So my kid started swim lessons last month, and man, finding a good kickboard became a headache real quick. I walked into the sports store last Tuesday just wanting ONE board, but ended up staring at a whole wall of ’em – all shouting “EVA foam!” with different price tags and brand names. Felt like diving into the deep end blindfolded. Figured I might as well buy a few and test ’em proper since my wallet was already groaning.
Grabbing the Contenders
First, I snatched up the cheapest one they had – this no-name bright blue thing, felt kinda lightweight and rough on the edges honestly. Five bucks felt suspicious, you know? Next grabbed a medium-priced one with fancy fish graphics from “SplashHappy”, felt smoother but also floppier. Almost walked out then saw “Aqualock Pro” near the register – double the price of SplashHappy, super dense, and had these rubbery textured grips molded right in. Figured why not? Grabbed it too. Three boards in my cart already.
Testing at the Pool
Lesson day came. Threw the cheap blue board at my kiddo first while I stood in the water watching like a hawk. Here’s the scoop:
- Cheap Blue No-Name: Kid grabbed it okay. First few kicks? Fine. But after ten minutes dunking and pushing… disaster. Started peeling! Tiny foam bits floated off the corners like sad confetti. Felt kinda gritty against their skin too. Instructor muttered about “chlorine eating cheap foam.” By lesson end, the corners were ragged mess. Not lasting ten lessons, that’s for sure.
- SplashHappy Fish Board: Felt nicer initially, smoother surface. But the grip? Total joke. It got wet? Slipped right out of those little hands constantly. Kid kept fumbling, getting frustrated. Had to stop every five minutes to fish it out after it escaped. Foam felt okay, didn’t peel like the cheap one, but that floppy texture made it wobble when kicking. Bad for staying straight.
- Aqualock Pro: Kid almost dropped it getting in – it’s heavier! But wow. Those rubber bumps? Kid clung onto it like glue. Seriously, zero slippage, even with instructor pushing it down. Kicked hard? Board barely flexed, stayed super stiff in the water. Texture felt good against their arms, no rubbing. Dense foam just laughed at the chlorine.
The Ugly Truth
Three lessons later, the results screamed loud. Cheap blue board? Trash can. Too rough, shed everywhere. SplashHappy? Sitting dusty in the garage – useless unless you enjoy chasing floating boards mid-lesson. The Aqualock, while hurting my wallet upfront, looks basically new. That textured grip is golden for little hands needing to grip tight and kick without fighting the board. Instructor actually nodded at it.
Moral of the story? For actual swim lessons where the board gets dunked, kicked hard, and needs to stay put in slippery kid hands? Skip the cheap stuff that falls apart. Skip the “pretty” smooth ones that become escape artists. Gotta cough up for the stiff board with serious grip texture built-in. Saves tears (theirs and mine) and cash long-term. Just my two cents after learning the hard way!