Okay so this whole inner tube hunt started because my dumb butt forgot last year’s floats in the shed all winter. Big mistake. They totally disintegrated when I dragged them out. Like, flaky bits everywhere. So yeah, needed new ones ASAP. Pool was calling, and honestly, the kids were driving me nuts asking when they could float.
The Wild Goose Chase Begins
First thing, hit up the big guys. Walmart? Checked both online and the actual store. Online kinda sucked – super basic designs, but cheap? In store was even worse. Shelves were half empty! Grabbed two kinda flimsy looking rings for like $5 each, just so the kids would shut up. But seriously, felt like they’d pop if you looked at ’em wrong.
Target was next. Nicer stuff for sure. Saw a couple name brands like SwimWays and Intex. Prices jumped up though – we’re talking $15 to $30 for a single dang tube! Looked better quality, but my wallet started crying a little.
Fishing Online
Fine, time to go online. Amazon is usually my jam, right? Holy overload. Searched “pool inner tubes.” A zillion results popped up. Felt overwhelming. Scrolled and scrolled:
- Super Cheap No-Name Brands: Tons around $10-$12. Pics looked okay, but those reviews? Oof. Lots of “Popped first use!” and “Total trash.” Skipped those fast.
- The Usual Suspects (Intex, SwimWays): More reliable names. Prices higher than the bargain bins, like $15-$25 range. Read tons of reviews. Mostly good, especially about durability. Saw a few mentions of leaks, but seemed less frequent. Liked their options.
- Fancy Stuff: Random stuff popped up too. Like, vinyl covered tubes with mesh bottoms? Or heavy-duty ones calling themselves “raft inner tubes”? Weird. Some priced crazy high. Didn’t need a yacht, just a floaty!
Got tempted by a couple combo deals – like 3 tubes for $40. Almost clicked buy. Then I remembered something.
Oh Yeah, Sporting Goods Stores…
Honestly forgot about Dick’s Sporting Goods and Academy Sports. Popped into Dick’s on the way home from groceries. Smaller selection than online, but could actually TOUCH stuff. Saw familiar brands again: SwimWays classic rings, Intex, some Coleman ones too. Prices were pretty much the same as Target and Amazon MSRP. No amazing deals, but at least I could see they were actually sturdy vinyl, not thin plastic. Almost grabbed a nice SwimWays one (felt solid!), but figured I’d check prices one last time.
Decision Time (& What I Actually Got)
Alright, so here’s the breakdown after sweating over it:
- Super Cheap: No way. Learned my lesson last year. Don’t wanna be chasing leaks or replacing mid-summer.
- Department Store Basics: Passable as a last-resort bribe for kids, but flimsy.
- Intex / SwimWays: Consistently got thumbs-up in reviews. More expensive, but not insane. Seemed like the sweet spot for decent stuff that lasts.
- Random Fancy: Probably overkill for most.
Went back to Amazon. Found a specific Intex River Run tube with awesome reviews about being tough. Also saw a SwimWays Cool Splash Play Center float that looked fun (it’s like a tiny platform with a float ring around it). Wasn’t the absolute cheapest, but felt better than rolling the dice on unknowns. Got two Intex rings and that SwimWays center thing during a slight dip in price online. Done! Hopefully they get here before next weekend…
Honestly? Was tired of looking. Brands matter more than I thought for pool stuff. Learned that again the hard way.