Inflatables

Friday, April 22, 2011

Castle Inflatable Bounce House w/ Slide (12' x 9')

Product Description


9917 Features: -Bounce house with slide and hoop. -Includes basketball hoop, ground stakes pack, carrying bag, repair kit and instructions. -14 - 16 oz. heavy-duty, laminated and coated vinyl and nylon. -Heavy-duty puncture proof materials with double to quadruple stitches. -Materials comply with ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) toy safety standards. -Easy set up and take down. -Inflates in less than a minute. -For indoor and outdoor use. -Recommended for children between 3 and 10 (83 lbs with max height 5 ft). -Maximum weight capacity: 250 lbs / 3 children. -ISTA 3A certified. -Bounce house: 90-day limited warranty. -Electric blower: 1 year limited warranty.
This is our second jumper/bouncer. The first one was by Six Flags and lasted over 20 uses over the course of 4 years. In fact we would still be using it if it hadn't sprung too many holes from wear and tear. So we figured it was time to look at a new one.




I agree with previous reviews. The quality for the price exceeded my expectations. We used it for the first time for my son's 6th birthday party and all his cousins and friends had a blast. It was a little smaller than I expected, but still a good size for 3 or so kids at a time. But the size is a good and a bad thing. The size allows to set this up in the garage itself in case the weather doesn't cooperate.



The slide feature was particularly durable. I was concerned that the slide would collapse when my son tried to climb over the side of it (it didn't). I also like that the opening at the top of the slide is large enough for an adult to climb inside if needed but not so large that a child can fall out easily. Having the top of the slide higher than the floor of the jumper helps in this regard.



The blower is not that quiet, but it is quieter than the blower from the six flags jumper. Plus it is smaller than my old one and has a convenient grab handle at the top for easy carrying. Also although the blower is rather compact, it seems plenty strong enough to keep good air pressure inside the bouncer. It even has an on/off switch which the six flags model didn't have.



My only real complaint is the one opening on the side. The opening is held shut by two strips of velcro about 3 inches long, not enough to prevent a child from falling out if falling in that direction. But again, by comparison to the previous six flags this is better since there is only one such opening (the six flags had two) and the opening starts about halfway from the top to the floor of the jumper (the six flags was just about the full height of the jumper). Still, some additional strips of velcro would have helped here immensely. In any case, it usually meant that when I was keeping an eye on the kids, which all parents absolutely should be doing anyway, I usually stood at the side opening.



My one other real stickler of a complaint is that the blower itself does not have it's own carry bag or box. But that of course is real nitpicky. All in all, I feel this is an excellent purchase.