and got a headache but he has has much worse on his air chair. Granted we were out on a pretty windy day and we shouldn’t have been on the first time out.
I keep reading about people getting hurt on this but a lot of them are starting out with the 65′ length rope and / or putting it on a ski tower, BOTH of which the instructions say NOT to do!!!
There is a post about a 100′ rope on a tower:
still recovering Says:
April 20th, 2006 at 12:53 am
Using a 100 foot line or tieing to the tower is just stupid. I did a nose dive at 10′ and ended up in the er. If someone does that at 40′ or 75′ their dead.
Not to sound callus but what do you expect? When you don’t follow directions you get hurt - no matter the product.
June 13th, 2006 at 5:19 pm
I’m all for safe water sports. You should stick within your limits. You need a driver and spotter who know what they’re doing. With practice you will control the Wego and not the other way round. But you need to take it slowly and identify unsuitable conditions. Wear appropriate safety gear and if you drive/own the boat you should be insured.
Personally I like the Wego and it can be alot of fun when used properly. Sure, I’ve fallen off a few times (sometimes spectacularly) but never from a height to cause major damage. You should not be flying it at more than 15′. The thing says on it “Don’t fly higher than you’re willing to fall”. If it’s going too high for you then there is something wrong and you shouldn’t be using it.
Dopes on Ropes - Water Skiing and Kite Tubing
June 13th, 2006 at 8:20 pm
John,
From a kite point of view it is not stable, so I am not sure how it can be used safely at all. A flat kite needs drag to fly and keep it pointed into the wind. On a flat kite this usually done using some sort of tail or drogue shoot. What I see in the videos etc is the kite starts to cobra, this is when the kite starts to oscilate back and forth and sort of looks like a snake dancing. This is where you get into trouble… if it sways too much one side of the kite will catch a little more wind and keep going and dump the rider and the kite will crash, usually in a nose dive.
just my 2 cents..
–Bill
June 14th, 2006 at 11:11 am
I find that it only “cobras” when you pull too far back on it in an attempt to get more air. This is a common mistake by people who do not know how to use it! Your body weight should be kept as far forward as possible in order to facilite the kite tubes stabalisation features (the design of the concave underside).
If you find yourself having to pull back hard and jump to get air then you are not using it properly and yes, you will end up getting dumped when you get an unlucky gust of wind.
Any water sport is dangerous when not done competently.
June 15th, 2006 at 11:34 pm
Hey guys i am a 16 year old guy that weighs about 155 lbs i got the wego kite tube 2 weeks ago and i love it i can stay about 20 feet high for 2 or 3 minutes. it is amazing. once you get the hang of it it is very calm but until you can be perfectly stable on the water i would not recommend going very high. Also note that the boat driver has way more control than the rider so pick a driver that you can trust. on a day with no wind i go about 35 mph to get out of the water then the my dad (the boat driver) backs off to about 25 mph and we cruise. i love it unfortunatly i am the only one in my family that can do it. it takes a lot of balance. 2 of my friends have flipped upside down and had the wind nocked out of them but after a few minutes they were fine. however as the tube says never kite higher than you can fly
June 16th, 2006 at 3:32 pm
Stupid is, is what stupid does. It is sooo obvious that this is just another dangerous water toy. Like many that have come and gone on the market, this one just takes a minute of common sense and thinking it through to determine “Are you fricking nuts? What part of water, plus speed, plus height don’t you understand? To run this thing at crowded State Parks or Federal waterways is just plain INSANE! Heck, its insane just to water-ski when we are packing boats into tiny bodies of water and making us all travel the same way in fear that we will run into each other, or not allowing us to jump out of our boats to swim, because of the danger of too many boats on the water. And now, we are putting someone on a flying tube? The word FLYING is key! HOWEVER, this is America and if you want to be stupid, you are allowed to, because our insurance companies, lawyers, and the court systems protect us from being stupid. Remember STUPID HURTS!
June 16th, 2006 at 5:40 pm
These tubes are extremely unstable and dangerous. Wego is going to withdraw them from the market by the end of summer for sure. Class action lawsuits will happen very soon.
There’s already a ban on Lake Powell near Salt Lake City. The bad press is going to carry throughout North America.
June 16th, 2006 at 7:26 pm
I just got out of intensive care after 4 days with a collapsed lung. Dont get me wrong the kite tube is a great tube for some one that likes thrills. I was on the 35 x 35 x $10 plan. 35MPH X 35 FEET HIGH = 1225 X $10 it cost $12,250 dollars.
A few things to know before you hook one up…
- DO NOT USE THIS THING IF THERE IS ANY WIND AT ALL. (the speed will create the wind and the driver can control it)
- Make sure you buy a high pressure pump and get that thing rock hard (if its not the kite will flex making it uncontrolable)
- Hook it fixed and CENTER on the boat (boat speed and stability controls over 50% of the flight)
- Make sure you keep contsant presure on the rope (if you are too high you will loose the presure)
- The driver needs to see you at all times (it gains air way to fast)
- Go for style not height.
- THIS THING WILL KILL THE BEST KITE TUBER AS QUICK AS IT WILL KILL YOU!!!
- HAVE FUN!!!
Email me with you story.
rcdobey@yahoo.com
June 16th, 2006 at 10:59 pm
Hey…im a 16 year old from wisconsin…a few of my friends and i have saved the money for the kite tube. The store that we talked to said that our 110hp mercury outboard on a 18 foot aluma craft boat would easily put the tube into the air… what are some opinions on this?
June 18th, 2006 at 8:25 pm
A friend of mine bought one of these after seeing it on the web. Several of us tried it with limited success but loads of fun. A week later 4 of us tried and again had little success at flying, then one of the team managed to get 10-12 feet for a reasonable time. No problems and loads of fun.
