SportsStuff Booster Towable Tube Ball Towable Rope for Lift and Visibility, 60 ft Rope with 4,100 lb Break Strength

This ball does exactly what it says it will do, keep the rope up out of the water on boats with low tow points and reduce the water spray in the eyes of the towable riders. It also greatly reduces the chance of submarining the towable, notice I did not say illuminates. Driver and rider experience has a lot to do with submarining too. Perfect and very well made.We tow the Big Mable couch style and chariot style with absolutely no issue (chariot style requires riders to distribute wait to rear until getting going, slow does not work well but haven't found a rider yet that wants to go slow chariot style anyway) behind a 23' pontoon with a 115 hp motor with tow points on the rear of the pontoons (maybe 1 to 1-1/2' max above water line).Prior to the ball I found it difficult to get a donut style, single rider tube outside the wake (even had a hotdog son that would stand on it and taunt me to knock him off) and my wife did nothing but complain about the rope spray in her eyes. Then I bought a Big Mable (two rider) tube and NEVER got it out of the wake, my adult sons (5 of them all over 23 yrs old) did nothing but complain that tubing behind a pontoon was for grandma's and would rather just anchor and swim.Then along came "the ball" (as we call it)!! Rope spray has become a non-issue for two reasons; 1) it is greatly reduced and 2) riders are too busy trying to stay on the tube (remember those 5 sons? LOL They now spend a lot of time and energy crawling back up on the tube! No matter which tube I am pulling and no matter couch direction or chariot direction, my pontoon is no longer being called a "grandma" boat). "The ball" now allows the tube to EASILY get outside the wake left and right and it kind of rolls across the water allowing for the exciting sliding of the tube left and right but keeping the rope taught so the severe rope snap is gone and no more whip lash! You want air?My wife refuses to ride chariot style after watching the boys but does get on couch style (grandma) and has not once complained of rope spray but then she is hanging on for dear life and exhausted when her turn is over so she's just laughing, smiling and too tired to complain of anything unless it's having to get off or going too fast! She has started riding more with the grandkids now because I won't try to dump them (they too will age and the ride will change! All in due time!).As for those that are experiencing the ball coming unzipped? Duh, turn it 180 degrees so that as the water is pushing the zipper up or so that it is being zipped up instead of being unzipped (or zipped down) by the water movement, seems like common sense to me! Have had absolutely no issues with it unzipping, just be conscience of what direction you are attaching it.Saw people complain of the size, really? Deflate it when you bring it in the boat, takes it less than 2 minutes to deflate (just be careful with the valve cause the inner bladder will move and the valve can be hard to find to inflate again, I hold onto the valve until it's totally deflated and folded up). Want to use it again, pull out your 12v air pump (Airhead AHP 12v High Output air pump) and wala in less than 3 minutes it's full once again. We store it under our small corner seat cushion on the pontoon with our ropes, takes up very little space.This was the best purchase since we bought the pontoon! Makes tubing with a pontoon viable and the tubes as exciting and fun as they are designed to be! I would have given this ball 100 stars if that was an option! If your having similar problems as I had just buy it and use you head when attaching and using it!Highly recommended! Take it from someone with 5 boys ages 23 to 39 that can make them all scream and yell during the ride, make them need to climb back on the tube many times in an hour and make them all complain of very sore muscles the next day! The grandkids not so much but as I said, they will age and the ride will change.Enjoy and safe boating!!

If you're towing tubes a tow ball float is a must have. It keeps the tow rope up out of the water so that the people in the tube don't get a constant face full of spray. After a season of use it has held up well (looks like new) and I consider it a great purchase.

Received as described, haven’t had a chance to use it on the water yet at time of review. Seems to be good quality.

UPDATE 2019I purchases the booster ball in 2013, so we’ve been using it for six years. Still holding up, and it outlasted the towable tube we purchased at the same time. Definitely need to keep it out of direct sunlight during storage, as this extends the life. The booster ball makes a pretty big difference in keeping the tube from submarining, especially when you get some weight on there with several kids or a couple of adults. It’s big and kind of in the way, but worth it overall to prevent the tube from nosediving starting off.Pro(s)Easily inflatesReduces submariningCapacity of rope suits multi-person large towablesCon(s)Relatively High PriceSize – This item is very bulky and necessitates deflation when transporting within the boat.Does it do what it claims to do?Reduce Submarining – Yes. It seems to help prevent submarining in most situations. I would say this is the determining factor as to whether this booster is worth your money. If you have a problem with towables nose diving prior to planning off, then it is worth it. If this is not an issue, you do not need this item.Improve Fuel Economy – No.Improve Handling and Speed of the Towable – Not really. The booster ball really does not do much once the boat has planed off at speed.Reduce Rope Spray – Somewhat; but not enough to justify cost for this factor alone.OverviewThe booster ball has largely preventing submarining in my experience thus far. I have used it behind a 20’ Bow Rider (5.0 Liter In/Out) towing a large 4-Person tube. It has allowed me to tow at rather low speeds while idling out of coves, and take off slowly while towing younger children on the tube without the issue of diving the nose. It reduces rope spray as long as there is more weight to the rear of the towable, but it does not eliminate the rope spray for this particular tube when only one person rides in the center riding position. The Booster Ball takes up nearly the entire front of a 20’ Bow rider, so it pretty much has to either be in tow or deflated. A standard portable air mattress pump will inflate the ball in less than five minutes, though. I have only had the booster ball for approximately a month, so I cannot speak to the durability of this item. I can speak from past experience with nylon covered towables, that it is extremely important to store these in a covered area, as sunlight deteriorates the handles and connector straps quite rapidly.