Describing balloon types: Popping Profile

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  • LoudPopper
    Senior Member
    • Jan 2016
    • 228

    Describing balloon types: Popping Profile

    I was reading they thread labeled, "Popping" and Black_Bear had a great reply to someone's question about balloon preference for B2P's and it got me thinking this would be a really handy resource for poppers (and even non-poppers) for the community to describe their experience with popping a certain brand, size, or type of balloon. I've attached his quote below. Personally, my favorite balloons to pop are U16's and TT17's and I was gonna provide a profile for them shortly.

    The factors that he used to describe the popping characteristics were: loudness, size, reliability, and violence of the pop. I think by violence he meant how much the balloon shreds or breaks into pieces when it pops, personally I call that "shred factor". Other things I can think of when describing a balloon pop is its hardness/softness, strength/resistance to pop, fragility or proneness to defect.

    Originally posted by Black_Bear
    It depends on what you like about b2p to be honest. For me it's loudness, size, reliability and violence of the pop. So for me, the perfect balloons are Qualatex 16". You just have to find a balloon with a solid lip that you can grip onto the whole time.
    Loudness: Their design gets them really stretched out evenly, and they have one of the loudest pops of any balloon. There is.
    Size: Not too big so that it's a workout, but big enough to where it's a challenge, fun, and if done in public, draws attention.
    Reliability: Printed ones for sure, and for myself decorating with them, they are the most reliable brand period. I'd say 1 out of every 100 in 260, 5", 11", 16", 24", and 36" pop by defect. So almost every single Qualatex 16" would be good for b2p.
    Violence of the pop: The higher quality a balloon is with no defects, the bigger it goes beyond its size, the more the stress levels are pushed to their absolute maximum, the shape of the balloon being pear shaped, the rock hard tightness they get after their neck is fully inflated, and as a result the balloons shred into sometimes hundreds if not thousands of shreds. I love that part about them. They are meant for decorators only, not toys, so they are hard and fairly fragile at 16". So when you push them they are as hard as a rock, get massive, are super loud when they pop, and shatter into bits. Certain colors shred better than other with Qualatex. Jewel Yellow, Clear, Rose, Light Blue, Jewel Magenta, White, Jewel Orange, Black, Jewel Green, and Jewel Red shred the best from experience.
    Other sizes and brands have unique differences, but q16s are my favorite.
  • wildheart
    Senior Member
    • Apr 2015
    • 859

    #2
    Re: Describing balloon types: Popping Profile

    I like the idea of this. Hopefully we can get a profile of all the common balloons brands and sizes. It would be very useful reference.
    How big will it go? Only one way to find out...
    My website: loonerstories.weebly.com

    Comment

    • Meililoon
      aka lyckr
      • Sep 2014
      • 700

      #3
      Re: Describing balloon types: Popping Profile

      I like this. Ideally it could also include other characteristics too, not just those related to blow to pops (though many of them applies to that). I tried starting a balloon review thread on a different forum a couple of years ago, but it never caught on. Maybe we'll have better luck here It would make it easier for people who want to try popping to pick a suitable balloon to practice with (less violent/quieter pops) and even for non poppers to know which brands to choose to minimize the chance of accidental pops.

      Comment

      • LoudPopper
        Senior Member
        • Jan 2016
        • 228

        #4
        Re: Describing balloon types: Popping Profile

        Great idea. Any other suggestions about other characteristics to describe? Ideally it'd be great if this could be a great resource for non-poppers too. Yeah, I wouldn't want them to have any accidental pops as well. I thinks, softness, squishiness, and smell would be helpful for non-poppers. Do you think conditions under which the pop occurs should be a separate profile? Popping a balloon in a stairwell, an open air/field, an open room, etc. would have a big influence. I also think the method that you pop the balloon has a significant influence on loudness and the sound of the pop.

        Comment

        • Meililoon
          aka lyckr
          • Sep 2014
          • 700

          #5
          Re: Describing balloon types: Popping Profile

          I'll have a look at the thread I made years ago and see what I wrote there and then maybe we can come up with something. Ideally I think we should try to keep the number of characeristics down, but separate categories for popping and non-popping qualities is a good idea.