Last week we tried again, first time out I got no more than 6 feet when the thing flipped and dived to the water. Don’t quite know what happened but the result was a broken ankle and I’m looking at 12 weeks before I can put weight on my foot again. Loads of hassle getting to and from work, medical bills….. believe me this thing is just too dangerous.
June 19th, 2006 at 7:36 pm
hey im 17 and 135 pounds and i got this wego thing goin in a lake in virginia…if you want a rush, this is gonna give you one, but you gotta be prepared to hit hard. Don’t use it on a windy day..you can get up a lot better but its a lot harder to control and it flips over sideways which is what causes the most injuries. I recommend stayin low to learn it because if you get this thing goin high, your gonna take a spill..the first time i used it i got a concussion and i consider myself lucky especially after hearing some of the other stories. You also must have a good driver because they need to work the speed to keep you from bitin it everytime…I had a good time on this but it is deffinately dangerous, so dont underestimate it and treat it like its just another tube…good luck
June 20th, 2006 at 11:26 am
I have posted here several times and my opinion of the kite tube remains the same…YES it can be very dangerous but if you take your time getting used to it then it can be controlled…I have had it out every weekend for almost 2 months and I have yet to fall or be thrown off of it, I have been 20-30′ many many times and have always remained stable and balanced and have always come back down easily, many people have also been hurt on trampolines but they have not become illegal, stop all the negetativity…if you don’t want one don’t buy one but don’t knock what others do for fun by calling them stupid, thats just inmature…every day when we ride down a two lane road we are within 5-6′ of death every time we pass another car, we never know what the other driver is going to do, my only point in this is that we could all die at anytime, God only knows when and how, so go have fun kite tubing but know the dangers and be careful if the situation is unsafe(too much wind or gusting) then don’t fly it, I mean if it were a Cat 5 hurricane outside I wouldn’t go riding around in my truck…learn to recognize the limits of the tube and yourself and have fun!! Just my opinion…
June 20th, 2006 at 11:42 am
I agree with you chris!!!!!!!
June 20th, 2006 at 11:55 am
Hey HeyTone…I just watched your videos and I think one of your biggest problems is that your kite tube looks really underinflated not to mention alot of the falls you just jumped off instead of riding it out. Also it looks like you have the 65′ rope attached. But you already have an extra 5-10′ from your added rope to get around the outboard so you shouldn’t really be using the full 65′ rope in my opinion thats just too much rope which would explain your getting so high. My suggestion, add more air and slow the boat down just a little when alot of wind is blowing.
June 21st, 2006 at 10:51 am
Given the recent online discussions about the dangers of using flying tubes like the Wego Kite Tube on this and other forums, we at Sportsstuff would like to reiterate the importance of its proper usage.
There are inherent risks with any water sport, these risks are significantly reduced when the item is properly used under the recommended guidelines.
The Wego kite tube is an extremely popular item and is unlike any other watersport activity. This means that the boat driver, spotter, and rider are all beginners. Take it easy, learn in light steady wind, start slow. Do not over-estimate your ability, Kiting takes a practiced level of skill.
No other towable inflatable on the market has such an extensive system of warnings and instruction - starting with the packaging, the user’s manual, the included instructional DVD, the three segment tow rope that is specifically designed to allow a progression of rope length and height relative to user experience, and many warning patches printed on the surface of the tube reiterating the proper usage guidelines. In addition, the slogans and markings on the item itself are there specifically to remind the rider of the possible dangers involved in the misuse of this item. To lessen your risk of serious injury or death, follow the rules.
The guideline manuals and instructional video that are packaged with the item are available directly from our website at: http://www.sportsstuff.com
Along with the impressive sales numbers and numerous accolades received on this item, the Wego Kite Tube was also awarded the prestigious Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association - Sports Product of the Year award for 2006.
SportsStuff follows the guidelines set forth by the Water Sports Industry Association (WSIA), is an active member of the safety board, and takes the safety and wellbeing of our customers very seriously.
So please follow the guidelines, use common sense, practice safe boating, and have fun!
If you are interested in learning more about the Kite Tube, please visit http://www.sportsstuff.com or call 888-814-8833 and let our friendly customer service staff answer your questions.
June 21st, 2006 at 12:03 pm
Chris -
It’s my site, most of the tubing is done by my brother and his (apparently) fearless friends. They’ve perfected getting the kite tube inflated solidly using a wet vac. The newest video showcases this inflation. The crash at the end of that video is indeed the 65′ rope at about 25-30 mph, granted an added 3-5 feet for the wrap around the engine. That was actually the first run of the day (it was a bit gusty). They immediately changed to the shorter rope (i think 45 or 35, not sure). All the crashes before that last one are with the shorter rope, and a modest speed. What it comes down to is physics - simply - a gust of wind can launch you 10, 15, 20 feet in the air even with the shorter rope. I’ve already spoken with my brother about taking it easier when they use that thing, or else someone is going to get hurt. I personally talked to the kid on that last fall, and he said he thought he was going to die falling from that height. I talked to him 6 days after he crashed, and he still was sore and had bruises, not to mention a chipped tooth.
I wouldn’t be suprised if this thing is banned in a short time, it’s fun for most of the time but the problem is that it is actually difficult to fall off when it is flying properly, which means you’re just hanging on til the gust of wind comes and ruins your day.
By the way, there is some serious interest in this thing though, my site has never experienced traffic like this
PS - I’ve had my fair share of kite tubing, you can find me in the first video (3rd from the top) at the end. I wasn’t even that high and i got absolutely creamed.
