What Is the Difference Between a Rescue Tube and a Rescue Buoy?

Rescue tubes and rescue buoys are two of the most recognizable pieces of lifeguard equipment, and while they serve the same fundamental purpose, providing flotation and a means to tow a victim to safety, they differ in design and typical use. Understanding the difference helps aquatics managers equip their facilities appropriately and helps guards use the right tool well. This guide explains what distinguishes a rescue tube from a rescue buoy, how each is designed and used, where each is common, and how to choose the right equipment for your facility. The terminology can vary, and a rescue buoy is also widely called a rescue can or torpedo buoy, but the core distinction in design and use is what matters for choosing and using them correctly.

What a Rescue Tube Is

A rescue tube is a flexible, foam-filled tube, typically several feet long, with a strap and a tow line and harness that the guard wears. In a rescue, the guard swims to the victim and wraps the flexible tube around them, clipping it to provide secure flotation that supports both the victim and the guard, then tows them to safety using the line. The tube's flexibility lets it wrap around a victim, and it can support a victim in various ways, which is useful for the range of situations guards encounter, including supporting a victim during in-water care. The rescue tube is the standard rescue device at most swimming pools and is what guards train and drill with most. Its versatility and the secure flotation it provides make it the everyday rescue tool for pool lifeguarding. Explore rescue tubes for your facility.

What a Rescue Buoy Is

A rescue buoy, also called a rescue can or torpedo buoy, is a harder, rigid or semi-rigid buoyant device, often torpedo- or can-shaped, with molded handles along its sides and a tow line and harness. In a rescue, the guard tows the buoy out to the victim, who grabs the handles or is secured to it for flotation, and the guard tows them in. Because it is rigid and has multiple handles, a buoy can support multiple victims grabbing on and is well-suited to reaching victims quickly over distance, which is why rescue buoys are especially common at waterfronts, beaches, and open-water settings. The buoy's design and durability fit the demands of those environments. While different in form and feel from a tube, the rescue buoy serves the same core purpose of providing flotation and a means to tow a victim to safety, in a way suited to open-water rescue.

Key Differences in Design and Use

The main differences between the two come down to design and typical application:

• Construction: a rescue tube is flexible and foam-filled, while a rescue buoy is harder and rigid or semi-rigid.

• How the victim is supported: a tube is wrapped around the victim and clipped, while a buoy is grabbed by the victim using its handles or secured to them.

• Typical setting: rescue tubes are standard at most pools, while rescue buoys (cans) are common at waterfronts, beaches, and open water.

• Multiple victims and distance: a buoy's rigid form and multiple handles suit reaching over distance and supporting multiple victims, while a tube excels at wrapping and supporting a victim, including during care.

Both are towed via a line and harness the guard wears, and both provide the flotation and towing capability at the heart of a water rescue.

Which Your Facility Needs

Choosing between rescue tubes and rescue buoys, or using both, depends primarily on your facility type and the rescues your guards are likely to perform. Most swimming pools use rescue tubes as their standard device, since the tube's versatility suits pool rescues and in-water support, and it is what pool guards typically train with. Waterfront, beach, and open-water facilities commonly use rescue buoys (cans), which suit fast, long-distance rescues and the demands of those environments, and some such facilities use both depending on the situation. Consider your environment, the types of rescues expected, what your guards are trained on, and any applicable standards or preferences for your setting. Equipping your facility with the device, or devices, that fit your situation ensures your guards have the right tool for the rescues they will actually face. The Lifeguard Store carries rescue tubes and a full rescue equipment range to match your facility.

Same Purpose, Different Tools

A rescue tube and a rescue buoy share the same fundamental purpose, providing flotation and a means to tow a victim to safety, but differ in design and typical use: the tube is flexible and foam-filled, wrapped around the victim, and standard at most pools, while the buoy (or rescue can) is harder and rigid, grabbed by the victim using its handles, and common at waterfronts and beaches. Choose based on your facility type and the rescues your guards are likely to perform, equipping pools typically with tubes and open-water settings often with buoys, and ensure guards are trained on the device they use. Understanding the distinction lets you equip your facility appropriately and helps your guards use the right rescue tool effectively for their environment.