          Comment

          • LoudPopper
            Senior Member
            • Jan 2016
            • 228

            #6
            Re: Describing balloon types: Popping Profile

            Sounds great. I've got some time right now so I probably will do a profile this weekend and post it up here. Let me know what you think about it

            Comment

            • Meililoon
              aka lyckr
              • Sep 2014
              • 700

              #7
              Re: Describing balloon types: Popping Profile

              I'm thinking something like this
              Brand: Self-explanatory
              Size: Self-explanatory
              Shape: Self-explanatory

              Durability: How much punishment the balloon can take before popping (1-5)
              Reliability: How reliable the balloon is (the less premature pops, the better) (1-5)
              Softness (New): How firm the balloon is at its rated size on its first inflation (1-5)
              Softness (Used): And after multiple inflations (1-5)
              Neck: How long and/or thick the neck is (1-5?)
              Overinflation: How much bigger than its rated size the balloon can (relatively safely) get (1-5)
              Loudness: How loud it is when it pops (1-5?)
              Mess: How much of a mess the balloon makes if it pops (primarily b2p I guess)

              Price: What you can expect to pay for this kind of balloons

              Other comments: Anything else you have to say about the balloon
              I think we could use a 1-5 rating for most of the properties
              Last edited by Meililoon; 18-09-2016, 23:48.

              Comment

              • LoudPopper
                Senior Member
                • Jan 2016
                • 228

                #8
                Re: Describing balloon types: Popping Profile

                That's pretty great. I'm thinking the only other things to add would be a comments section and "messiness" *if it pops* (we can work on the term). Just like loudness, I think it'd be helpful for non-poppers and poppers as well because people can then know how much cleanup they'd be in for if one pops accidentally or purposefully.

                Comment

                • someloonerguy
                  Member
                  • Aug 2016
                  • 52

                  #9
                  Re: Describing balloon types: Popping Profile

                  I'll go ahead and do one as an example.

                  Brand: Amscan
                  Size: 24"
                  Shape: Round. Very round.

                  Durability: 4- Able to take quite a bit of punishment at around 20" inflation. Can take some abuse at rated size.
                  Reliability: 4- I've inflated many of them to rated size and haven't had an accidental pop. Many balloons seem to have weak spots and defects, most notably groups of church windows. I have one overinflated to 29" after one pre-stretch inflation for about a week and it's still holding fine.
                  Softness (New): 3- Get's pretty firm at rated size but doesn't seem to be extremely tight to the point where it feels like it can burst at any minute.
                  Softness (Used): 4- Several inflations will soften the balloon up.
                  Neck: 1- The neck on these is very short and doesn't seem to inflate much, at all.
                  Overinflation: After several inflations these balloons can get, from the two that I have pump to popped, at least 40" when they pop. With a bit of work it might be possible to get them to DOUBLE their rated size before they burst. They're truly amazing for the popping enthusiast if you can take the time to work as much size out of them as you can.
                  Loudness: 3-5- It depends on how much you've previously inflated it.
                  Mess: 4- After several inflations a pump to pop will produce a lot of sharding.

                  Other Comments: All in all, seems to be a pretty damn good balloon. Kind of pricey at around $5 for a pack of 4 but for being a balloon you find in a national chain store, and not having to have it shipped, it's note a bad purchase at all. I'm slowly seeing how overinflated one of them can get by adding a small amount of air into it every so often. My hopes are to try to get it to be double its rated size. It would be the first balloon I've ever had manage to do that.

                  Comment

                  • LoudPopper
                    Senior Member
                    • Jan 2016
                    • 228

                    #10
                    Re: Describing balloon types: Popping Profile

                    BRAND: Tuf-Tex
                    SIZE: 17"
                    SHAPE: Round/Pear

