We Review The Best Pool Floats of All Time!

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Pool floats are one of the essential pool accessories, and kids and adults alike go crazy for them!  Just the sight of a bright and colourful pool float is enough to make any gathering turn into a party.

Strange as it may sound, a pool float can be your best friend, whether you like to relax in the pool by yourself, or you prefer playing around with family and friends at the beach.

Some floats come in the shape of animals, lizards, unicorns, or even pizzas.  You won’t believe how cute some of these floats are!  This is why today we’re talking about some of the cutest pool floaties for adults (and kids).

Depending on their shape, you can use them as a toy, or simply relax with them.

For instance, if you don’t feel like swimming, you can simply sit on the float and watch people around you swim. Some floats are flat, like inflatable mattresses, allowing you to sunbathe.

If it is the case that you don’t know how to swim, make sure you’re wearing a life jacket, especially if you’re in deeper waters. We don’t generally recommend you horse around with pool floats, if you aren’t a strong swimmer to begin with.

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Quick History of Pool Floats

Pool floats (aka “floaties”) have been around for ages now, although maybe you haven’t realized it.

Based on parents’ concerns for their childrens’ safety in the water, swim floats, or water wings, were invented out of necessity by Dean’s Rag Book Company out of Britain back in the early part of the 1900’s.

From there, the “inner tube”, taken from old vehicle tires, was then re-inflated and thrown into the pond, and heaps of youngsters piled on top of it.  A funny way to use part of a tire, but perhaps the most important invention of all time, in terms of fun.

The classic beach ball came about in 1938, invented by Jonathan DeLonge in California, and was originally the size of an adult hand, but it only got bigger, and bigger, and BIGGER through the years.

Peter Ganine invented and patented the popular “rubber ducky” in the 1940’s, and from there, floaties just got weirder.

Industrial Thermal Polymers president Steve Hartman came up with the classic pool noodle in the 1980’s out of construction sealant, and from there, every crazy manner of floaty that you can imagine has either been made, or is being made.

And THEN, as of the past 10 years, celebrity culture finally collided with pool floaties, and all bets are now off!

It comes in different shapes and forms. You can find floatss in the shapes of swans, melons, pineapple, rings, aliens, ducks, chocolate, rainbows, islands, flags and much more.

And you, with a keen eye for what you like and what you need, can choose any of these amazing cute pool floats, according to your desire, size and comfort level.

Just make sure they are safe, portable, and especially durable!

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Pool Floats Can Help You Get Comfortable With Swimming

Swimming can be a very scary and intimidating activity for some people, including both kids and adults.  The reason is, because unlike walking, where if you fall, you might scrape your knee a little bit, swimming, if done incorrectly, can lead to drowning. 

Even in shallow waters, you can drown and this is what makes swimming such a potential hazard for anyone who doesn’t know how.

In this way, pool floats are like your buddy and your helper.  If someone is drowning in water, a lifeguard will often throw them a float for them to grab hold of. 

People who can’t swim often wear a tube around their waist, so they don’t sink.  Kids wear water wings so they can play in the water and parents won’t worry as much.

At Beach Baby, we obviously want to make swimming as safe as possible, and pool floats can help.  That is, if you use them properly and according to water safety rules. 

For instance, while it’s great to have a giant inflatable pizza in the pool with you, you don’t want to completely depend on it to save your life. 

Even your friend, the inflatable unicorn, can help you if you are in the deep end, but, as we mentioned earlier, you should use a life jacket or maybe water wings to keep you safe, and the pool float can be there for you just in case. 

If you are a parent, we must emphasize again that just because a pool float is big and cute, doesn’t mean it counts as water safety in the same way a life jacket does. 

Remember that floats are toys, not life saving measures. 

Still, if used properly, we adults who know how to swim already can fully take advantage of all the fun aspects of the larger pool floats, such as the fact that you can actually have multiple adults sitting around, enjoying a few cold beverages or even food. 

This can be done if you have purchased a floating island, or a large multi-person inflatable of some sort. 

The cuter pool floats, usually in the shape of animals, can still be very practical, while still offering fun and comfort value, and we will talk more about this presently.

Next, we will review some of the cutest pool floats we’ve ever seen, that are perfectly safe to use in your pool or at the beach, provided you follow basic water safety rules.

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Inflatable Gigantic Donut Pool Float

Feature Pick

Swimline Personal Pizza Island Swimming Pool Float

This is a super strong, durable pool float that is in the cute and rather appetizing shape of a donut. The best feature of this pool float, we believe, is that it is made from thick premium vinyl.

Basically, for those not too familiar with the material, vinyl is a substance that is primarily resilient while at the same time, quite flexible. For this reason, this particular pool float has a longer life.

You can enjoy this super cute float in different colors and with great designs. We enjoy the one that has sprinkles, and the bite mark! 

It is perfect for an adult, or a couple of kids, because it has a high weight capacity.

Flamingo Pool Float

Just look at this cute flamingo-shaped pool float! It’s really comfy and delightful with its extra-soft texture. Actually, it’s worth saying that this pool float is one of the most popular of all time, and you’ll see it here and there in a variety of themes. 

This floaty is also made from vinyl so you can make sure about its sturdiness. Just remember that vinyl = sturdy. 

The model we have is quite huge as it appears, measuring almost 5′ long, so that an adult or two can sit on it easily.

Some other models come in a variety of sizes, from quite small to surprisingly large.  There are even kiddy-sized flamingo floats!

You can opt for this pool float due to its big cute design and high comfortability. It’s also a great float for actually playing with. 