Train Guards on Whichever You Use

Whichever device or devices your facility uses, your guards must be thoroughly trained and practiced on them, because effective use of a rescue tube or buoy is a skill, not just a matter of having the equipment. Guards should train and drill with the actual device they will use on the job, so that grabbing it, swimming it out, securing or supporting the victim, and towing them in are fast, smooth, and second nature under pressure. A guard well-practiced with a rescue tube and a guard well-practiced with a rescue buoy each develop the specific handling skills their device requires, and those skills come from repetition in training and drills. If your facility uses both, guards should be competent with each and clear on when each is appropriate. Reinforce this through pre-season training and ongoing drills that have guards perform realistic rescues with the equipment. The device in a guard's hands is only as effective as their skill in using it, so pairing the right equipment for your setting with thorough, device-specific training is what ensures your guards can actually execute fast, effective rescues when it counts.

Maintain Both to Stay Reliable

Whether your facility uses rescue tubes, rescue buoys, or both, keeping them reliable depends on the same diligent care, since either device can deteriorate and fail if neglected. Inspect your rescue tubes and buoys regularly for cracks, loss of buoyancy, sun and UV damage, worn or frayed straps, lines, and handles, and any deterioration that compromises their integrity. Clean them after use to slow the chemical and abrasive wear that pool chemicals, salt, sun, and use inflict, and store them out of prolonged direct sun, especially in the off-season, to limit deterioration. Repair minor issues per the manufacturer's guidance, and replace any tube or buoy whose condition is compromised, keeping spares on hand so a station is never left without its device. Because both tubes and buoys are critical, frequently used rescue equipment, treating their maintenance as a non-negotiable routine ensures that whichever device a guard reaches for, it will perform reliably in the rescue. Good care keeps either device ready, and ready equipment is the entire point of having it.

In short, the rescue tube and the rescue buoy are two forms of the same essential idea, portable flotation a guard can tow to a victim, optimized for different environments. Knowing how they differ, and which suits your pool, waterfront, or open-water setting, lets you equip your facility correctly and ensures your guards reach for a device well-matched to the rescues they will actually perform, backed by the training and maintenance that make any rescue device reliable.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a rescue tube and a rescue buoy?

A rescue tube is a flexible, foam-filled tube with a strap and tow line that a guard wraps around a victim to provide flotation and tow them in; it is standard at most pools. A rescue buoy (also called a rescue can or torpedo buoy) is a harder, rigid device with handles and a tow line that a victim grabs or is secured to; it is common at waterfronts and beaches. Both provide flotation and a means to tow a victim, but differ in construction, how the victim is supported, and typical setting.

Is a rescue can the same as a rescue buoy?

Yes, the terms rescue buoy, rescue can, and torpedo buoy generally refer to the same type of device: a harder, rigid or semi-rigid buoyant device, often torpedo- or can-shaped, with molded handles and a tow line. The victim grabs the handles or is secured to it, and the guard tows them in. This device is especially common at waterfronts, beaches, and open-water settings, where its rigid form suits fast, long-distance rescues and it can support multiple victims grabbing on.

Which is better, a rescue tube or a rescue buoy?

Neither is universally better, they suit different settings and rescues. Rescue tubes are standard at most pools because the flexible tube wraps around and supports a victim well, including during in-water care, and is versatile for pool rescues. Rescue buoys (cans) suit waterfronts, beaches, and open water, where their rigid form and multiple handles fit fast, long-distance rescues and supporting multiple victims. Choose based on your facility type, the rescues your guards are likely to perform, and what they are trained on.

Which does my facility need?

It depends primarily on your facility type and likely rescues. Most swimming pools use rescue tubes as their standard device, while waterfront, beach, and open-water facilities commonly use rescue buoys (cans), and some use both depending on the situation. Consider your environment, the types of rescues expected, what your guards are trained on, and any applicable standards for your setting. Equip your facility with the device or devices that fit your situation so guards have the right tool for the rescues they will actually face.