Best bumpers for G23

[GMLIII]

I went with the 15" balls because I have a 220 and I'm thinking that will be big enough. And I don't think I would be able to store anything larger in my boat without deflating it.
Almost went with blue balls but I resisted the urge...

Ah, did you go with the novelity toy balls or the boat specific balls?

[DWhitt]

Ah, did you go with the novelity toy balls or the boat specific balls?

I'm giving the toy balls a try. I'll report back once I get them.

[GMLIII]

I'm giving the toy balls a try. I'll report back once I get them.

What toy novelty graphics ball did you purchase. Just curious

[Gtsum2]

In for info


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[DWhitt]

I almost got yellow ones with a face that looked like it was in pain which would be funny since it would be getting squished. But I ended up keeping it classy and going with a solid red one to match my boat. I also changed my mind on the size and went up to 20” balls.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007L4FAH6..._uC8lDb1BKM91R


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[Tallredrider]

So I was about to order either the Exile or BABZ when I stumbled across a review online where someone realized that they're just rebranding these "hoppy ball" kids play toys.

Amazon

So if you want different sizes, colors or want emojis or unicorns on yours... just search amazon. Most of them come with a hand pump FWIW.

I have asked the same question and was told that the boat specific balls are actually made of thicker material. I would love to be able to get both and compare them directly to see if this was true. I almost bought the amazon ones, but bought the hype of boat specific balls instead. If someone who has actually bought both could chime in with actual thickness numbers, it would be much appreciated.

[BABzUSA]

Hey guys! I'm the owner of BABz Boat Fenders here in Austin, TX. I try to make myself available to all the forums by periodically scanning the interwebs for activity. Today that led me here! I'm not here to push product. I'm simply here to answer any questions you might have about BABz.

First off, we have just released our Version 2 variant of BABz. These offer some pretty awesome improvements over the previous model. We just shipped out all preorders on Friday. So these should be seen hitting the water starting this week.

I will go ahead and touch on the comparison to the children's hippity hop balls as it's something we hear often. These are 100% where BABz were born from. Long ago I used the Disney Princess balls to tie up in the cove. The worked ok. But I soon became obsessed with boat fenders. I just couldn't believe there wasn't a better option out there for our wake boats. After being extremely dissatisfied with the current offerings, I decided to start BABz and create an inflatable ball style bumper that could not only serve the purpose of the Disney hopper balls, but also act as a full on replacement to traditional fenders. I could write a lot of info on this subject. But the short version is they have a very similar exterior shape and features of the kids hopper balls. We are actually already working on our Version 3 variant that will have some new exterior design elements. But the honest truth is there just aren't many ways to redesign a ball. However, the exterior shape is where the similarities stop. We are constantly tweaking the plastic blend and other features to make BABz the best fenders on the market. Many features we work on like the plastic blend or UV coating are hard to see. But other features are more noticeable. The easiest way to see the difference is having one in your hands. They are much more durable than any competitor out there. The standard kids hopper balls you find on Amazon or toy stores aren't even close. I really try not to bring the Exile balls up on the forums as they make a fine product that suits many customers. But since they are specifically being mentioned, I will say that the photo below is of a handle of a BABz and Exile ball. Again, they work great for many people. But BABz are much more durable and probably more importantly, considerably larger. On that same note, many boaters still use the kids hopper balls! They can work great for tying up in a calm cove. As I said before, I used them for many years. But I would never trust a 100k+ boat to them in just about any except the calmest of conditions.

With the release of our Version 2 line, we're working on a comparison video of several different fender products. This will include cross sections like in the photo below. I think this will really shed some light on the hopper ball issue. Until then, if you're on the fence, I would invite you to order a single BABz on Amazon and see for yourself. We've done away with the package discount. So you aren't missing out on any price breaks by ordering 1 or 10. We've also started to roll out our dealer program. So these will also be in many dealers around the country in the very near future. So hopefully you will be able to go check these out locally very soon.

Attached are two photos. One is the handle cross section I referred to earlier. The other is a post on wake world awhile back where someone compared the BABz and the Exile balls.

Again, I'm not here to push product. I'm here to answer questions or concerns about not only BABz, but just about anything on fenders! I've pretty much tested them all!

-Caleb

[kylant]

well, I need to find something that will actually protect my gelcoat and not scuff it.

I started with regular bumpers, come to find out they put some nice vertical scuff marks in my gelcoat exactly where they touched. It dawned on me, this happened on my last boat as well in one spot. I thought that was from my brother-in-law tying up to the dock with no bumper, guess not.

I switched to Hull Huggers. I though these were great, until I pulled the boat out of the water yesterday. I now have dull scuff marks further down on the gel directly where the Hull Huggers touch.

