AIRHEADHot Dog Towable | Multiple Models, Tube for Boating and Water Sports, Neoprene Seat Pads, Double-Stitched Full Nylon Cover, and Boston Valve for Convenient Inflating & Deflating

My 4 year old granddaughter would not ride on a tube even though she enjoyed riding in the boat and swimming around the boat when it was parked. We finally convinced her to try this tube. A lot of tubes require a planing speed to keep the nose up out of the water, but this one can be pulled at any speed. She rode it in front of grandma. I pulled them about 5 to 7 mph and they loved it. Instructions on the tube recommend sitting on the tube with knees bent and legs back, but grandma rode with her feet in front of her. It worked fine for us and she keeps asking to "ride the hot dog". But don't think this is a boring tube. When adults get on it and you add some speed and some S-turns, it is quite thrilling. Or as my daughter said "It's like riding a torpedo!"

Now in its 2nd summer, our Jumbo Dog is so awesome. I researched this type of tube quite a bit before purchasing, do I go smaller and cheaper or go really high end and spend more (up to $1000 or more). This Jumbo Dog fell right in the middle; its big enough to hold 5 younger adults and its heavy enough also to hold them. The Jumbo Dog has held up well and believe me it has taken a lot of lake abuse. Little kids love it but big kids (in their 20's) seem to enjoy it more. You can putt along at a low speed with little kiddies and they love it because it makes them feel safe and adventurous but once the 20 something's jump on it and I put the throttle to the metal, all heck breaks loose and the Jumbo Dog turns into a wild ride. It does take up a lot of room in the house and on the boat but it sure has brought us lots of fun on the water and has provided great pictures and videos of family and friends.

We love it it's strong durable. You may need to top it up after a couple hours. After a couple hours of use we lost a little air through the filler spout. We tested it and there's no leaks in the actual unit itself.Also you need to put the heaviest riders in the rear and if there's only one or two riders they need to be in the rear as well. We found that out the hard way When it did a nose dive

Holy crap this is awesome. I bought it after we all rode the Banana Boat at the beach, and was not disappointed. This is an excellent alternative to a tube, the kids love it. Our kids like to be thrown, and while this offers a smooth, stable ride, it's easy enough to put them in the water. Exactly everything I hoped it would be. The side tubes should have the same valve as the main tube, but aside from that, it's perfect.UPDATE AFTER 4 YEARS OF USE:I bought one of these in the summer of 2013 (I think?), we're going into our 5th lake season with it. Some reviewers complained about wear and durability, but I haven't had that problem with mine. We use it every other weekend from May to late October every year, and it's held up. We did have a hole in one of the pontoons, but that was from the kids ignoring my suggestion that they not jump on it while it was laying on the ground at the camp site. It patched up, and has made it two seasons since then with the patch still holding.The hot dog is versatile, it's an easy smooth ride if you choose to do that. My wife has fallen asleep on it riding, as has my daughter. If your kids like to be thrown, it's a little harder to sling people off the hot dog than a conventional tube, as the pontoons provide a lot of stability. I've found that running a tight figure-8 a few times builds a nice bed of waves in one of the loops, that is sure to launch people off of it.My youngest enjoys riding the hot dog the length of the lake while we're cruising, as well. We have bought 4 conventional tubes since I bought the hot dog, and no one likes them as much, so this year, I'm just going to leave those at home.The only problems I've noticed in nearly 5 years of very extensive use (hundreds of hours) are that the canvas cover has faded from exposure to the sun, and while there are three seats, we've never been able to get it to stay up with three passengers. Even in a best-case scenario with one adult and two 8-year olds, with the adult in the back, the front submarines with a third passenger. And that's with using a stabilizer egg (keeps rope above water and out of the wake) on the rope halfway between the boat and the hot dog.When this one finally does die, I'll definitely be buying another.