June 21st, 2006 at 12:04 pm
Sorry for the double post, but for those of you who want to know what I’m talking about, click my name, it’s this link:
www.heytone.com/movies/movies.html
June 21st, 2006 at 4:18 pm
hey guys,
we also have this tube in the uk now and we took it out for the first time last weekend. We started off fairly sedately with the 55′ but the lake we use is small and surrounded by trees so could get it up but not airbourne for too long. Hence we progressed to the longer rope and found it loved the air!!! We found the best time of day was late afternnon when the wind had dropped. However we also made the mistakes of so many before us and just always wanted to go higher so the speed was increasing. Needless to say it wasn’t too long before some of us took a spill. I flew off backwards and landed on my head (still aches now, but could have been worse) and my mate fell quite spectaculary from 20′. Luckily just took his breath away but i was worried by his frantic waving - thank goodness he was just excited. The girlfriend decided we were having too much fun and she wanted some but with the threat of no sex if I scared the crap out of her. I took it easy but found with the low wind I still had to drive at about 25 mph to get her a few feet of air. She screamed a lot - but when doesn’t she, and now wants to go flying every day!!!
From some of the comments and videos I think some people are just too crazy too soon and use water that is alot more exposed than the lake I use. However I will be more sensible as I would be lost without my mates and i want ot live to fly another day.
Take it easy you crazy bunch.
June 22nd, 2006 at 3:08 pm
I love the comments by Sportsstuff. That would be known as the “please don’t sue us even though boatload of peoples or getting worked by our tube.”
June 22nd, 2006 at 5:07 pm
SportsStuff,
I understand your not wanting to pull the tube off the market (money is at stake), but perhaps apologies to the people who have posted that have been injured. Perhaps even take the time to apologize to the families of people killed while using it?
Of course, I understand you are quite busy.
June 22nd, 2006 at 5:30 pm
Were flying this weekend. let everyone know how it goes. Is there anyway to post pics on this site?
June 22nd, 2006 at 6:41 pm
Hi Steve,
Send me the pics bwilson@steadywinds.com and I will post them for you…
Cheers,
Bill
June 22nd, 2006 at 6:53 pm
In reply to SportStuff’s message above…
I assert there is no proper usage as it is an unstable design. It’s a flat kite and therefore will have stability problems even for the most experienced flyer. There are too many variables to deal with that make it impossible to guarantee reasonably safe flight.
So essentially what you are saying is you know it’s unsafe and that’s why you have put all the warnings on the product. Yes there is danger in anything we do on the water, however the kite tube is much more likely to cause accidents then some other sports. The number of serious injuries and deaths resulting from the kite tube should be evidence enough
Well hell let’s just all go out and buy one… after all it won an award so it must be safe!!!!
It’s good to know who the concerned tubers and others can talk to. Maybe the WSIA will help get this product off the market.
June 22nd, 2006 at 7:00 pm
[…] Received this letter as a comment on this site… (originally posted here Kite Tube!? […]
June 23rd, 2006 at 4:53 pm
I’m not trying to make this into a pissing contest on here, but Bill “Admin”, have you actually ridden on the kite tube? If not how can you assert to its stability? As I have previously said on here I have ridden the kite tube many many times now and have had no stability problems nor have I even fallin off yet. In my opinion this kite tube is a great design and I would have to say, props to Sportstuff for coming up with such an innovative item, we need more companies like you who push safety just as far as their innovation. Also I would like to add, refferring back to Bill’s comment about it being a flat kite, actually it is concave on the underside which helps to add stability, you know kinda like a parachute but not so dramatic as that would cause too much drag. I think Sportsstuff has really dialed in on their design and have gone farther than most companies on pushing safety. I have a Honda 450R quad that goes about 80mph and have wrecked a few times doing 60+mph, I recieved no “apology” letter from Honda, also I know many people who have died on quads because they are so top heavy, their families I’m sure didn’t recieve an apology letter from the manufactuer. People, you all just have to understand that yea these things CAN be dangerous, but just like many products, much of the dangers comes from improper use, or inexperience, in one form or another.
June 26th, 2006 at 2:56 pm
This tube is very dangerous! I would not waste your money! My boyfriend bought one last week and we took it out to the lake last weekend. Out of the 4 people that rode it two caugt 25′-30′ air and the tube started spinning out of control, one girl hurt her leg, and my boyfriend, started coughing up blood! Please do not use this- it is not safe! It is not worth it to see your friends hurt for a few minutes of air time!
June 26th, 2006 at 3:29 pm
will a 115hp mercury outboard boat put this thing in the air using the 65 foot rope?
June 27th, 2006 at 11:03 pm
I think all the people getting hurt on thease tubes should get together and sue the %4%# out of sportstuff and for the cost cover the hospital bills and funerals mine were 4000.00 + lung, sholder, and a nut
June 27th, 2006 at 11:40 pm
Another death by Kite Tube, this time in WIsconsin today.
“The man sailed several feet into the air and then hit the water, suffering fatal head and chest injuries, officials said.”
June 29th, 2006 at 11:39 am
I bought 1 about 6 weeks ago we have been vary carefull but last week my buddy took a 20 ft fall and was laid up for 2 days any chance sportsstuff is issueing refunds has any body tried to get there money back? I purchased it from Bass Pro Shops but they said it has been too long .
June 29th, 2006 at 9:14 pm
A friend of mine had one of these. The first pass had my cell phone ringing wanting rides. The second pass the kit caught a wind gust and looked like the space shuttle lifting off. I thought it was going over the boat.The only calls after that were to 911. My friend now has a steel rod from his hip to his knee and a collapsed lung. If your idea of a good time is pulling up to a body floating face down in the water, get one. You can probaly learn to ride it, but you may not live that long.
July 1st, 2006 at 11:05 pm
in response to rhoch, a 115 hp outboard should put be enought ot fly the tube. it depends on how big your boat is. i have a 17 ft bayliner with a 135 i/o and it was fine. i weigh 210 lbs and going into the wind w/ the 65′ rope i was flaoting about 15′ above the water. speed doesnt seem to matter. goiung with the wind we had the boat going 40 and couldnt get it 1 ft out of the water. against the wind we went 25-30 and had to keep easing off the throttle.