It makes me sick.

What should I go with on my GS22?

Thanks

[BABzUSA]

well, I need to find something that will actually protect my gelcoat and not scuff it.

I started with regular bumpers, come to find out they put some nice vertical scuff marks in my gelcoat exactly where they touched. It dawned on me, this happened on my last boat as well in one spot. I thought that was from my brother-in-law tying up to the dock with no bumper, guess not.

I switched to Hull Huggers. I though these were great, until I pulled the boat out of the water yesterday. I now have dull scuff marks further down on the gel directly where the Hull Huggers touch.

It makes me sick.

What should I go with on my GS22?

Thanks

I'm obviously a little biased here. But I am a big fan of the ball shape over the cylinder or similar shaped fenders. But all traditional venders will eventually scratch your gel coat. The cylinder style that have been used forever will work great if you can keep them on the rub rail and if they're large enough. But if they're touching your gel coat, they're going to scratch. The same goes for the heavier duty Taylor Made round style fender. IMO these work much better at conforming to different hull shapes, but the hard material just leaves scratches. The solution to this that many people use are the nylon or cloth sleeves. The sleeves 100% will keep the scratches away IF they're clean. This is a big if. You'd really have to be washing these after every outing to really make sure they aren't collecting dirt and therefore scratching the hull. Its the same reasoning behind swapping out a dirty cloth for a clean one when you're washing the boat or even better using the two bucket method. Dirt just creates scratches. That being said, if you can keep these clean, are willing to pay the price for the bumper and sleeve, and have the room on the boat, the large TM ball style fenders are hard to beat. They are virtually indestructible and will keep their general shape after a massive puncture. It's why they're the go to on larger commercial vessels. For me they just don't make sense on any wake boat.

BABz are by far the most durable inflatable fender out there. We have never had one pop from pressure under normal use. The suits would tell me to regurgitate some kind of cookie cutter disclaimer. But I would 100% recommend BABz to be used as a permanent replacement for traditional fenders and against just about any dock. Our floating dock here on Lake Travis sits on a main channel and is covered in BABz (current model and some prototype testing). On the weekends when the yacht style cruisers go by it gets some pretty crazy wave action. We don’t use any other type of fender. Several years and just about any boat you can think of and they're doing just fine. Just need a cleaning every now and then to keep them looking good.

All of that being said, anything that inflates like BABz has the ability to pop. They are not indestructible. If you pull up to a dock lined with nails and pitchforks, BABz are not going to survive. But random dock splinter you find on most public docks aren't going to do anything. If you happen to find yourself tying up to a particularly shady dock, I would just recommend tying up a backup. This is what the house boat guys out on Lake Powell do. But again, I wouldn't say it's necessary by any means.

What you get with the inflatable bumpers like BABz or Exile is the softer plastic blend that will keep the scratches off the gel coat, ability to deflate and store, and a price point that I believe is reasonable.

The pad style fenders will also work great in certain conditions. But on my boat I want separation from whatever I’m tied to. The pad style just don’t do it for me. In calm conditions they will work great. But when the rollers come in I just don’t trust them. They also aren’t the best at contouring to different hulls. For me a ball style just works better.


EDIT: By the way, Exile was running a 2 for $25 deal that is pretty impossible to beat. While they're not as durable as BABz, and they're smaller at 18inches, they work great for many people and are far superior to a kids hopper ball. That is a smoking deal that I doubt will be seen again.

[Infinity]

I can attest to the fact that the BABZ balls do NOT scratch the boat. My hull is black with black flake and I have tied to docks on several main channels and even tho boat was rocking hard for hours, not a scratch or swirl. The big thing that clinched it for me was tying up to a G25 one day which also had a black hull, it was a party cove with band playing and over 100 boats anchored and chilling.....but right off the main channel and of course lots of wave action. The G25 owner had just bought the boat a month prior and was as anal/OCD as I am. I put 3) BABZ between our boats and frankly for the 1st 30mins did not leave the boat cause the waves were causing them to "buck" against each other so hard it made me nervous. The large diameter size of the BABZ kept the boats from touching when anything smaller would have caused the towers to crash together. We were there for 4hrs and when we untied and left, neither of our boats had any scratches/scuffs at all. Impressive when you consider that 2 large boats over 6000lbs each where bucking against each other for that long.
FYI....since the above review about the plug being hard to get out (which it is, but with the abuse these take at times, I would not want it to pop out easily or the ball could deflate on you) they came out with a small tool that makes the plug removal pretty easy. When that happened, the owner took the initiative to mail everyone who had previously bought BABZ a removal tool as well as some extra plugs, all free of charge.
Customer service with BABZ is also top of the line, this guy is dedicated to what he is doing!