Overinflated inflatables in public

[RLMI]

Re: Overinflated inflatables in public

Well, every week for our swimming class at school, we had to bring our own swim rings.

It was easier to bring them flat, and blow them up at the start of the lesson. For some reason, we always blew the swim rings up till they were like solid hard and wouldn't flex when we pressed down on them in the water. The teacher did say to keep blowing air into the rings till you can't get any more air in.

I recall the rings being wrinkle free and thick and plump. I remember occasionally there would be a pop during inflation, and sometimes a ring would spring a leak halfway through the lesson. With no replacement available, we'd just have to keep adding more air every few minutes with our mouths.

I never realised that we were overinflating the swim rings as we thought that's how they should be.

Sometimes if we had beach balls to play with, we'd blow them up till the wrinkles disappeared, then keep blowing about a dozen breaths in, to get rid of the hexagonal shape, firm up the ball to make it bouncier, and to enlarge its size.

[RLMI]

Re: Overinflated inflatables in public

We used to always blow up our swim rings to this tightness

[Ladyloonerlover]

Re: Overinflated inflatables in public

Well, every week for our swimming class at school, we had to bring our own swim rings.

It was easier to bring them flat, and blow them up at the start of the lesson. For some reason, we always blew the swim rings up till they were like solid hard and wouldn't flex when we pressed down on them in the water. The teacher did say to keep blowing air into the rings till you can't get any more air in.

I recall the rings being wrinkle free and thick and plump. I remember occasionally there would be a pop during inflation, and sometimes a ring would spring a leak halfway through the lesson. With no replacement available, we'd just have to keep adding more air every few minutes with our mouths.

I never realised that we were overinflating the swim rings as we thought that's how they should be.

Sometimes if we had beach balls to play with, we'd blow them up till the wrinkles disappeared, then keep blowing about a dozen breaths in, to get rid of the hexagonal shape, firm up the ball to make it bouncier, and to enlarge its size.

Sounds like a fun class. Wish I had something like that back in my days.

[TheMole]

Re: Overinflated inflatables in public

I'm on vacation now and there are some by almost every hotel pool. Looks like they're being inflated, used in the hot sun, stretched in the hot sun, then inflated again when someone notices how soft they're getting, the put in the sun again . Swim rings and a few intex whales and beachballs seen so far.

Going to buy a few for myself to use in our hotel pool and to see how fat they get tomorrow , it's a bit of a party town I'm in so with any luck they will be pulled in and used by some of the other young adult residents at our hotel too. Everyone here is super cool and seems to just share all the pool stuff respectfully so far so we'll see what gets popped by the end of the week lol

[glovepopper]

Re: Overinflated inflatables in public

This air mattress looks overinflated...

[Vicci]

Re: Overinflated inflatables in public

This air mattress looks overinflated...

I'm willing to bet that popped at one of the circles by the end of the day - those type always do when you blow them up properly then have them in the sun.

[heaviest]

Re: Overinflated inflatables in public

I'm willing to bet that popped at one of the circles by the end of the day - those type always do when you blow them up properly then have them in the sun.

That's a one-chamber float, which means her weight is displacing air into the pillow. It doesn't get interesting until there are hundreds of pounds more than that on it, but that is one of my favorite floats, and it's exciting to see even just her on it.

That float also comes in a two-chamber variety, pillow separate, but you can tell that's a one-chamber float from the baffle between the mattress and pillow, rather than just a seam separating two chambers. Ironically, the two-chamber version splits at the sides between chambers, as the vinyl bends over and over in the sun, so it's not like the two chamber version is any more robust. But the failure point of the one-chamber version is the top seam. If you put enough weight on it one of the baffles in the pillow may blow, or it will pop a hole in the vinyl on top, around the end of one of the baffles.

Very exciting when a baffle breaks completely and the pillow bulges as two of the four segments merge, but that hardly ever happens. Normally these mats fail around one of those many circular pockets, or with a lot of weight, on the top seam.