July 3rd, 2006 at 9:52 pm
We had this bad boy out all weekend. 5 guys with varying degrees of water-sports experience and all came out injury free and had a blast! We took it easy though and started out with the 45 foot rope and almost no wind. We could only get a few inches off the water, but we got a pretty good handle on how it was supposed to work. We have a 115hp outboard on a 17 footer and had no problems getting everyone up (we are from about 160 to 220 lbs). The next day there was more wind and on the 55ft rope we were able to get up to about 8-10 feet all the time. Not much hang time, but it’s quite the rush nonetheless.
The only problem is (from our experience anyway) that if you follow the manufacturers instructions for safe speeds, there’s no way this thing will ever fly. So basically, they’re marketing it as a kite, but if you follow their safety guidelines, it won’t work as a kite. Kind of a funny way of doing business if you ask me (which I guess you didn’t
July 4th, 2006 at 3:09 am
I have been reading the various blogs in regards to the Wego Kite Tube and really thought that I had made a
huge mistake when I bought one. I am happy to report that we has ours out for the first time today and eveyone hade a blast on this tube. This thing is the bomb and I am convinced after today that it can be used safely with a good boat driver, spotter, rider and some common sense. The bottom line dont try to fly this tube in heavy crosswinds or real gusty winds, also carefully manage the boat speed to the weight of the rider and your good to go.. We had a variety of riders both male and female and everyone had fun with only one person being dumped- only to get back on to ride again.. I am looking forward to the next time very much this tube is a great invention in my opinion..
July 4th, 2006 at 10:36 am
I just recently purchased a Wego and I am very concerned after reading all of these comments. We are heading up to Northern Minnesota for a week starting on the 7th and planned to use the Wego. We are very experienced boaters but I have a feeling we are getting into something that is highly uncontrollable. If someone is interested in purchasing a new Wego for pretty cheap, let me know. I will sell it for $375. It has never been used or taken out of the packaging. The place we bought it from will not accept returns after a week.
July 4th, 2006 at 7:46 pm
Lets just say this is a REALLY scary water toy. My family and some freinds were using the Wego Kite this last Sunday. My best friend was doing great, getting up routinely about 5′ to 10′. All of a sudden it shot to over twenty feet, turned and dumped her face first into the water. We made a run to the ER that night, she wound up with bruises, black eye and a concussion. This monday it was banned in Arkansas and Missouri. People have died on this thing now. Be careful it is really dangerous.
July 5th, 2006 at 4:27 pm
Wow, some of you must be taking genius pills: “I was knocked unconscious, punctured a lung, my buddy suffered a compressed vertabrae, I was in intensive care for four days. . . . but I can’t wait to do it again.”
Do you guys actually pay attention to what you write? They are banned in two States, others are sure to follow. Some of you received some very serious, permanent injuries, but you want to get back on the thing? Let me be the first to nominate you for the Darwin awards.
I figure it’s only a couple of years before the lawsuits put this company out of business, anyway.
July 5th, 2006 at 11:12 pm
WE PURCHASED OURS FROM BASS PRO SHOPS 6 WEEKS AGO WE TOOK IT BACK ON JULY 3 THEY GAVE US STORE CREDIT AND HAD ALREADY PULL THEM OFF THE SHELVES 2 WEEKS AGO.
July 6th, 2006 at 12:44 pm
I bought the Sevylor Manta and took it out for the first time this weekend and had a blast my 10-14 year olds went about 6-12 feet with the tube except under a bridge were he soared to about 15 feet but landed safely! It seems to me after watching alot of videos that the Mnata is more safe than the Wego and after thgis weekend I ‘m convinced. It takes an expierced boat driver to make this tube work. You have to watch speed and direction of wind or you will just make the tube soar!
July 6th, 2006 at 2:01 pm
*****************************************************************************************
I have a friend who was KILLED! two days ago using one of these things, I hope they are banned everywhere! No Control, too unpredictable. Don’t roll the dice with your life over a kite-tube.
******************************************************************************************
dhk
Toronto, Canada
July 6th, 2006 at 2:03 pm
I have posted before here after our first time riding it at the 45′ rope length. We were riding in gusty winds like idiots - but I really wanted to ride! =)
We had one wipe out due to a gust.
After riding more and more we found out a couple things that helped a BUNCH.
1) the longer rope actually helped the ride. Yes you can go higher, but what we found happens is that say you go up 10-20′ (which is very easy to do). With the short rope it starts to pull the nose down the higher you go, then you loose stability and nose in. This is what happened the first times out.
2) A STEADY wind really helps because you can drive slower to get the kite up. If it is GUSTY this is bad. Had one wipe out coming around a bend and a gust hit. We had on day with a nice wind and the ride was very stable and I was pretty high. On a day with NO wind it was horrible. We couldn’t keep it in the air and the speed and wakes from other boats would make it a bit tippy.
3) If you get to high DO NOT just kill the boat. Two things happened to us. First you go a bit higher since the rope has gone a bit slack, second you drop like a rock. If they start to get too high slow gradually - they will come down.
I totally agree with Chris that when done right this thing is a blast - it takes skill on the driver and rider parts.
Also conditions play a key role too. Every thing “can” be dangerous. It is the idiots that are doing it that cause problems.
I have an Air Chair and you can get 10′ air easy. Sometimes you get unstable and land on your side or nose in?
Is that Air Chairs fault that I fell? Do they need to recall them?
I got stitches from a knee board - I didn’t sue them or demand a recall.
There was a guy at the lake we go to on vacation that was pretty much blind out on a jetski. He came full throttle into the doc and up the back of a boat. He thought the boat was moving. Luckily the people in the boat saw him coming and ducked.
There are many deaths caused by jetskis - do we need to ban them too?
What about cars? I am pretty sure that people die in them.
At least you need a license to drive a car. Any body can drive a boat!
