So, I was considering buying this tube because I wanted something that would seat me up higher in the water than my U-boat I had for a long time (which served its purpose but has since been replaced by the Togiak). Let me start by saying this is a GREAT TUBE!!!! I tried it out today in a local lake and caught several bass and an 11" crappie. I was very comfortable. I had to move against a very strong wind and moved much faster than I anticipated being able to move. But I was amazed at how comfortable I was the whole time. So, this tube uses 2 pieces of foam underneath the seat that seat you up higher in the tube. But they don't JUST seat you up higher. They FEEL better, too. As someone who has sat on the 'sling' style seat standard on most U-boats, I can honestly say this tube's seat is MUCH more comfortable. And it seats you up higher in the water, too. Not WAY higher, but a little higher. The main advantage is that your arms aren't digging into the pockets the way they would on a U-boat because you're up higher, away from the pockets. Less digging in of your elbows. Let me DISPEL the reviews written by all of the other people who talk about how the seat has 'no support'. What the heck are you guys talking about? Sure, when I took it out of the box, there was no support, but I had to ADJUST IT. There are STRAPS. You just adjust the straps to angle the seat how you like it and you have no excuse to not be comfortable. They don't 'collapse' like people are saying they do, that's pure nonsense. Obviously the people who wrote those reviews saying that about the seat don't realize how to adjust a simple strap. This is a very comfortable seat, and I was very comfortable when I was fishing earlier (after I adjusted it). So everybody who is saying that the seat has no back support is either lying, too stupid to realize that they need to adjust the straps, or weighs 400 lbs. I like the color of the tube, it's fairly easy for boaters to see. Not super concerned about this. A camo color scheme would have been cool too, but I can get into the gray/yellow. It's like you're a giant floating hornet out on the water...haha. In all seriousness, one thing that drew me to this tube besides the AWESOME seat was all the pockets. It has so many pockets on it, and then, on the outside of those pockets, you have more MESH pockets! These are useful for holding small, little items you would use often. The pockets are awesome. The only complaint I have about them is that you can't fit a full-size tackle tray in them, but that's not the end of the world, because you can fit a tackle box or backpack behind you. Behind you, there is a mesh 'space'. Anything you put there will get wet. However, I found out very quickly I could put my PFD (which is just a flotation cushion) back behind the seat, and then put my backpack on top of that (my backpack is what I use to hold all of my trays and other fishing essentials). Putting the backpack on top of the cushion helps to seat the backpack up higher, off of the partially-submerged mesh back and keep the backpack drier. But in all honesty, I make sure to never keep anything in there that I don't want to get wet, so even if it does get wet, it's not the end of the world. The D-rings on the side are nice. Lots of different mods you can do with these, and they are pretty much standard on every tube, so I'm glad to say that this tube has several D-rings. Nothing special here. Happy to say you get several with this tube. Another really cool feature is that you get BACKPACK STRAPS with the tube. This is really nice for when you have to carry the tube any distance more than 20 feet. It's hilarious though, wearing them...looks like you have a huge jet pack strapped to your back. Walking down the side of a road to a lake, you get some....interesting looks from people in cars. To say the least. But honestly, I don't let it bother me. You're going to get some weird looks fishing in this thing, anyway. Seems very tough. Obviously, the mesh will protect the bladders to some extent. Even if you did pop them, it's not a huge deal, just use a little tube of aqua seal which you can pick up at gander or dicks sporting goods for around 5 dollars. But the whole tube seems pretty tough. So far, I am VERY impressed by how tough it seems. The best thing about this tube is how portable it is. If I deflate it, or even half-way deflate it, you can quite easily fit it into the back of even a small car. I actually was able to fit this tube deflated, plus another float tube I lent out to my buddy for the day in my trunk. In conclusion, this is a REALLY nice tube. I'm not saying that there might not be anything better out there, but why would you use anything else? This is SUCH a great tube, just make sure you adjust the seat's straps so that it supports your back properly. And to the person who said that the stabilizer bar has 'sharpened' ends, sure, they are pointed, but the stabilizer bar is just a PVC bar...you could go to ANY hardware store, buy a new pvc pipe, and use a hacksaw to cut it to size and there you'd have a new bar with 'non-sharpened' ends. Not to mention, if you leave some give in your air bladders when you inflate them, they shouldn't be a problem. This is a great tube, it is a huge upgrade from U-boats, in my opinion. I love this boat.
