When I was a kid I loved to know the rated capacity of inflatables. They don't list the capacity on the package as often as they used to, but they do tend to show it with a weight graphic right on the inflatable.
I didn't know it as a kid, but I now realize that the capacity isn't how much weight the thing holds without bursting or sinking; it's usually just 175 pounds or 80 kg times the number of people it's designed to hold, and this is usually way less than it takes to stress or sink the thing. Sometimes the capacity comes closer to 200 pounds times the number of people, and rarely it's more than that.
Go Floats rates a lot of their single-person animal and ring inflatables at 500+ pounds. Most big inflatables will hold that much in the pool without bursting, and Go Floats has the confidence to rate their inflatables for that much, but I have experience with just one of them, and my partner popped it at only 440 pounds. But we've also put crazy amounts of weight on un-rated swim rings and swans and whatnot without popping them.
Short of the weight it takes to risk popping an inflatable in the pool, which is quite a lot, they become unstable at somewhat closer to their rated capacity. But I'd still rate most inflatables made for adults as stable at more like 250 pounds times the number of people it was made to hold.
For me, though, it doesn't get really interesting until the rated capacity is doubled or tripled. With that much weight on an inflatable, it is unstable and can't be said to be floating successfully, but they usually don't burst, either.
I didn't know it as a kid, but I now realize that the capacity isn't how much weight the thing holds without bursting or sinking; it's usually just 175 pounds or 80 kg times the number of people it's designed to hold, and this is usually way less than it takes to stress or sink the thing. Sometimes the capacity comes closer to 200 pounds times the number of people, and rarely it's more than that.
Go Floats rates a lot of their single-person animal and ring inflatables at 500+ pounds. Most big inflatables will hold that much in the pool without bursting, and Go Floats has the confidence to rate their inflatables for that much, but I have experience with just one of them, and my partner popped it at only 440 pounds. But we've also put crazy amounts of weight on un-rated swim rings and swans and whatnot without popping them.
Short of the weight it takes to risk popping an inflatable in the pool, which is quite a lot, they become unstable at somewhat closer to their rated capacity. But I'd still rate most inflatables made for adults as stable at more like 250 pounds times the number of people it was made to hold.
For me, though, it doesn't get really interesting until the rated capacity is doubled or tripled. With that much weight on an inflatable, it is unstable and can't be said to be floating successfully, but they usually don't burst, either.