I love the seat. It is solid and I don't sink into the water. I have had several back surgeries and I can fish comfortably in this tube. Being able to adjust the back rest is helpful as well.

I do wish there was a set of D rings on the inside of the tube as well as the outside. Just being picky on that.

Having a hard time getting the inflatable Boston valve and skirt to match up on one side. Just getting things in the right place so it stays aligned when pumped up. I deflate partially when not in use to not stress the seams.

Other than minor things, I love this tube.

I use this (and same kind for my son) for fishing in lakes. I'm 255# and my son is 190#. No problems with support. Easy to maneuver and very convenient for gear, line stripping, and fish landing. My original thought was to buy a couple of these as entry-level tubes, and upgrade if my son and I found that we found tubing to be an easy and effective method of fishing. We are hooked on tubing for sure, but now my plan is to use these until they are shredded. There are undoubtedly pro-level tubes with somewhat better features and construction, but with this tube, you really can't honestly tell your wife you "need" a more expensive one. Save the difference in price and put that money into...more fishing!

Thus really is a great tube. Its built like a tank. Very durable, floats and seats you high. The two pockets are huge and come with cupholders!
Ive floated probably 40-60 hours in this, so its gotten a fair amount of useage. Ive read a lot of the other reviews and will try to make notes and clarify things for all of you a bit.
It does come with two rod holders. For those of you confused, the rod holders are the velcro straps alongside the storage pouches, on the side closest to you. Im not a huge fan of them. They are velcro, and extended useage can result in the harder, stiffer side of the velcro scratching the finish of the rod, so I dont use them. Now, I dont know if you can count this as a minus, because ALL tubes use the velcro as rod holders, but I build custom rods, so Im picky about how they are stored.
The rear mesh area can be used as storage, but be advised most of it will be under water, so don't put anything back there if it needs to stay dry. It works excellent for atoring an anchor or as a livewell. I usually like to put decent fish back there till I can photograph and release them, as Im not a fan of whipping out my expensive phone out on the water.
The seat back has a mesh storage pouch, but again, the bottom of that pouch will be underwater while you sit in it. This is a minus for me, i wish it was higher and dry. I tried putting my hiking boots back there and found out the hard way.
This is a big tube. 17 pounds doesnt sound like much, but by the time you get those storage pouches full and all the gear with it, it adds up, plus it will weigh a bit more wet after use. Its not unbearable by any means, but I would choose a smaller, lighter tube if you're going to be hiking in a distance. The shoulder straps are almost useless. They are extremely narrow and uncomfortable. But, easily fixed by ordering a pair of clip on padded backpacking straps, which you can find online for under teen bucks.
Someone else said they were disappointed after it got a leak when they put a crankbait into the side of it. Really? Kinda duh on that one. Any inflatable will leak if you jam a treble hook in to it.
Allmof the parts, including bladders, are available on CA's website, so Im not sure why people are having trouble in that department.
It may have sounded like I picked the tube apart, but I really do love it. Compared to my old tube, its like moving from a Yugo to a Mercedes. It has a few shortcomings, but all tubes do, and they are easily remedied. Its not a bass boat, its a minimilist way of getting off the shore.

This float tube is an incredible value. I have numerous classic accessory float tubes and you will be hard pressed to find a guy who fishes one any harder than I do. I fish from ice out til the water freezes again. I fish in every type of condition from blazing heat to freezing cold, wind, rain. I fish all kinds of bodies of water. Many I fish require hiking in and out of rugged terrain with the float tube either inflated or not on my back. I have fished this in the heaviest of cover from thick vegetation, thick deep mud that requires me to hop across it in my float tube. You cannot kick through the mud it is so thick. Any type of structure and cover you can think of I have float tubed through. I am not afraid to put myself or my float tube in the thickest nastiest stuff on a body of water. That is often times where my best fishing happens.

I am primarily a bass angler, but because I live in an area that gets cold winters, I will do some trout, salmon, pickerel, pike ect..fishing as well as it gets very cold and the fishing can get slow. I tend to carry anywhere from 2 to 4 rods with me. 4 rods is a bit much for this thing just using the rod straps. But I deal with them getting tangled up ect..at times because it is what it is. I carry bait binders and other bait cases when I fish. I usually dedicate one storage side to baits and the other to drinks, snacks, hook outs, pliers, fish grips, action cam, deeper sonar, towel if need be. Basically whatever I need I make it fit. I put my pump and hose in a plastic bag and put it on the rear netting of my float tube. It holds it fine and some times I have had to add a little air after getting out on the water.

These float tubes are easy to carry, and easy to set up and then break back down. I can't imagine anything that allows you to fish so effectively to be any easier.