                    DURABILITY: 5- At rated size, no problems at all holding static weight. Able to hold substantial amount weight when force is dynamically applied to it (e.g., a person weighing 175-180 lb. (approx. 80-82 kg.) should be able to sit and bounce with moderate intensity without fear of popping).
                    RELIABILITY: 4- These balloons are double-dipped during manufacturing leading to a thicker latex with fewer imperfections. Despite double-dipping however, each balloon does not consistently inflate with the same pear shape like Qualatex due to the special latex blend that they are made out of. Perhaps 2-3 defects and 1-2 premature or accidental pops per 72 ct. bag. Typically will find a hole in the latex that prevents any inflation from the start, or it will start to leak after balloon is half-way filled.
                    SOFTNESS (New): 2- Will start off soft until balloon is about three-quarters filled. After that point the balloon will very quickly tighten. At full inflation or overinflation the balloon is remarkably firm with some give, but it is definitely not “rock” hard.
                    SOFTNESS (Used): 3 or 4- Much softer when balloon is re-inflated to standard size after stretching and re-inflation just one time. The balloon will tighten up very quickly again, but with less firmness If the balloon is inflated past its standard size.
                    NECK: 3- Produces a respectable 4”-5” neck but nozzle becomes very difficult to grip at this point.
                    OVERINFLATION: 4- Can inflate to around about 20” before popping on initial inflation. After just 2-3 inflations, the ballon can safely get up to 22"-23”. It can probably reach 24”-25” after a third inflation, but the latex gets very thin at this point and the balloon will burst without much more air.
                    LOUDNESS: 5- A very loud balloon, regardless of popping method. Perhaps loudest by BTP or stomping. Interestingly, in addition to being one of the thicker balloons, the material used to make Tuf-Tex balloons creates a balloon capable of inflating well past rated size while remaining very tight (but not as hard) at maximal inflation before bursting. This creates lots of shards that recoil back to shape much faster than normal because the latex is under a considerably higher levels of stress relative to the degree of strain that the balloon is under at the point before breaking compared to most other brands. In other words, compared to other brands, there are many more shards making many more mini-"sonic booms” at a higher velocity when they snap-back; which translates into a bigger “bang”.
                    MESS: 3 to 4- Usual breaks into 5-6 larger pieces when popping with pin or compressive force. Makes for a pretty messy clean-up when it pops with BTP. Usually shreds violently into lots of long “ribbon-like” shards that tend to go flying out in all directions and will stick to walls when close to them.

                    OTHER COMMENTS: In terms of cost, these balloons are about mid-range ($25-28) or a pack of 72. Not bad given they're quality in my opinion. Given how durable they are, these balloons are lots of fun and able to take a good amount of abuse when riding and sitting at rated size. They are a reasonably "soft yet firm” balloon making for a nicer squishier ride compared to other "harder” balloons. Tuf-tex balloons are also less of a “traditional” balloon, in that it is a hybrid latex material made with both natural latex and a plastic-like polymer that is mixed into it at a higher ratio than most brands. This blend give these balloons their unique properties as mentioned in the “Loudness” section, and gives them their special durability despite stretching to a greatly overinflated size. I’d say that these balloons are great BTP enthusiasts who enjoy a challenge and those enjoying a louder bang. They get huge under immense pressure, and they tend to tighten for a very long time while not changing much in size at max inflation leading to a lot of suspense right before the bang.
                    Last edited by LoudPopper; 18-09-2016, 13:59. Reason: Added price

                    Comment

                    • Meililoon
                      aka lyckr
                      • Sep 2014
                      • 700

                      #11
                      Re: Describing balloon types: Popping Profile

                      Should we make a new thread specially for balloon reviews and try to catalog the reviews?

                      Comment

                      • someloonerguy
                        Member
                        • Aug 2016
                        • 52

                        #12
                        Re: Describing balloon types: Popping Profile

                        Seems like a good idea.

                        Comment

                        • LoudPopper
                          Senior Member
                          • Jan 2016
                          • 228

                          #13
                          Re: Describing balloon types: Popping Profile

                          Agreed here.

                          Comment

                          • LoudPopper
                            Senior Member
                            • Jan 2016
                            • 228

                            #14
                            Re: Describing balloon types: Popping Profile

                            Should the thread be in the general balloon section or stay in the poppers section?

                            Comment

                            • Meililoon
                              aka lyckr
                              • Sep 2014
                              • 700

                              #15
                              Re: Describing balloon types: Popping Profile

                              General balloon section I think. It applies to non poppers as well. I'll get on it later tonight

                              Comment

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