I already can’t get a HOT cup of coffee at McDonalds or a halogen lamp due to idiots, what is next?
July 6th, 2006 at 4:00 pm
Hey thanks for the help, my friends and i bought one last week. We pulled it behind a 18 foot alumacraft with a 115hp 4 stroke mercury. The tube easily made 15′ in the air when going against the wind at around 25-30mph. We had a few bad spills… i weigh about 140 pounds and the tube often soared on me quite high. On the other hand…i have a 16 year old friend thats about 6′4 225 and he never reached heights over about 10 feet using the 55′ rope going about 35mph. In conclusion…this tube can be great fun, but very dangerous. Never get on the tube without having an experienced driver that you trust.
July 6th, 2006 at 5:05 pm
I got knocked unconcious by this thing. I was having a great day riding it, and was actually beginning to think that with the proper precautions, it was a fairly safe toy. Then a gust of wind caught me, I flew to over 30 feet at which point the tube flipped over and tossed me. I was knocked unconcious, lying face down in the water. When my brother rolled me over, water and blood were pouring from my mouth. I remained totally unconcious for about 5 minutes as they loaded me into the boat using a kneeboard to stabalize my neck and back. The ambulance showed up and rushed me to hospital with a suspected broken neck. After the x-rays, it turns out that luckily I only have severe whiplash and a concussion. I have been doing other extreme watersports such as barefooting for years, without any serious injuries. Kite tubing is NOT an extreme sport… there is a difference between extreme and STUPID. Don’t be stupid. Sportsstuff can spew whatever crap they want about warnings… this product will undoubtedly be banned, and the lawsuits will be a plenty.
July 7th, 2006 at 4:54 pm
Is this the same piece of equipment that killed Glenn Buttigieg on Lake Belwood July 5 2006?
July 9th, 2006 at 12:54 am
Tommyboy, you wanna be an idiot with your own life that’s fine, but don’t endanger your own children you freaking moron.
July 9th, 2006 at 9:07 am
what is the cheapest kite tube
July 9th, 2006 at 1:14 pm
I have been to the lake twice with the WEGO. The first time was a blast, but no wind and difficult to get it off the lake, plus we did not know how to properly operate it. By the end of the day we were getting air and the lightest guy did what hundreds have said will happen; flying at 5 to 10 feet then immediately shot up to 40 feet within seconds. He came down hard, but uninjured.
The next week we went with higher wind gusts. I weigh about 50 lbs heavier than the first guy and the same thing happened to me. I got knocked out face down in the water after a terrible fall.
We were stupid to keep using this thing after seeing the danger. IT DOES NOT MATTER WHAT LENGTH ROPE, SPEED OF THE BOAT OR SIZE AND WEIGHT OF THE RIDER. Unless you can accurately predict when a gust of wind will come up, the rocket launch effect of this tube will happen to you as well.
If you use common sense with it, you can reduce the risk of injury, but not eliminate it.
July 9th, 2006 at 8:02 pm
A guy in Ontario broke his neck and died July 4. He as dead before they reached the shore.
I would skip it.
July 9th, 2006 at 10:07 pm
Just spent the weekend in Port Lavaca kite tubing. After several near misses, we watched our friend, an experienced kite tuber, suffer a shattering spill this morning. He was transported immediately to from the boat to the hospital where he was rushed into surgery for both a broken tibia and fibula. He was coughing and vomiting blood and is still in the ICU with shattered ribs, a collapsed lung and a metal rod in his leg. THIS TUBE IS NOT SAFE!!!
July 10th, 2006 at 9:38 pm
There is a reason it is called the “Wego”, as in “we go to the hospitol.”
July 11th, 2006 at 9:52 am
If you guys have kept up with this site you all know my opinion of the kite tube, that it can be safe, I have proven that myself with 0 falls since day one, I’m not saying I’m just good or anything but I do feel like there is a way to maintain control and I’m not gonna go into detail on all that just read back on my other post if interested but I wanted to post here again to say, like a few of us have said, anything CAN be dangerous!!! This weekend a few buddies and I were on the river pulling a regular tube…made by Airhead called Slice…well when I did a 180 and he was sliding sideways he come off and went flipping across the water…well we had to take him to ER and they put him in a knee brace and set him up an appt. with an Orthopedic, he has really messed up his ligaments or something, the pain medicine isn’t even working. But is he whining about how dangerous the “SLICE” is??? NO! He simply says “its just one of those things…its nobody’s fault….you play with this stuff and some people get hurt…don’t worry about it” I mean people grow up!! If you don’t want to get hurt EVER then stay at home in your own bubble of what you would call life and be very careful, I mean my grandmother broke her hip about 3 months ago and she only fell in her living room!
July 11th, 2006 at 11:15 am
My Best friend & loving husband, a wonderful son and father of two teenage boys was killed on this thing. The only solice I have is that I know he was trying to master it before his sons tried. The thing is, it seems fun until unexpected situations arrise like a gust of wind - you can’t predict it, you can’t see it, and can’t do anything about it. In some cases it sounds like people fall and are fine or haven’t experianced the gust of wind yet. You may not always be so lucky. Imagine if you were the one driving the boat, or the spotter. Someone’s life and the lives of all the people they touch in your hands. It’s beyond the bills, the devastaion is deep, and for many, like me they will never recover from the loss of the person they love.
Have you ever seen a product hurt so many people in it’s first season available? I don’t understand how it can not already be re-called or wasn’t after the first deaths and serious injuries occured. Maybe my husband could have been saved if this company cared about people. It should have been voluntarily taken off the market long before my husband ever got on it - we didn’t see any news or read any information that would have even hinted at how many people had already been hurt.
