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Float Comparison

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
It can take a long time to get an up-to-date response or contact with relevant users.
Anybody know if JB Esclapez float is any good. I saw the torpedo and round types in the store the other day and it looks sturdy on the outside.
 
andrsn did you get a little bottle of latex with your float? I also have the 35L RA float mine came with a nice bottle of latex and some instructions on how to use ect? Perhaps that would help keep it fully inflated?
Cheers Rob
 
Rob, what's a "bottle of latex"? I've seen paintable latex in adult stores before, but "bottle o' latex" for spearfishing? :blackeye

Seriously, I didn't get anything with it. I'm trying to figure out how that would help keep it inflated, though. You have the tire stem for a valve, right? What do you think of the float?

Later,
Anderson
 
Originally posted by andrsn
I've seen paintable latex in adult stores before,
Anderson
Click to expand...

You did tell Sven to leave that stuff at home this year right:mute
 
Andrsen-
If you have the tire valve stem...you might want to try Fix-A-Flat. You can get it just about anywhere, and one can should last quite a while. From what I understand it is an aerosol rubber foam and you just hook the hose to the valve and push the button. It will coat the inside with a layer of foam/slime and seal any small perforations.

matt
 
Fix-a-flat

Matt,

In my experience, that stuff requires you spin the heck out of the tube for 15 minutes or so, to get a good seal [tangental velocity stuffs it in the cracks]. I tried to use it on my innertube two years ago during a float-down-the-river-and-get-loaded-for-charity excursion after I popped it on a sunken branch, but it wouldn't take. Maybe if I would have gotten out of the water and gave it a few rotations .... No big loss however, since I got to ride the "spirit tube" for the rest of the journey :hmm.

Ted
 
Another consideration is that once you do that, you'll never be able to deflate the tube and travel - which is probably the main advantage of having an inflatable float :hmm
 
True enough, Fuzz, but it brings to mind a question for a design I'm researching, that being, do divers (spearos, abalone and SCUBA) actually deflate their floats at the end of the day?

I know that once I blow up the innertube and place the cover over it, that it's that way from April1 to November 31. It just resides in the back seat(s) with the rest of the gear and other people's stuff. I don't do a lot of airline time, and the Blazer has the room so it's not that big an issue.

So here's the question again peoples- is a rigid float a bad thing?


sven
 
The fix-a-flat stuff doesn't lock up the valve. If you have a flat tire and use fix-a-flat...you don't have to throw the tire away at the end of the day. Another option is this green-slime looking stuff that most bike shops sell to prevent flats in bicycle tires. it is probably the same thing as the bottled latex that everyone is speaking of.

As to the rigid float question...I will use a rigid float over an inflatable any day of the week. They are cheaper, more durable, and have less drag, and if they are filled with foam then they hold their flotation better at depth. My $35 RA 11 litre is the best float I have ever used for the $. I do a good bit of diving in current and around rocks and it has been great for that.

matt
 
Originally posted by icarus pacific
So here's the question again peoples- is a rigid float a bad thing?
sven
Click to expand...

Well Sven, IMHO I'd rather have a rigid float than a flacid one anyday...
 
Originally posted by rigdvr


Well Sven, IMHO I'd rather have a rigid float than a flacid one anyday...
Click to expand...

Does your fiancé often mistake the valve for the float? :t

Wait till you get old... you'll have to invest in a float pump.

A
 
Originally posted by andrsn
Does your fiancé often mistake the valve for the float? :t
A
Click to expand...

Regardless, at least my float gets "reinflated" on a regular basis
 
andrsn I havent had a chance to use the float yet... and probly will leave it alone till I head back up to PNG, yes it is the smae one you have with the tire valve . I have a rigid RA 11L float which is what I will generally use. the latex for the inflatable probly works in a similar way to the latex you saw in the adult shop only wouldn't be air permeable. I am guessing it coats the inside of the float and acts like a bladder of sorts. You are ment to leave it in for a weak then drain it from the float and wallah.

To answer the question which float is superior well that is easy.
It is all dependant on the diver and the fish...
Foam floats are harder to implode then air filled floats... so more effective at depth so for a "bluewater hunter" foam is superior. However if that diver is limited by weight and size restrictions on an airoplane then he/she is going to need to use an inflatable float.

So in my humble opinion I would go for a foam float 1st everytime then head for the airfilled where practicality dictates. A note on the air filled float... there are only 2 brands I would look at the Rob allens and the Riffe. From the limited look I have had at the other brands they don't look structually sound and I wouldn't risk losing a good fish due to crap gear...

Cheers all Rob
 
Last edited:
well, Im off to check the abilities of an RA 11 liter(2) on hoos and hopefully YF... on Wed at the lump. So Andy, hows the snow skiing?:hmm
 
hi

Hey Rig are you going back to that lump again

cheers
 
Originally posted by rigdvr
So Andy, hows the snow skiing?:hmm
Click to expand...

Hey, it's all about altitude training for KK#3! M-2 came out last weekend w/ his little honey and all three of us hit the slopes. :t
 

I'm still kinda wary about using it. Mark L sent me an "america" float, and although it looks sweet(better than any inflatable I've seen) I'm still hesitant about letting a big fish drag it around. Thanks for your input.

Later,
A
 
You can use a boogie board for reef applications but I don't trust them for blue water. Why? Because they have a lot of wind drag and are not very sturdy when it comes to a large fish pulling on the line fixed to a small hole or leash plug for that matter. True that the leash plug will hold in surf but this is just a quick jolt then it's over. A large pelagic will keep on pulling on the board especially so at the weak point. If incorporated with a good bungee then maybe a possibility but the foam is very low density and in the even that it does get taken under, probably will start to crush. Stick with a good sturdy, high density foam float for the big boys. They have been time tested and so far have come away as a winner.


Brad :martial
 
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