New Savage Gear High Rider Float Tubes

 

I recently had the opportunity to get out and test one of the new Savage Gear High Rider float tubes.  In short, fantastic ride!  These things are built to last.  Strong, well constructed, and durable, with a well thought out layout.

Let me start out by saying that i have had many float tubes over the years.  My wife can attest, as they are or have been all around our garage, and even have fallen on our cars.  I, like most float tube anglers, have moved over to the U-shaped float tubes.  They are just easier to get in and out of, and I find a little easier to maneuver.  When I found out that Savage Gear was going to release a couple of models of float tubes, I can say that I was pretty excited.  I have been a kayak angler for over 20 years, and a float tuber since I was young.  There aren’t a lot of new, exciting product launches in the float tube fishing world, but this was one of them.

One question I always get from non tubers is, will it sink?  Sure, with the right conditions, they will sink.  Especially the single tube units.  You get a treble hook through a tube, and the slow leak begins.  Well, at least you hope its a slow leak.  The new High Rider is built with a 4-Chamber construction.  This is four individual areas that have their own air chambers.  What that means, if one should fail, hook, shark bite, etc., you still have three other chambers to keep you top side.  That is a pretty nice feature to keep in mind.  Breaking down those four chambers is simple.  Two for the gunnels of the tube, the floor board, and the seat.  All individual inflation points with their own chambers.

Now with all of those tubes, it does take a little time to inflate this bad boy, but well worth it.  A sturdy, easy to use foot pump is included with the package so you don’t have to go out and purchase a separate pump.

In the paragraph above, I call it a tube.  In essence, it is a tube, but it does feature bladder-less construction. These are constructed for strength and durability.  Built like a Zodiac.  All seams are reinforced for extra security.  The bladder-less construction makes for zero zipper maintenance, as that seems to be a weak point on most of the tubes I currently own, or have owned in the past.

Two of the other key inflation points of the High Rider are the drop stitch floor board and the seat and backrest.  I’ll start with the seat.  Wow!  Comfortable.  The inflatable seat makes for extended time on the water very possible.  It also features adjustable backrest straps so you can really dial in your comfort.

Below the inflated seat is an inflated floorboard.  This boat is called the High Rider for a reason.  You sit high.  Really high.  I’m not exactly a little guy, and am very used to a wet, uncomfortable day of float tubing, but this boat has changed that.  Sitting on top of what in reality are two extra flotation points, you are just higher above the water.  In my recent test down in Newport Beach, my butt was barely wet.  I’m a wader guy, so not too worried about the water, but I’m usually sitting below the water line all day.  Very nice feature.

 

Another really cool feature of the inflatable seat are the dual easy access rod holders attached to the back of the seat.  These are not a rigid type holder, but a soft holder made of the same material as the seat.  I found them east to access, and east to get my rods in and out of.  No need to bring along a milk crate with PVC tubes sticking out.  Or an entire float tube rod rack system.  Unless you want to bring more than say three rods.  Behind the seat, in the bow, there is also ample room for a storage box, cooler, or tackle bag.

Once you have your High Rider all inflated, seat installed and ready to go, you can attach the detachable storage bags.  The tube comes with a pair of nice and deep, zipper topped storage bags.  These have a strap and hook on each side that hook to the various attachment points on the tube. The bottom of the bags have Velcro that hold the bags in place once on the tube.  I found that there was plenty of storage within these bags for a few bait boxes as well as my dry box that I keep my phone, wallet, keys, etc.

Now that the High Rider is set up, we need to get it to the water.  These boats are well built, sturdy, but not the lightest boat on the market.  I am happy to sacrifice some weight for the security that a well built boat brings.  Heck, I’m not in a race to get anywhere out there.  Getting the High Rider around was easy.   There is a nice handle strap right under the bow, as well as a set of adjustable backpack style carry straps attached to the bottom of the boat.  I found these convenient when I was carrying the boat down a hill at Puddingstone Lake, as well as transporting the boat from my car to the water in Newport.

The High Rider also has a removable stripping apron with measuring print on it.  The boats are designed in Denmark, they do feature metric measuring, but having the stripping apron on my lap is nice to lay fish as I was unhooking and taking photos of fish before they head on back to swim on another day.  I haven’t found myself looking for any additional float tube accessories, as this boat has everything that I need.  I just grab my float tube fins and head out the door.  Each High Rider float tube does include a nice repair kit with all you will need in case you should get a puncture at some point in your fishing adventures.

One last thing to mention.  All of the above is about one of the two models that were released.  The HighRider150.  There is also a HighRider170 that features removable oars, crossbar for the apron, and luggage net.  If you are looking for a little bit bigger ride, with more functions, check out the HighRider170.

If you should have any experience with the High Rider float tubes, please leave me a comment, or hit up your favorite float tube fishing forum.