For quality cataraft tubes,
we recommend our bestseller:
AIRE, or AIRE's import line,
the Tributary's. There are
more expensive brands, but no
other holds air as well,
handles better than AIRE's
continuous curve design, or
has a better lifespan. AIRE
gives you eight choices of
tube size and models,
including the high capacity
Lions, and the Tributary line
comes in the popular 14' and
16' sizes. We also carry the
economical Maxxon cataraft
pontoons, though we want you
to understand the limitations
of glued pvc products - a
category which the Maxxons
fall into.
Last year, AIRE brought
back the Wave Destroyers,
which like the Tributary's
come in two sizes. More about
these below. All models except
the Trib cat tubes now feature
a thicker grey chafe pad area
on the tube tops. It is not
actually a separate piece of
material, but it does help
keep discoloration and
staining from your rowing
frame to a minimum. Both
zinc-galvanized steel and
aluminum can leave black
marks, unless the material is
powder coated.
We try to stock a couple
sizes of the imported tubes
from Maxxon. These offer great
strength and stiffness at less
than half the cost of any
domestic tubes, although the
trade off is that the warranty
coverage is very low. We say
"try to stock" because
availability is always tight
on these. The pattern has been
that Maxxon only seems to
bring in tubes a couple times
a year, one of those times
typically in July. The 10'
Maxxon tubes are geared for
the fly fishermen, with the
14' and 16' sizes intended for
bigger whitewater. The
in-between 12' size has sold
so poorly that for now we
won't even be trying to stock
them. If you know you want
some and contact us by late
June on any given year we'll
special order them for you. We
will be requesting a
refundable (if the tubes turn
out to be unavailable, but not
if you change your mind after
they have shipped) deposit for
the 12' size of 20%. Maxxon's
little 9' tubes are almost
always available even when the
others sizes are not, and they
take two business days for us
to get. If you are in a hurry,
in many cases we may have the
nine footers drop-shipped
direct to you. This section of
our site was updated in April
of 2010.
Remember that the prices
and weights here are for TUBES
ONLY (frames are on a separate
page) and that the widths
given are dependent somewhat
on whose frame you buy.
For information about
multiple cataraft discounts,
and discounts on accessories
that are purchased with your
cataraft, please see the
F.A.Q. page of our website.