One other thing to keep in mind, though, is that in terms of safety, this might not be the best float to throw to a drowning person in a lake, as it has no handles or anything to readily grab hold of, and it is thick, so it is harder to get up on top of if you’re already in the water. 

This especially goes for kids.  It is easiest to mount from the shore, shallows, or poolside.

Intex King Kool Inflatable Lounge

Another attractive pool float is this Intex King Kool Lounge. Intex, for those who don’t know, Intex is one of the biggest brands when it comes to air mats, and pool accessories. 

So, we feel like this classic floating air mattress that seems built for a king or queen, belongs here on this list. 

Perfect for tanning, this float is basically the floating version of a lounger you would see alongside your family pool, on the land.  Intex has gone to great lengths to make this lounger look great, and even classy, you might say!

It has a transparent design which is paired-up with multi-colored thick lines, and we think that makes this float look more eye-catching and, yes, quite cute!

For example, when this transparent float is placed over a pool, it looks more appealing upon the natural color of water.  It’s really a beautiful float.

The other specialty of this pool float is that a drink holder is part of its design, located on its right side. Furthermore, it is relatively cheaper in price when compared to other pool floats.

Swimline Suntan Tub (Tan Dazzler)

This specific pool float is a perfect choice for people who are seeking a nice tan.  It’s really a toss up with the Intex lounger we just talked about, as they both are great tanning floats. 

In fact, with it’s slightly bucketed seating, the Dazzler here can put you into an even more relaxed state. 

This is where we mention something that should be quite obvious and known to experienced tanners – do NOT fall asleep. 

The problem with these types of floats is that they are actually a little too comfortable, which can result in two disaster scenarios. 

1. Due to the extreme comfort provided, you can fall asleep, and when you wake up, you’re baked to a crisp and then comes the heat stroke. 

For anyone who ever has had sun stroke, you are in for a really bad time.  So make sure you have a friend around to wake you up if they catch you dozing, or your phone has some kind of alarm system built-in. 

2.  The last thing you want to do is doze off on this float and, all of the sudden, you are 1 km out into the ocean, being carried by a strong riptide.  That is when the coast guard will have to get involved. 

Ok, that was a big segue, but we just feel that the Tan Dazzler is just so perfectly comfortable that it COULD actually happen.  We’ve seen people doze off using this float, and that was enough to get our imaginations going.

What else can be said about the Tan Dazzler?  It is large in size, so basically it offers you with enough space to move around it, or cuddle with your sweety (if you don’t mind all the sweat of the glaring sun).

It has inflatable walls around the interior, so you can enjoy a little water inside it to feel wet and cool, which is super good for hot summer days.

In addition, larger people who are taller and have are heavier can lie on it effortlessly due to its large size.  You’re not going to pop this baby too easily!

Swimline Watermelon Slice Pool Float

This is a watermelon slice pool float that is so cute you’ll be dying to hop on board! Besides it’s essential giant fruit cuteness, this is a ravishing float due to its dark er color scheme. Hard to believe that giant fruit can be so ravishing, but there, we said it again! 

This fruit shaped pool float offers a potential cooling sensation in summers, as it can catch a breeze going across the water like its no one’s business.

That said, this is effectively a round, thick, air mattress, meaning that if the sun is out, you’re getting 100% of it coming at your skin. 

This may be what you want, for tanning purposes, as it is relatively flat, although they have added the “slices” as part of the design, so it’s a bit bumpy. 

We feel this is more of a pool float than, say, something to go in the ocean with.  When waves come into play, this fairly modest piece of fruit can turn into a wild ride in a hurry. 

In fact, we’ve seen kids play a game where the goal is to “surf” on this floaty, and not be knocked off by waves.  It’s wide enough that a large wave isn’t necessarily going to topple it, but it can of course be toppled and then you’re going face first into the water. 

On the other hand, if you are a sunbather, you probably want to stay away from potentially damaging this float out in the rougher waters. 

The calm waters and relative unmoving waters of a pool or peaceful lake is where you want this float to be for relaxing purposes.  That said, if kids see it, they come running!

It’s just a giant slice of watermelon that any adult or child can enjoy for a rest or playtime!

Personal Pizza Pool Float

You’ve probably been waiting for it, and here it is. A cute, intricately designed pizza-shaped pool float that will have you craving pizza and wanting to avoid it so that you can look good on this float. Yes, that’s quite a paradox.

This is a perfect pool accessory for pizza lovers, but also avid tanning fanatics. Also, it has an all-around stuffed crust pillow that makes it more comfortable.

It also has two drink holders, so it’s good for even two people who can have a crazy time together. Trust us, you haven’t lived until you’ve made love under the moonlight on this groovy pizza shaped water floaty!

Conclusion

Just to recap before we finish, we should again go over the points that make up the best pool floats that you need to look out for before you buy. In this way, you can make a better choice before investing your money.

– It needs to be portable, meaning that you can either carry it easy while inflated, or it’s easy to move around before you inflate it.  Some of these have handles, and some shrink down into a shape that is easier to carry than others.

– It needs to be easy to inflate.  Nothing should be difficult about putting air in it and getting it nice and firm.  Your worst enemy will be floats that don’t stay inflated due to cheap seams or cheaply made valves.

– It should be durable.  Meaning, vinyl, PVC, and nylon are the substances that are recommended for durability and a sturdier nature.

– High weight capacity.  You should be able to be free to play on it and not have it be in danger of breaking in any way.  Larger and taller people should be able to use them without any problems at all.

– If there’s no warranty, look out for a free patch kit that comes with it.  Short of a warranty, you want to be able to fix anything any pinholes that appear out of nowhere. 

Thanks for reading our reviews of our favourite inflatable water floats!  If you have any comments, please leave them below!