looking for recommendations before I make the purchase

Good evening fellow Float Tube Fishing Forum members,
I'm brand spanking new to this forum and I'm grateful to have found this awesome site. I'm from Montebello, Ca. but I moved to Tehachapi, Ca. 8 years ago. I love the Eastern Sierras, The Kern River, and any So. Cal. lake with Bass. I plan on making a purchasing a fat tube within the following week. It would be greatly appreciated if some veteran float tubers can shoot some recommendations my way. I've have my eyes on the Cumberland or the Fish cat 4 deluxe. I weigh 220 lbs. Thanks for your help. I look forward to hitting the water on my tube!

Dan

Welcome to the forum Dan!
I have the Cumberland and I really like it.
I weigh 200 lbs. even

Let's see what the other guys say.

2 different tubes for 2 different budgets.

The Fish Cat 4 Deluxe costs double the money at $300. You can buy the Cumberland for $150 on Amazon, Walmart, etc.

You weight 220 and FC's capacity is at 250. Just remember the extra weight from your waders, fins, anchor, fish finder, battery, rod holders, rods, tackle, net, etc. It all adds up quickly. I'm sure you'll be fine, but for an extra peace of mind I'd go with the Cumberland with a capacity of 350lb. They have an amazing customer service and warranty! Whichever you get, they'll support your weight fine and you'll be very happy either way, so it's all about how much you want to spend. IMO, you will get a better quality product overall with the FC.

I forgot to ask if you guys have any preferred type and brand of waders.

I personally bought only one, the Adamsbuilt Truckee River Wader, and love it. I had a minor leak that was easily fixed with Aquaseal. I talked to their customer service for advice and they were very helpful. My advice is to do a search on Amazon and read people's reviews. Lots of great info there.

Welcome to the darkside sir, either tube you go with will be worth your money. I ride the Cumberand and as a member you do get a 15% discount from Cover Bonanza (PM me for details). Of course the fish cat is a killer tube and try our newest sponsor [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] they sell those and so many more as well. Waders for me just a pair that keep me dry it all about the tube for me.

Hey Dan,

Between the two tubes, it's gotta be the Cumberland.  The fish cat doesn't have the capacity.

I saw the Cumberland on Costco.com for $150 with free shipping. You also get a pair of what appear to be boot foot fins.

As far as waders, you gotta go breathable.  Neoprene was tough for me. Breathable is so much more comfortable.

Good Luck,
Manuel

Awesome suggestions guy! Thanks!

Breathable waders! They are more versatile than neoprene waders.

A few suggestions for Breathable Waders:

1. Leave enough room in the fit you choose for clothing underneath. That way you can add or subtract clothing for warmth/comfort according to conditions.

2. They will be 'booted'. This means you will need to wear some sort of boot over them. This also means that the boot will need to fit the type of fins you have or will buy.

3. You don't really need to use wading type boots. You can opt for sneakers, water shoes or some of the plastic shoes on the market these days. The advantage to wader boots is that they can be used to fish a river if you plan to do that. They are the pricey option.

4. Be sure to have a place to properly store them. Hang them upside down and leave them hanging if you can. Improper storage is the biggest cause of damage!

5. Never! Never pull on the booties putting them on or off.

bigfish wrote:Breathable waders! They are more versatile than neoprene waders.

A few suggestions for Breathable Waders:

1. Leave enough room in the fit you choose for clothing underneath. That way you can add or subtract clothing for warmth/comfort according to conditions.

2. They will be 'booted'. This means you will need to wear some sort of boot over them. This also means that the boot will need to fit the type of fins you have or will buy.

3. You don't really need to use wading type boots. You can opt for sneakers, water shoes or some of the plastic shoes on the market these days. The advantage to wader boots is that they can be used to fish a river if you plan to do that. They are the pricey option.

4. Be sure to have a place to properly store them. Hang them upside down and leave them hanging if you can. Improper storage is the biggest cause of damage!

5. Never! Never pull on the booties putting them on or off.

Great info bigfish all of this is very sound advice.

DantheRIpper - Yeah what bigfish said.  

Definitely get a stocking foot over a boot foot wader.  More options.   And as for footing, you'll probably want to get both for where you are and where you'll be headed unless you know you'll be float tubing only, which would be hard to think.  I just got home last night from a Mammoth.  Using Flats booties for a short hike is fine.  For instance, walking down the hill at the North landing of Crowley, the short trail to Sotcher from the lot and the hill/launch ramp at Heenan are no problem for a Flats bootie, if you walk carefully (no ankle support in them whatsoever.)  If you're gonna have even a short hike like to McLeod (1/2 mile or so), you could wear your wading boots there.  For longer hikes, you may want to pack your gear in. But with the Kern and Kennedy Meadows in your backyard and you're gonna head up north to Hot Creek, the Upper and Lower Owens or the Walker, a wading boot is a must.  Beware Lots of place discourage wading because of the NZ snail.

Breathables are nice. It was 40 in the mornings, water was cool and breathables were fine with base layer.  I used them a lot for surf fishing in winter down here. I haven't been back up in the Truckee/Tahoe/Reno area in single digit weather with them yet. I have 4mm neoprene for that.   I guess good base layer and breathable would be ok after a while of running around but, neoprenes will keep you warm from the start.

Don't have room to hang, build a freestanding PVC wader dryer/stand.

Don't forget, inspect and clean your waders, net and tube or toon of NZ snails.  Do some investigation on what works to kill them.

It's nice to meet you, I'm also a Newby. See ya out there.

Dan

Breathable waders is the way to go.
Don't get caddis as they suck. Best bang for the buck is hodgeman. They now make zip in base layers for those cold mornings.