Devastaing
July 11th, 2006 at 3:57 pm
PLEASE HEED THE WARNINGS!!!! My story reads just like many above. We used it over Memorial Day weekend, things were great…no problems. Took it out July 2 and my 14 year old nephew was riding. He was flying great. A sudden gust, up he went, the tube rotated sharply and he took a 30 ft. fall to the water…all in a split second. After being transported first by ambulance, then by helicopter, we learned that he had fractures of the T3, T4 and possibly T6 vertebrae. Thankfully, his spinal cord was not affected and he is expected to fully recover. Had he not been wearing a neopreme jacket, I believe he would have suffered internal injuries as he was already visibly bruised when we got him on the boat.
Upon our return from the hospital, we read in the morning newspaper that very day that the Corp of Engineers has banned all kite tubes from lakes in Missouri and Arkansas due to serious injuries and 2 deaths that were attributed to the kite tube. We have been in contact with the Game Warden here in TX and were informed that they already have received a multitude of reports of serious injuries and 1 reported death.
The kite tubes just came out this year, and look out how many injuries and deaths have been reported. We are experienced boaters and have used just about every water toy, including a parasail. We watched the video and paid attention to the warnings. I don’t care how experienced you are, how many spotters how have, how much air pressure is in the tube, how long the rope is or what kind of boat is pulling it, the kite tube is deadly. You cannot predict wind or control its affect on the tube. An accident happens instantaneously and you can only watch helplessly as someone you love gets hurt or killed.
We contacted Bass Pro and they informed us that they were no longer selling kite tubes and readily agreed to give a refund, even though we don’t have the original packaging, etc. If major retailers won’t sell them, government agencies are banning them, you hear first hand accounts of major injuries and deaths, what more proof do you need that you’re gambling with lives and, just like in Vegas, you’re bound to lose?
July 11th, 2006 at 7:48 pm
HEY ALL,
By no means am I saying the manta ray is completely safe, but trust me! It is much better, steadier, and safer than the kite tube. I dont recommend doing this and i havent done it other than my one idiotic time. I hooked up to my wakeboarding tower with a 100 ft rope and soared at a rediculous height for atleast a minute. It scared me and my dad to death (he was driving). But here is the deal…..use a 65 ft rope, go 30 mph into a steady wind, pull up on the tube and be satisfied with 10ft of air. Dont be stupide and try to get 30 ft in the air it will only scare the mess out of you. I have seen a lot of videos with the WEGO and it flippin over in mid air. The MANTA RAY has never flipped on me and i have ridden it atleast 30X. If you are going to go kite tubing RIDE A MANTA RAY or dont ride at all. THE KEY TO SAFETY IS THE BOAT DRIVER!!!!!!!
July 11th, 2006 at 9:48 pm
Ironically as I read all of these, I am watching “The Weather Channel” in Ft Myers Fla. while on a business trip and low and behold there is a Wego Kite Tube flying (hoping on the water) and the staff commenting that “this looks a great way to cool off on a hot day!” They were also talking about the heat wave of 1995 that hit Chicago Illinois. For all of you that are wanting to ban this product, 700 people died in Chicago that year in as little as 5 days - July 12th - July 16. Should we take “Heat” off the market? Can we sue mother nature? Who is responsible for their losses and loved one left behind? How about the number of people that choke on their own food? Do we sue the manufacturers of food for our inability to chew food? Come on already!
The following is my blog from the dufuss’s site “Heytone.com” I will not revisit it again!
OK…let’s talk. I obviously have read all of these comments and I feel compelled to respond, so here goes.
If you had never riden a motorcycle before, would you buy it see how fast it would go the first ride?
How many people have been killed on waverunners or jet skis? (When I lived in Denver it was one every weekend during the summer months)
How many people are kiled in car crashes, pedestrian accidents, motorcycle crashes, mopeds, etc every 60 days….research that one!
For that matter crawl out of bed and land on the dog and see if you end up throughing your back out of place. I got thrown off my daughters motorized skate board (Which I quickly named the killing machine) and about broke my hip, scarred my face, arms, legs, and pride. I was only doing 15 MPH when the front tire had a blow out! I went right over the front unstable handle bars and used the road and gravel to stop me! It hurt worse than anything I have ever done on the water! I too have done most everything on the water including sking on a paddle! Try that one!
Bottom line: Did any of you REALLY pay attention to the video? If you did, those are the ones that are still enjoying this product. The others are loaded with testosterone and simply need to reach their limitations. For those that have been hurt, I am sorry that you did not recieve better instructions and or have a driver and spotter that would help keep you from harms way. The instructional video claims that 20 -25 MPH is plenty of speed to launch with. The end of the video states these are “Professional athletes under controlled circumstances with professional driver & spotters.” I would bet alot that these “Athletes” have had many hours of operation to achieve the ease of techniques they display during this video. Much less the number of takes it took them to make it. The video also only shows the riders going at most, 10 - 15 feet in the air. Quite frankly I would love to fly 5 - 10 feet off the water for a five minute ride!
Now on to other points:
My Heytone - you definitly DO NOT know how to ride this! It is dramatically underinflated and bailing from it is your demise. You also need to go in a straight line keeping the kite behind the center of the boat at all times. You also want to have smoother water, not hopping over other boats wakes (as seen in the videos, also will pull on the kite tube rope like flying a kite in the breeze and pulling on the rope will make it go up and down quickly!). I went to your site to watch your rediculous videos of poor talent, poor equipment preparation, poor driving skills, etc. I am thankful you did survive. Please learn how to fly before you fly! If you stand in the front of the slots for your feet, you can simply lean forward on the tube and it will come back down. Leaning back, (which obviously you were) you will go airborn! I also fly remote control planes. If you don’t balance a plane correctly it will not be able to be controlled. When a plane is tail heavy, it has no air moving across the tails “Control” surfaces and thus will crash! It must be balanced front to rear and side to side. Have you ever been in a commuter plane and asked to move forward or backward prior to take off? If so, the answer is to balance the plane!