Time under pressure does an inflatable in at least as much as overloading it. Four of her friends could join her on that thing for a half hour and it would probably hold, even overinflated like that, but use it by herself all day overinflated like that and it will probably develop a leak around one of those pockets. I have lots of experience overloading those things for a half hour or an hour at a time, and I'll still make sure it isn't overinflated before I put it away overnight.

She doesn't have her feet on it because it's warm and sweaty. Shoulda brought a beach-sized towel. That would keep it cooler, too. A woman bigger than the mattress also shields it from the sun, lol.

[inbox_pm]

Re: Overinflated inflatables in public

That's a one-chamber float, which means her weight is displacing air into the pillow.

Yes, I have two these mats, made by Bestway in 2009 with a pink bottom side. One-chamber version without a huge warnings, so they are rare now. One of them has a small hole on a middle seam inside one of the round pockets - it happens after a few seasons of sea swimming, and easy repairable.

[heaviest]

Re: Overinflated inflatables in public

I saw a woman with an overinflated 47 inch ring. Blue bottom, clear top. No puckering at all on the outer seam, and the thing was way larger than 47 inch. Looked heat-stretched, because she wasn't very large but sunk into the thing quite a bit, even overinflated, so it was really soft. I'd like to have known the story of that inflatable.

[Black_Hawk]

Re: Overinflated inflatables in public

When I was younger we would go on summer vacations in Turkey, Greece, Spain... and at the hotel pools and at the beach there would always be inflatables... mostly balls, rings and mattresses. I remember that they were usually super tight even before they got into the sun. Some hotels had free to use stuff which was put aside to the pool every morning so you'd sometimes see the "pool boy" pump/blow them tight again. I was always scared one would pop although I knew it wouldn't be as loud as a balloon.
Once my parents decided buy a swim ring for me and I got to pick which one. After I picked one among the inflated ones the guy selling them went to the storage to get a new uninflected one. Then he started filling it with the air compressor. I remember plugging my ears when it got tight and he still continued for quite a while. When he noticed he grinned like making it extra tight because I was scared. I still remember that like it was yesterday although it was 20 years ago.

[RLMI]

Re: Overinflated inflatables in public

We got these beach balls at a local pool. They were being given out and the staff were mouth inflating them.

They were all very very tight and hard. When deflating them, the vinyl was so stretched and thin, almost like a plastic bag.

It was amazing to watch the balls being blown up. The girls kept blowing more air into them even after they were round and full. You could see the balls increase in size about 40%, just expanding, before they stopped.

[georgebayer_1]

Re: Overinflated inflatables in public

We got these beach balls at a local pool. They were being given out and the staff were mouth inflating them.

They were all very very tight and hard. When deflating them, the vinyl was so stretched and thin, almost like a plastic bag.

It was amazing to watch the balls being blown up. The girls kept blowing more air into them even after they were round and full. You could see the balls increase in size about 40%, just expanding, before they stopped.

The balls look fantastic! If inflated with a compressor, no problem to overinflate them. But mouth overinflation by girls - respect!

[Ladyloonerlover]

Re: Overinflated inflatables in public

We got these beach balls at a local pool. They were being given out and the staff were mouth inflating them.

They were all very very tight and hard. When deflating them, the vinyl was so stretched and thin, almost like a plastic bag.

It was amazing to watch the balls being blown up. The girls kept blowing more air into them even after they were round and full. You could see the balls increase in size about 40%, just expanding, before they stopped.

They look great. Must have been quite the show too by the girls

[georgebayer_1]

Re: Overinflated inflatables in public

We used to always blow up our swim rings to this tightness

WOW, the rings are beautiful. They must be really rock hard !!! Fantastic!

[Jakkkkkkkals]

Re: Overinflated inflatables in public

Question: does anyone recall Ty Pennington from Extreme Makeover: Home Edition blowing up one of those inflatable couches on the show? I recall it but downloaded all the episodes and been scrolling through but not seeing it.