Snow Tubing (activity, Apparel Or Equipment)
Twenty years of CPSC NEISS emergency-room records for this consumer product category, combined with demographic breakdowns, multi-year injury trends, and matching recall notices.
Sports & Recreation Equipment · CPSC Code 1299
Up 19% over 5 years
The verdict
Snow Tubing (activity, Apparel Or Equipment) carry a danger score of 37/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 1,922 ER-treated injuries a year that are rising by about 19% over the last five years.
- 37/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 1,922
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 7.8%
- end in hospital admission
- 5-14
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 1299 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 37/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for snow tubing (activity, apparel or equipment) - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume1,922 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)7.8%
- Fatality rate0.00%
- 5-year trend+19%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Snow Tubing (activity, Apparel Or Equipment) (CPSC product code 1299, in the Sports & Recreation Equipment category) generate an estimated 1,922 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 38,430 ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 37/100 for this category (low risk), combining raw injury volume, demographic reach, severity of outcome, and multi-year trend. The five-year trajectory shows that injury counts are rising by about 19% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2005 (4,640 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2018 (897 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for snow tubing (activity, apparel or equipment) is concussion to the head, accounting for approximately 4,020 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by internal injury to the head (3,592 cases). The 5-14 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 13,803 cases over the NEISS window, and males appear slightly more often than the opposite sex in that cohort. Severity outcomes from the NEISS disposition field show that 7.8% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 0 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how snow tubing (activity, apparel or equipment) fail in real households. Every figure on this page comes from CPSC-published data: NEISS projects national estimates from a probability sample of about 100 U.S. hospital emergency departments, while SaferProducts.gov collects voluntary reports from consumers, manufacturers, and clinicians. The danger score, trend indicators, and demographic breakdowns update automatically when CPSC releases a new yearly NEISS file, which is why this page is dated 2024-12-31. For regulatory context, consult CPSC recall notices and the SaferProducts.gov public database linked below.
Annual Injury Estimates (2005–2024)
Source: CPSC NEISS national estimates CPSC NEISS national estimates Injuries represent ER-treated cases only
Who Gets Injured?
| Age Group | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-4 | 818 | 274 | |
| 5-14 | 6,993 | 6,810 | |
| 15-24 | 3,255 | 4,569 | |
| 25-34 | 2,513 | 2,862 | |
| 35-44 | 1,700 | 3,581 | |
| 45-54 | 1,357 | 1,518 | |
| 55-64 | 472 | 772 | |
| 65-74 | 372 | 448 | |
| 75+ | 0 | 40 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Head | Concussion | |
| Head | Internal Injury | |
| Upper Trunk | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Lower Leg | Fracture | |
| Neck | Strain, Sprain | |
| Lower Trunk | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Face | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Ankle | Strain, Sprain | |
| Shoulder | Fracture | |
| Knee | Strain, Sprain | |
| Upper Trunk | Fracture | |
| Lower Trunk | Strain, Sprain | |
| Lower Trunk | Fracture | |
| Shoulder | Strain, Sprain | |
| Head | Contusions, Abr. |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
22 YOM WAS HIT BY A SNOW TUBE FRELL INJURED SHOULDER ON ICE DX: STRAIN
59 YOM WAS AT THE ***. HE STOOD UP AND WAS WALKING WHEN ANOTHER TUBE CAME DOWN AND SWEPT HIS ANKLE., DX: MALLEOLAR FRACTURE AND FRACTURE OF ANKLE
35YOF STS TWISTED KNEE WHEN OUT SNOW TUBING DX R KNEE SPRAIN
9 YOF WAS GOING DOWN THE TUBING HILL UP AT THE WINTER PRK. SHE WENT DOWN ON THE INNER TUBE JUST BEHIND HER SISTER. HER SISTER WAS COMING BACK TOWARDS HER WHE THE PATIENT DROVE INTO HER SISTERS HEAD VERSES HEAD. THE TOP OF PATIENT'S HEAD STRUCK HER SISTER IN THE HEAD. DX: HEAD INJURY - MILD
9 YOF WAS GOING DOWN THE TUBING HILL AT THE ***. SHE WENT DOWN FISRT AND WENT TO THE FAR SIDE OF THE SLOPE AND WAS COMINGBACK DOWN EHN HER SSITER CAME IN FROM ABOVE DOWN THE HILL. HER SISTER'S HEAD HIT RIGHT INTO THE SODE OF THE PATIENT'S HEAD ALONG HER RIGHT EAR. DX: RT HEMOTYMPANUM, RIGHT RUPTURED EARDRUM, HEAD INJURY-MILD.
