This wacky design isn’t just fun to ride, it also makes a great spectator sport with lots of opportunities for hilarious photos, which we can only assume is the inspiration behind the name.
Its 12 handles are perfectly positioned, allowing the riders to hang on through turns and counterbalance the lateral g-forces, whilst the three EVA foam pads guard against chafed knuckles and knees.
The U-shaped hull means there’s less drag across the water and a higher freeboard for launching it up and over the wake , enabling it to skim sideways at speed and helping it to pop over waves without digging in.
This is where the handles and pads also came into their own as at times it felt like we were being bounced around inside a washing machine as we tumbled about inside the arch while clinging on for dear life.
Although the curved shape of the riding surface does enable it to ride over smaller wakes and waves, larger lumps and bumps will occasionally flip the whole thing upside down, spitting out its riders in spectacular fashion.
Provided you are up for this, it all adds to the fun. However, once it has flipped, its sheer size and height makes it tricky to right again. It took all three of us working as a team to turn this huge boat tube back onto its base.
The most unusual feature of the Airhead Poparazzi is the arch that spans the width of the towable. This enables lots of different riding positions, including standing, kneeling or lying down.
Whilst standing provides a uniquely different sensation, it’s only really possible to maintain it at lower speeds inside the wake and often ends up with the standing rider collapsing the tube onto their fellow riders lying down beneath them!
The Airhead Poparazzi may not sound like everyone’s idea of fun but our riders and spectators couldn’t stop grinning and it scored very highly on our thrill-o-meter, providing the perfect mix of excitement, fear and belly laughs.
Despite the frequent wipeouts, we didn’t experience any injuries and it was surprisingly comfortable for such an action-packed ride.
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Pros
- Thrilling ride
- Unique design
- Spectacular tumbles
Cons
- Premium pricing
- Difficult to right
- Takes up a lot of space
Verdict
If you’re an experienced rider looking for a thrill-seeking towable that can provide riders and spectators alike with barrel loads of laughs, this is the towable for you.
Details
Capacity: 3 people
Handles: 12
Dimensions (deflated): 72" x 68"
Thrill rating: 5/5
Comfort rating: 3/5
Overall rating: 4/5
