H.O. Molecule (tube)

I know this isnt the best place to ask about a tube, but my kids are hounding me to get them a H.O. Molecule...Its a rather large inflatable you pull behind the boat. (They enjoy a rather aggressive tow behind the boat). Any one ever riden one, or have any thoughts (other than not to ruin any pristine wakeboarding water)
Thanks

what's a tube?

Get ready to get another trialer to tow the thing with, they are HUGE inflated.

Never ridden one, just seen it.

They are big. Still haven't been able to strap the beast on the back of the boat (23' x 96" wide) in any reasonable fashion. If it's filled and we want to wakeboard/wakeskate I dump it on shore somewhere.

50lbs + dry.

Only one person, my 7 year old son, has been bounced off (multiple large wakes and his hand got ripped off on the first wake and the rest was history). Major gees are possible, compared to a "normal" tube, when cracking the whip.

Best used in butter around uptight twenty somethings on daddy's boat sporting trendy tattos, listening to Eminem, drinking a poor excuse for beer (Bud Light), and fawning over their slutty tramp stamped rent-a-girlfriends.

you mean one of those things that ruin a day wakeboarding? i understand why you need one. eventually, they'll grow out of it.

living in southern california, i am too familiar with the guys justsomeguy is talking about.

Thats not a tube its a floating city

it is the most absolutely ridiculous thing ever made. don't get one unless you want to upset most of the people on this site. it's not just 20 something wakeboarders on Daddy's boat(as justsomeguy put it)that hate them, ALL wakeboarders hate them. You will make many enemies.

The Molecule was the best money I ever spent. We use it only for filming while riding. I can sit on there with my Sony VX-2000 with no housing, and film without getting wet. It's awesome!!!

"ALL wakeboarders hate them."

That's an amazingly silly cliam.

Would you like to bet some $$ that you're wrong?

If your pulling them threw butter then they do. Yeah let's bet money, better yet let's fight about it! If you are pulling one of those other then for filming as mentioned above then you don't count as a wakeboarder anyway. Sorry, just my .02. You might as well rent a bounce house to pull behind the boat. Have fun though, whatever floats your boat.

"If your pulling them threw butter then they do."

Again a really silly claim. You assume that if there's butter a "wakeboarder" (by your limited definition) will only be interested in wakeboarding. What if they've been in that butter all day long and want to do something different? Why do you assume that wherever there is buttert there are other boats around?

My offer to bet about it was merely made to illustrate the silliness of your claim. In hindsight, I didn't need to do anything like that since with your latest post you've done a fantastic job of showing how goofy your claim is.

"If you are pulling one of those other then for filming as mentioned above then you don't count as a wakeboarder anyway."

Whew. I'm glad I know that now. Thanks for enlightening me.

Now how am I going to possibly tell my kids that they aren't wakeboarders? I'm sure they're going to be really confused.

How cool would pulling a bouncehouse be? Imagine it filled with beer.....

LOL @ Frank

whatever bud, I'm over it. Maybe at your lake there is butter all day, but not mine or the many I visit. If you see it, all you should think about is riding. I've seen tubes being pulled through the only smooth sections of lakes many, many times when it could be done elsewhere. Just not very courteous in my opinion. Tubes have a time and a place.

"If you see it, all you should think about is riding."

Thanks for the instructions.

Since we're not wakeboarders (by your funny definition), why should we only think about wakeboarding?

Please explain this contradiction.

Additionally, after spending hours "pretending to wakeboard" (the only thing that fits, according to your funny defintion) why are people only allowed to think about riding? For example, what if they're drinking or eating? Are they allowed to enjoy their food, or should they only be allowed to think about wakeboarding?

Thanks for explaining these incredibly complicated situations!

Glad you go to Berryessa, it's a good tubers lake, stay out in the middle where the waves make good tube rides. Please never tube in the delta it's just plain dangerous. Saw some guy whip his kids within inches of the rocks a couple weeks ago. The sad thing is that some idiot goes out and gets his family hurt then sues the reclamation district for rocking the shores. Next thing you know there's a 5mph zone because the slough is too narrow for safe skiing, goofing it up for everybody... Unfortunately it has happened in many prime delta spots. Teach your kids to board and ski, something that requires a little skill and provides a sense of accomplishment.

I love the arrogance in this thread. It's awesome!

wow your looking really deep into my thought process. are you a psychologist?

"Teach your kids to board and ski, something that requires a little skill and provides a sense of accomplishment."

Thanks mikeski, well said.

"wow your(sic) looking really deep into my thought process. are you a psychologist?"

Nope, just some guy who is reading your crazy proclamations and laughing at your inability to explain them.