29 YOF HIT A TREE SNOW TUBING HIT LOWER LEGS DX: PAIN IN SHINS
30 YOF PRESENTS TO ER WITH NECK AND UPPER BACK/CHEST WALL PAIN. SHE WAS TUBING DOWN A HILL AND WAS THROWN OFF LANDING ON HER HEAD. DX: T3 SPINOUS PROCESS FRACTURE
17 YOF HURT KNEE SNOW TUBING. DX KNEE SPRAIN
13YOF PRESENT TO ED AFTER SNOWTUBING INJURY. PT HIT SOME SORT OF HARD PATCH FELL ONTO AREA OF FROZEN WATER,FELL OFF TUBE STRUCK HER CHIN,NO LOC,WAS WERING A HELMET.NOW W/ SLIGHT HA.NO N/V OR OTHER INJURIESDX:CLOSED HED INJURY;CHIN LAC
37 YOM SLIDING ON AN INNERTUBE, HIT HIS RIGHT CHEST WALL ON A TREE. PATIENT COMPLAINS OF RIGHT CHEST WALL PAIN. DX CONTUSION CHEST WALL, CLOSED FRACTURE MULTIPLE RIBS RIGHT SIDE, CONTUSION RIGHT LUNG, TRAUMATIC HEMOTHORAX
16YOF ELBOW INJURY, SNOW TUBING INJURY DX: RIGHT ELBOW PAIN
7YOF PT SLIDING DOWN HILL ON INFLATABLE TUBE WHEN IT UNEXPECTEDLY TURNED & PT HIT A PICNIC TABLE BENCH WITH HER FACE DX: FACIAL CONTUSION
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to snow tubing (activity, apparel or equipment) on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are snow tubing (activity, apparel or equipment)?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, snow tubing (activity, apparel or equipment) have a danger score of 37/100 (low risk). An estimated 1,922 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from snow tubing (activity, apparel or equipment)?
The most common injury is concussion to the head, accounting for approximately 4,020 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from snow tubing (activity, apparel or equipment) increasing or decreasing?
Up 19% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for snow tubing (activity, apparel or equipment) injuries?
The 5-14 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 13,803 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by snow tubing (activity, apparel or equipment)?
Of all ER visits involving snow tubing (activity, apparel or equipment), approximately 7.8% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (92.2%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with snow tubing (activity, apparel or equipment)?
You can file a consumer incident report at SaferProducts.gov, the official CPSC reporting portal. Reports help the CPSC identify emerging hazards and trigger investigations or recalls. You can also call the CPSC hotline at 1-800-638-2772.
Related Products in Sports & Recreation Equipment
Safety Guides
What this means for you
Treat the 37/100 score as relative risk between products, not your personal odds of injury.
- See where this category ranks against every other tracked product. Full rankings
- Injuries cluster in the 5-14 age group, take extra care if that describes your household.
- Check for active recalls on this product before you assume it is safe. CPSC recalls
NEISS estimates ER-treated injuries from a national probability sample of hospitals; they do not capture injuries treated elsewhere or not treated at all.
Data: CPSC National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) 2005–2024 and SaferProducts.gov consumer incident reports. Injury estimates are based on a nationally representative probability sample of U.S. hospital emergency departments. This page is for informational purposes only and is not affiliated with the CPSC.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, scored, and verified.