Mr. Scroggins, I too have been on Lake Shelbyville as recent as 07/09/06 and flew 10 foot off the water. I have also kited on Lake Springfield. I will not go back to Springfield to do this again. Too many boats, too stupid of drivers, too many spectators getting in the way!
To close out this blog: I and my friends, family, and others have had a great time with the Wego Kite Tube. Responsibility for everyones actions must be taken. Those of you who wish to take the plane to it maximum speed and altitude without proper training are going to fall from the sky and get hurt! My Baja goes 65MPH and I WILL NOT drive it that fast with others in the boat that are not secured. Have you ever watched someone get popped out of a boat like a popcorn kernal exploding? It can happen quicker and easier than you think. Why do you think they put the safety lanyard with the ignition cutoff on it? I enjoy my fun but do it with respect for all. I am 49 years old, weigh 217 (which is 17 lbs over the recommende limit by the way) and have no trouble getting the kite airborn. I only go between 30 - 33 MPH. I too have wipped out on my tube but find it no different than falling off my competition slolam ski at 35 - 40 MPH. Please take the time to learn how to do this before calling it junk, killer, death trap, etc. And one last thing, how many beers were involved in many of these instances? I drink, but not while boating or kiting or skiing, etc. There is a time and place for that. Call me a prude, but I will continue to enjoy my kite and pleasure from its performance as long as I keep my learning and respect for it capabilities in their place!
July 11th, 2006 at 10:29 pm
You are not allowed to use these tubes on any State Park Waters in Ohio.
July 11th, 2006 at 10:37 pm
The Wego Kite tube IS DANGEROUS. I personally flew over 35′ in the air. Check it out. Go to www.video.google.com and type in “Wego Kite”. It says “My adventure on 06/04. EVERY person on the boat was sober. We were going about 30 mph, and a wind GUST came out of a cove and sent me flying. Luckily I was not hurt. It was sold on Ebay the next day for $375. Please do not get hurt by this. There are other ways to have fun.
Signed
Got Really lucky
July 12th, 2006 at 8:34 am
I’m a daredevil and thought it looked cool. First time I used it resulted in a concussion (at least, never went to the hospital). Next week tried it again and was peeing blood after crashing from 40′ up. Just amazingly lucky nothing more serious happened as these were the most crushing, painful crashes I have ever experienced in my life and I’ve done some crazy stuff. Just DON’T DO IT. Calling them today to give WEGO the option of taking it back or facing my lawyer.
July 12th, 2006 at 10:39 am
I was told yesterday that the company took this product off the market and are offering everyone a full refund no matter how long they have had it. I guess the “proof is in the pudding”. My son experienced a fall on this tube very similiar (almost the exact description of most who were injured) this past holiday weekend. He had been on it several times and had gotten very good at it. He would not let anyone even drive the boat until they had watched the video. He had watched it about fives time to make sure everyone understood the guidelines. You cannot control a gust of wind that comes out of nowhere. He was knocked unconscious, blood coming from his mouth and nose, hurting, and black and blue down the whole right side of his body. He was very lucky. We ending up having x-rays and CT Scans (the doctors thought he had a partial collapsed lung) and were told that this is considered an extreme sport and insurance dones not cover it. WOW! The doctor said if he had landed on his head he would have broken his neck. The rope broke at impact and the doctor said that was probably a blessing. When someone hits the water hard enough to break a tube rope that is scary. If I had read about all of the injuries this tube had caused I would have never bought it. I grew up in Fla. and have had a lake house for 24 years. I guess you could say I’ve been on the water all of my life. We’ve had just about every watercraft you can buy and have done every water sport out there. We just bought a new boat equipped for water surfing behind the boat. We love water toys! I have to truly say that this thing is a monster!!!! I hope that the person that called and told us about this tube being taken off the market and banned is true. If so, I have a lot of respect for the company for respecting and listening to the comments of their customers. That says a lot for the company. The marina that we bought this from took it back and apoligized for the accident. Maybe if the company does some tweaking and makes it safer I would buy one, as my son and friends said this is really fun. Now they all say they would not touch it (They are all athletic and in their 20’s). The scary thing is that I’m 50+ and planned to try it because it looked like sooooooo much fun! I think my family dodged a bullet on this one. To those of you who want to keep on using it you might want to check on the recall and get your money back, Those things are not chealp!
July 13th, 2006 at 10:28 am
KITE TUBE WITHDRAWN FROM MARKET
From Website: http://www.sportsstuff.com/towables/wego/
IMPORTANT SAFETY RECALL
WEGO KITE TUBES (LETTER “B”)
Our records indicate that, during 2005-2006, you purchased a Sportsstuff
Wego Kite Tube. In recent weeks, Sportsstuff has received reports that persons
have been seriously injured or died while using these kite tubes. To date,
Sportsstuff has been unable to determine the causes of these incidents. While
Sportsstuff does not believe that the products are defective or unreasonably
dangerous, in an abundance of caution, Sportsstuff is cooperating with the U.S.
Consumer Product Safety Commission to withdraw the kite tubes from the
market and to undertake a voluntary recall to replace those in the possession of
consumers with products of comparable value.
We therefore request that you stop using your kite tube and contact us at
1-866-831-5524 for instructions how to obtain the replacement product(s).
Thank you for helping us in this important safety matter. We regret any
inconvenience this may cause you.
Sincerely yours,
Leroy Peterson
Chief Executive Officer
July 13th, 2006 at 10:48 am
Kite tubes recalled in the U.S.A..
http://www.steadywinds.com/archives/2006/07/13/sportsstuff-wego-kite-tubes-withdrawn-from-market-after-reports-of-deaths-and-injuries/
July 13th, 2006 at 11:41 am
Carolyn,
I don’t understand how anyone can have respect for this company - if they had done the right thing after the first death in APRIL and recalled the product - my husband would still be alive - your son many, many other people who are now disabled, would not have gotten hurt. They were forced to take it off the market themselves or the consumer products commission would have done it for them. They are trying now to make it sound like they have a heart, which they do not. Clearly they do not deserve respect.
