Tow Floats and Swim Buoys, Open water swimming Safety.

Tow float or Swim buoys are a relatively new trend in open water swimming and offer swimmers peace of mind and additional safety while swimming. Tow floats offer a host of benefits, including increased visibility in the water, emergency floatation should you cramp or just need to catch your breath and a handy waterproof storage compartment for car keys or clothing.

VISABILITY:

Be seen and be safe while swimming. For maximum visibility while open water swimming, Volare tow floats are fluorescent orange. This recognised safety colour allows swimmers to clearly stand out while ocean swimming or in choppy lake conditions and allows boaters, kayakers or other water sports users to easily spot you while swimming. Tow floats in an emergency can be easily used to visually attract attention and our swim buoys include an emergency whistle for attracting audible attention.

To further enhance a swimmer’s visibility, our fluro neoprene swim caps or silicone swim cap are a great safety addition.

LIGHTS:

For early morning low light swimming a flashing bike light or torch can be placed inside your swim buoy to light. This simple trick further enhances a swimmer’s visibility at dusk or dawn.

DRAG:

Tow floats are designed to be lightweight and are attached by an adjustable belt to your waist. This swim belt then attaches to a swim tether, which can then be adjusted in the water to suit your desired swim position. Swim buoys create very little drag and the resistance is not noticeable while swimming.

MODELS:

Volare offers two tow float models, a 15 litre basic tow float and a super high quality 20 litre tow float. This features dual buoyancy chambers with an additional protective coating to prevent punctures. This is fantastic for those swimmers looking to use one side as a dry bag or to split your gear for extra protection and provides increased buoyancy.

How do you use a tow float?

• Adjust the waist strap to fit you correctly.
• Attach the swim leash to the tow float using the provided loops and adjust the length to suit your swimming position.
• Add any items inside the dry bag compartment, such as a towel.
• Using the inflation valve with a few breaths, fill the bag a 1/2 full.
• Insure you have 3 to 4 firm rolls in the top and connect the clips together.
• Using the inflation valve or valves, blow up the bag with a few more breaths until its firm.
• To deflate open the valve and press down on the vale to release the pressure.

Rather than leaving your keys under your car wheel, simply stuff your valuables in the ‘dry bag’ section of the float. For keys or electronics, we would also recommend a dedicated dry bag be used and then placed inside the tow float, such as a volare waterproof phone case for your keys or phone. Never place wet items and electronics together inside the tow float as moisture, humidity or water ingress from not closing the tow float correctly will kill electronics.