Okay, so last summer, I got kinda obsessed with figuring out which pool toys are actually worth the money. You know how it is – you buy a cheap floatie, it lasts maybe a week? I was sick of throwing money away. Decided to actually test it myself with inflatable toys versus those foam ones.
The Big Toy Haul
First off, I headed to the local big-box store. Grabbed two inflatable rings – a big colorful swan thing and a basic lounge chair. You know the ones with the mesh bottom? Then, I found some closed-cell foam floats: a big rectangle you lie on and a horseshoe-shaped ring people use to prop kids up. Spent about the same on each pair.
Setting Up Camp
Got them home. The inflatables? Had to blow them up. Took forever with that little hand pump. My lungs were burning after the swan! The foam floats? Easy. Just hauled them straight from the car to the pool deck. Already rigid.
The Pool Patrol Starts
For the whole summer, I made a point of putting everything in the water a few times a week. Here’s what went down:
- Inflatable Swan : Looked awesome at first. Sun was brutal, though. After like two weeks, the colors started fading fast. Then after a month? Noticed it feeling softer in the water. Gave it a top-up with the pump. A few days later – soft again. Kept having to pump it up more and more. Around week 6, disaster. Saw a tiny tear near a seam after someone squeezed past it. Tried patching it… held for a day or two, then just gave up leaking air. Totally done by mid-July. Barely two months!
- Inflatable Lounge Chair: Held air way better than the swan at first. But then came the chlorine. After a few weeks, the clear vinyl bit holding the mesh bottom started feeling rough. Then it got these ugly white crusty bits. No punctures yet, but by August it just looked awful and felt sticky. Still held air if you didn’t touch the rough bits, but it wasn’t exactly inviting anymore.
- Foam Rectangle
- Foam Horseshoe Ring
: Nothing complicated here. Just chucked it in. After a couple of weeks floating around, I saw something weird – like a little crumbly spot forming at the corner where it rubbed against the pool wall. Then a tiny piece actually broke off! Small hole. Did that matter for floating? Nope. It just kept floating. Kid dragged it out on the concrete sometimes too. Scratched up? Oh yeah. Color faded? For sure. But functional? Absolutely, all summer long.
: Workhorse of the pool this summer. Kid used it constantly, climbed in and out, splashed like crazy. Dragged it on the deck. It scuffed up, maybe got a couple more dents, but seriously? Never changed shape. Never absorbed water. Didn’t care about the sun or chlorine at all. Just sat there floating every single time we pulled it out. Tough as nails.
The Big Reveal
By the time Labor Day rolled around, it was super obvious. My pool deck looked like a toy graveyard for inflatables. The swan was a sad deflated pile. The lounge chair looked like it had some kind of skin disease. Meanwhile, those foam floats? Ugly? Yeah, kinda beat up. But both were sitting right there on the deck, ready to jump in the water and work perfectly right then and there. No pumping, no leaks, no problem.
What I Learned (Besides Sore Lungs)
Inflatables? Fun for a hot minute, look great for pics. But they are HIGH MAINTENANCE. Constantly checking air, patching holes, avoiding pointy stuff. And sun + chlorine eats them alive, turning them crunchy and faded. Foam floats? They ain’t pretty forever, I’ll grant you that. But they are LAZY FLOATERS. You literally throw them in the water and forget about them. Chlorine? Sun? Minor cosmetic damage only. That foam rectangle lost a tiny corner chunk months ago and hasn’t missed a beat since. For actually lasting a whole summer (or probably longer)? Foam wins hands down. Don’t believe the shiny plastic pictures!