July 13th, 2006 at 3:12 pm
Chris, you need to understand that the issue isn’t whether we or anyone else was “being responsible”. We used the tube exactly as directed. We watched the video several times, we are experienced boaters, we were traveling 20 MPH or less, the boat was being driven in a straight path (no turning, direction changes) etc. The problem with the kite tube, and the reason that it’s being pulled from the market, is that it can not be controlled, even when being used as directed. What do you say to those who followed ALL directions explicitly and still were injured or killed? Is it still their fault? Sure, an accident or injury can happen doing anything or even when doing nothing at all. But, if a consumer makes a purchase and a decision to use the tube based on the premise that the tube is relatively safe when used as directed and then finds out only after someone is injured or killed that it is NOT safe under ANY conditions, who is responsible then? Irresponsible is when someone has been warned over and over again of the danger involved, the product has been voluntarily removed from the market by the manufacturer, and then someone, such as yourself, chooses to put himself or others at risk by continuing to use it. Unless you have supernatural powers and can control wind and gravity, it’s just a matter of time before you get seriously hurt. I truly hope, for the sake of your safety, it gets banned from being used EVERYWHERE.
July 13th, 2006 at 3:51 pm
Stephanie,
My heart just breaks for you and your boys. My 14-yr old son broke his back, but was spared permanent injury. I will be praying for you all. I called Sportsstuff after the accident (7/1) and begged them to recall it then. We just bought the thing 5/7 and used it Mem Wknd. My son was the first to ride it July 4th weekend and crashed on his first ride. I truly believe had he not been wearing his new neoprene vest, he would have sustained internal injuries as he fell violently from more that 30 feet in the air.
Again, my deepest sorrow for you all. If you’re interested, you can email me at sonjawitt@247365.com.
July 14th, 2006 at 1:05 am
Hello, I’m Courtney and I’m 16 years old. My family and I have had our Wego Kite about a month now and have taken it out about 5 times. The first time we took it out, we didnt think we would get any air at all, and that it would take a while to learn how to. Within a few tries, we were getting it at about 5 feet. We were towing it at about 45 feet rope, no tower, and a good wind speed with few gusts. A friend of mine took the first fall at about 8 feet, and was shooken up, but nothing serious. I myself have taken a nosedive at about 15 feet after a wind gust and had a headache, but I’m pretty crazy. That was the first time we took it out…….My dad has gotten to about 30 feet a few times with great landings. We have watched the DVD more than once, wear helmets, go the correct speed, have a wide rear view mirror, and have more than one spotter. We take all the necessary precautions, and have a great time! I am very sorry for all those with injuries, i wish you the best of luck. I hope that future users of this kite enjoy themselves and follow all instructions and be careful. All water sports are dangerous, and this is no exception. As long as everyone is careful and the driver and rider know what they are doing, I think that serious injuries can be avoided. i wish you all HAPPY FLYING! and be careful!
July 14th, 2006 at 11:06 am
Shows driver idiocy isnt exclusive to any one product…
http://www.break.com/index/tuber_goes_airborne_and_wipes_out.html
July 14th, 2006 at 1:29 pm
Courtney,
I urge you to reconsider. Sportsstuff has recalled the Wego Kite Tube. I myself spoke with a game warden with Texas Parks and Wildlife and we discussed wearing helmets. He said that they can cause injuries to the neck. They may protect the head, but the weight of the helmet can cause the neck to snap upon impact.
My husband and I have been boating for years, and have never had any accident. We also took ALL the precautions you mentioned, even having six spotters, but my 14-yr old son still broke his back. I promise you this product is unlike others with “reasonable dangers.” That’s why they already recalled it having only been on the market for a couple of months. PLEASE, PLEASE stop riding it. You sound like a sweet, bright girl, and I wouldn’t want you or your family/friends to be injured.
July 14th, 2006 at 4:32 pm
Sportstuff is trying to just give you In Store Credit instead of a Full refund. Along with every other seller of the kite tube product. Anyone have any luck getting cash back???
July 14th, 2006 at 5:50 pm
Shelli,
Cheers it has been nice chatting with all of you guys….Stay safe!
First let me say that I am glad your nephew is going to be ok after his fall. I still maintain my stance that the kite tube CAN be ridden safely, and like I said before I really think most of it is totally maintaining balance and I think thats why I have ridden it so well because I ride sportbikes alot and know when to shift my weight appropriatly. But uppon finding out that Sportsstuff has recalled the thing I think I’m gonna use better judgement and send it on in and replace it with thier Thrill Zone slide for my son. I am someone who always likes to push my limits and then stop just before I go too far and I think I have reached them with the kite tube with a few 30′ flights and all perfect with NO falls. It was fun while it lasted but I DON’T want to end up hurt or killed either, maybe I was just really lucky with perfect wind each time but for 2 months I have had it out every weekend and other than my friend having the one fall from 30′ and being really sore nobody was hurt. And Courtney I would have to agree with Sonja that a helmet is useless on water unless you plan on being tossed into some trees on the bank…just my opinion though. Now if you were on my bike it would be a different story
July 14th, 2006 at 6:39 pm
My first day on this thing broke three of my ribs and ruptured my spleen.This was after a full day of learning properly how to ride it,( and yes, It definitely takes more than a day to be skilled, ) and having an absolute blast!!Most fun I’ve ever had in the water.BUT,….the design of this tube is a joke from a safety standpoint.For the spotter to see nothing but the tube is foolish!You need to see the rider, and even the instructional video makes an important issue of the rider, spotter and driver working in unison.The “window” on my kite tube would NOT de-condensate.The condensation from the time the tube was inflated to the time it was packed away complete