Since you seem to appreciate mikeski's comment enough to quote it, do you think tubing vs. wakeboarding/skiing is an either/or proposition?

What's to prevent kids from enjoying both (even if they aren't "wakeboarders" according to your myopic viewpoint)?

get over it my friend and have a good weekend. Even if it invloves pulling tubes through some poor riders only good water.

If I'm crazy for thinking people shouldn't be pulling tubes through good water then I guess that is what I am. Oh well, I'll live with it.

Common courtesy bruthu's. I don't believe (hope)anybody on this board would kill a section of butter with a tube when somebody is there riding. Between myself and my two boys we have two premiers, and a byerly board, a wake surfer and a wake skate, two knee boards.....and two tubes (oh and a slalom ski for the wife). On any given day we will use all of it, but do so with a level of courtesy and safety for all those around. If the kids have been riding all morning, they would be just as likely to want to tube regardless of the water.

All the discussions like this on this board are funny. Bottom line, whatever you want to "ride" is just fine, just show the appropriate courtesy.

"Even if it invloves pulling tubes through some poor riders only good water."

More hilarity!

Where have I ever stated that I have pulled a tube through "other people's" (that's another funny concept, that certain users somehow "own" the water) butter?

Might I suggest that amongst the other help that you desperately need, that you get some help with reading comprehension/a cure for your myopia?

Let me be the first to help you on the road to enlightenment:

There are lakes with stretches of water, that are butter, that are empty, except for my boat.

For hours at a time even.

Congrats! You are now on the road to being less confused.

Enjoy.

Is there no sense of accomplishment after taking a whip turn on a tube and hanging on thru the massive g-forces?

My gut says that most of the tube-o-phobes don't have kids and thus don't understand the value of tubing with children.

And they are very selfish with other people's water

Justsomeguy!!!
"Where have I ever stated that I have pulled a tube through "other people's" (that's another funny concept, that certain users somehow "own" the water) butter?"

"Best used in butter around uptight twenty somethings on daddy's boat sporting trendy tattos, listening to Eminem, drinking a poor excuse for beer (Bud Light), and fawning over their slutty tramp stamped rent-a-girlfriends."

Your first post remember this? YOu started this fight. If you would have kept your fingers off your keyboard and your head out of your ass we would not be having this argument. By the way what does it matter If I have a tatoo, drink bud light, or have a girlfriend that is hot have to do with wakeboarding or tubing. I show skiers, barefooters and tubers the same respect for the water that I show wakeboarders. I do all water sports. If I am the only boat onthe lake and am tired of boarding or skiing I will tube. But I stop when I see another boarder skier come out.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

LEARN IT AND LIVE IT.

By the way I bought two of those SUMO tubes thinking there were going to be awsome! Let me tell you they are horrilbe tubes. YOUr face is always in the water and your back gets wrenched so hard. I deflated tehm and putthem in the attick which is were SportStuff should put them, instead of on the shelves.

"Your first post remember this? YOu started this fight."

Wow.

I thought my use of over-the-top stereotypes would have been enough of a signal but apparently there are people out there (you) who are VERY slow on the uptake.

My bad.


Yeah, I was JOKING about towing through butter around people who are wakeboarding (even if they aren't "wakeboarders" according to some goofballs because they've been on a tube before).

Sorry to confuse you.

Maybe next time I'll type in crayon. It will cause less confusion.

So, the way I see it is this:

The heirarchy of lake water usage is as follows:

wakeboarding
waterskiing
kneeboarding
wake surfing
swimming?
floating / relaxing?
tubing

So if ANY of the activities above tubing are being done by anyone else on the lake, tubing should be disallowed, correct?

Furthermore, if I and my family are tubing and someone decides to wakeboard into 'our' water, butter or not, since we are much lower on the food chain, we must vacate?

Also, if my 4 year old daughter wants to tube (she can almost get up on her wakeboard), should I stop every boat on the lake and ask their permission?

Myopia seems to be a contagious disease here.

I had the Molecule for two weeks. The preferred method (by my kids) to pull is by the front ball. The stitching came undone after the first day and just got worse. Called HO and they said they were aware of the problem and the '06 model included improvements (reinforcing) in this area. The '06 model has 667 followed by 000s above the UPC label instead of a 557 followed by 0's which is the '05 model

Now in terms of performance. It is the funnest tube I have ever been on and my wakeboarding kids love it (two girls 18 and 17, two boys 9 and 7. They wakeboard in the morning when the water is glass and tube in the afternoon and then switch to boarding again when it's calm in the evening. The tube is huge but so is the fun. I would recommend the 06 model. Hope this helps!