Grabbed this diving ring set on Tuesday afternoon cause my nephew’s birthday was coming up fast. Saw the colorful packaging at Toys “R” Us and thought hey, what a steal for ten bucks. Plastic felt decently thick, not that flimsy dollar store crap.
The Unboxing Mess
Ripped open the box like a hungry raccoon. Six rings tumbled out – yellow, green, blue, orange, purple, red. Also found this mesh storage bag bundled in there. Looked sturdy enough, nice drawstring thingy. First thing I noticed? That classic pool toy smell hit me right in the nose.

Sink or Swim Test
Filled the kitchen sink right up. Grabbed the green ring and dunked it. Sank straight to the bottom like a little green rock. Good. Picked the yellow one next. Sank too. Nice. Tried ’em all, one after another – they all sunk like they were supposed to. Felt solid, no bubbles trapped.
- Smooth edges? Ran my finger around each rim. No sharp bits or weird plastic seams.
- Floaty imposters? Nope, all six stayed firmly underwater.
- Bag holds up? Shoved all rings inside, pulled the string tight – bag didn’t stretch outta shape.
Real Pool Action
Took the whole kit to my sister’s place yesterday. Her kids saw the bag and went bananas. “Dive! Dive! Dive!” they started chanting – little monsters. We headed straight for their inflatable backyard pool.
Dumped the colorful rings all over the bottom. Those kids scrambled like tiny pirates hunting treasure. My nephew, barely 4, flailed around grabbing rings. Saw him snag the orange one – pure victory on his face. They spent over an hour splashing and diving. Water everywhere, happy screams loud enough to annoy the neighbors. The rings held up fine against all that kid-energy.
The Dirty Secret & Quick Fix
After the water war, those rings were filthy. Grass, dirt, maybe a bit of cookie mush. No biggie. Rinsed them under the garden hose. Stuck them back in the mesh bag. Gave the bag a shake – water dripped right out. Hung the whole thing on their deck rail. Sun dried it in like twenty minutes. So much easier than chasing six wet rings around the yard. Shoulda bought one years ago.
The Ugly What-If
Okay, gotta be real. Seeing those little heads bobbing down for rings… my brain jumped straight to nightmare mode. What if they shove a ring over their head underwater? Panic city. Grabbed my nephew and made him try it. Biggest ring, put it over his head underwater. Thank god – it slid right down to his waist. Way too big to get stuck. Felt my own lungs unclench after that. Still, gonna drill it into my sister’s head – don’t let the baby play near these solo. Ever.
Why It Stays In The Pool Bag
Honestly? The storage bag makes this thing. After the kids crashed, scooped all six slippery rings off the lawn, jammed them in the bag, pulled the string, tossed it in the garage with the floats. Done. No hunting under lawn chairs tomorrow. That bag is the unsung hero. Cheap toys usually vanish into a black hole of kid clutter. This? It actually comes home.
Funny thing. Remembered being maybe 7 at the town pool. Lifeguard chucked these exact same sinking rings in the deep end. Diving for them felt like an Olympic sport back then. Seeing my nephew’s face doing the same dumb stuff forty years later? Damn. Some toys just don’t need fixing.