For me, these float tubes tend to last me one full fishing season before I need a new one. And over that time it usually needs repairs. The pvc cross bar that has the bib attached to it, it is pointed and you always want to set it into the sleeves so it goes in the correct way. Do it incorrectly and you could get a tear in the bladder. take your time with that and do it right and you'll be good. I have had leaks in my bladders before and they are usually slow leaks and I have never had an issue getting off the water. I would suggest to have a spare set though. You'll be glad you did. It sucks to get out on the water and have your planned day of fishing ruined by a leak. Keep a spare with you, go back to the car, replace it and get back on the water. The bladders are very well protected though. The float tube is very rugged and I have hit everything from tree tops to rocks and the float tube just bounces right off them without issue. The quality control for the valves on the bladders is not good from classic accessories. I have had numerous float tubes with valve issues out of the box. I have also had issues with the zippers on the storage pockets. The handles have broke on me and the zippers themselves have broke on me. This has never happened right off though. It tends to happen when I have used the float tube long and hard and it is simply starting to break down under the use.

I would have knocked off a star or more because of these issues, but the fact that classic accessory has been so good to me as far as customer service goes, I figure I would put a star or two back because of that. They have always been quick to send me replacement parts if need be, or a new float tube if need be and it has been without hassle. They stand by their products.

I have been fishing these float tubes hard for years. I am a big guy at 6ft and can weigh as much as 285. one con is they do not sell replacement foam for the seats for this model. You would have to cut your own to replace them. The seats are not the most comfortable seats on earth, but they could be a lot worse. I have fished morning til night hundreds of times on these and usually I need to pull up and stretch out a bit at some point during the day. But overall I like the seats. They adjust to my liking and they keep you high enough above the water that you can effectively sight fish and fish beds ect..Overall, this float tube is more comfortable than any other ( stock out of the box) float tubes or kayaks I have used

Every boat has its pros and cons. A kayak can cover water many times faster then this thing can. It is not even close. These things are slow going. And on bigger bodies of water, especially on very windy days, you're going to be kicking a ton. But using your legs allows you to hold your position even in very windy conditions. It is very difficult to hold any type of position in wind with a kayak. I guess it just depends on what you are looking for and what suits your needs best. There are numerous pros and cons for each type of boat.

Overall I love my float tube. It is not perfect for all situations of course, but for where I live, the types of bodies of waters I fish, I can get out there and catch the heck out of fish. And its a unique experience fishing from a float tube. You are very connected to your surroundings.

A couple more things I have found very helpful. One is, take either some duct tape or even epoxy, and cover the sharp ends of the pvc cross bar. The sharp edges of that cross bar are probably the easiest way to get a puncture in a bladder. Any time you move or adjust those edges tend to rub it dig in. Just use tape or epoxy to dull the edges and you'll never have to worry about that.

Second, get yourself some good uv protectant for your boat. The sun beats these down. You can prolong the condition and life of your float tube if you use a quality uv protectant every month or two. Makes all the difference.

After borrowing a float tube from a friend I decided I wanted one for myself. I like to hike into remote areas and fish so weight was a little concerning with this tube, but it wasn't all that much more than many others, so I decided that the high position chair was worth the weight. After a couple of multi-day trips now I can say I really like this tub, and its making my fishing buddies jealous. I liked it right off the bat, and being a little higher up in the water is SO much better. Better casting, better for cold water because less of me is in the water, and much better for the flippers on my feet. The ones that sit lower in the water seem to be harder to kick my flippers in. this also has a mesh net in behind the seat that really comes in handy, I can store my small dry bag back there with my extra cloths, toss my net back there and lets face it, its a great place toss that empty can after its done in the really handy cup holders! The seat is also adjustable, and on a long day that really makes a difference. I also really like the valves, I am a river rat at heart and love rafting, so I have pumps for that purpose. This float tube has familiar and easy to use valves to fill and deflate the tube. Very fast both directions because of this. The cheaper tubes have the little nipple valves that pool toys use, and are a pain in the butt to fill and especially deflate. If you don't have a good pump, I would recommend looking into NRS river rafting products. They have some reasonable priced ones that are also light enough to carry around. With that said, you can carry this tube around, yeah its a few pounds heavier, but I feel its not a big deal compared to others.

CONS: The only thing I can say negative is, well two small items. First, there are no pads to put my hooks on. Not a big deal, I just use my vest most of the time anyhow. Secondly, the mesh platform up front. I think it could be a little better if it was attached on one side, at the front. I think I will add some Velcro to the front tube to fix this, so another easy fix.