AZ Bounce Pro Blog

Inflatable Water Slide – Rent or Buy?

You know that summer has arrived when it hits triple digit temperatures.  The sun is blaring, the kids are out of school, and people are taking their summer vacations at work.  You also know that summer has arrived when you start seeing inflatable water slides being sold at discount retailers.

 

You’ve probably seen them before.  These inflatable water slides are usually inflated in the aisle of the store, often times hanging over the heads of the shoppers in the store.  These retailers do a great job of getting the kids hooked on buying one of these things. 

 

The store-bought inflatable slides seem like a great deal.  They retail for about $400, and look to be the same as the big ones you’ve seen your friends rent for their kids.  Why not just buy your own for your kids and have your friends borrow it from you?  That seems like a logical thing to do, right?

 

There are several things you must be educated about before making a rental or purchase decision about your own inflatable slide.

 

1.  Quality:  The slides that are sold in retail stores ARE NOT the same build quality as the ones you rent from most commercial rental companies.  They are built out of a thinner material.  This must be considered when looking at the second item of things to think about when deciding to purchase or rent…

 

2.  Safety:  Safety is very important when your kids are involved.  The smaller, store-bought slides are not as safe as the larger, commercial-grade slides.  The store-bought slides cannot hold the capacity of kids that the larger commercial inflatable slides are capable of.  You certainly do not want to have a residential slide at a large party where many kids will be attending.  This could lead to tears in the unit when overloaded, which could cause injury when the unit deflates.

 

3.  Liability:  Do not purchase an inflatable slide for your backyard if you do not want to be liable for injuries to people while playing on your residential-grade inflatable slide.  Think of it as a trampoline or play structure in your backyard.  The same rules apply.

 

4.  Storage:  Storing inflatables is not something you generally want to do in your own garage.  When you see the inflatables packaged nicely in the retail store you will notice that they come in a nice, neat box or bag that seems pretty compact.  Once you get it home, get the slide wet, and try to roll it up again, you will never get it neat or compact like it was straight out of the box.  It will probably take up twice as much room in your garage as it did in the store.

 

5.  Durability:  The residential inflatables are intended for use only a few times a year by a few kids at a time.  Any more usage than that and you will almost certainly be asking for durability issues.  Once your slide dries out, tears, or stops holding air, you will be out of luck and money.

 

Bottom line is that you should always choose to leave inflatable rentals to the professionals.  They deal with these units day in and day out.  They will provide you with the proper equipment and safety briefings that will keep your children safe and provide you with a fun and festive party experience.