WooHoo Inflatable Lounger Review

Bottom Line: The [easyazon_link identifier=”B01DTLR8TW” locale=”US” tag=”backyardmov05-20″]WooHoo Inflatable Lounger[/easyazon_link] is not as easy to fill as they might let on, these are comfortable, portable lounging options that fall short of the fantasy.

You have seen them on Kickstarter, you have seen them on Groupon, on Facebook….etc. I am talking about the brightly colored inflatable air tubes that are all over the place.  The ads show them inflated in seconds with just a few quick waves through the air, and in no time at all the good looking models are in full on relaxation mode.  Between backyard movie nights and hanging out at the beach these looked like a no brainer!  I mean they promised all of the comfort of a hammock, none of the hassle (i.e. needing trees), how could I go wrong?

The inflatable loungers are giant socks sewn together with two plastic lined bladders on either side.  The mouth of each sock is reinforced with an approximately one and half inch rigid plastic strip, this gives you more control as you try to manipulate the mouth of the bladder, and something to wrap excess fabric around when you close it.  You fill them by running or rapidly pulling the open bladders through the air, first one, then the other, so that you have inflated each bladder.  When

both bladders are relatively full, you roll the end until the air pressure within the bladders is satisfactory, then buckle the ends together.

I did a lot of searching for reviews, but outside of Amazon, there wasn’t much to be found out there.  I looked specifically for the Kickstarter models since they got a lot of media coverage, what little I could find was mixed, and they were outrageously priced even before you added the shipping costs.  Reviewing Amazon there are a lot of inflatable loungers, some with five star ratings, but when you dig deeper you discover that many if not all of those reviewers received the item for free in exchange for their review.  The other inflatable loungers were averaging approximately three stars and even though they are significantly cheaper, it still seemed risky to buy them.

[easyazon_link identifier=”B01DTLR8TW” locale=”US” nw=”y” tag=”backyardmov05-20″]WooHoo[/easyazon_link] seemed to have the best blend of positive and negative reviews.  They also sell a plastic replacement liner, which made me think they were trying to create a product that people could use for the long term.  I was able to find a few for sale during an awesome Amazon Warehouse Sale, I was able to get two, for the price of ONE of the Kickstarter ones.

The loungers come in a convenient carrier that is approximately the size of a loaf of bread.   Once they are unwrapped they are approximately 8ft in length.  The [easyazon_link identifier=”B01DTLR8TW” locale=”US” nw=”y” tag=”backyardmov05-20″]WooHoo[/easyazon_link] features a drink holder, a chord that allows you to anchor the lounger to a stake for windy locations, and is sewn in such a way as to provide a headrest.

Tip:  Before trying to fill the lounger completely, get a little bit of air into each bladder and then force it through to unstick the plastic.  This will make filling the bladder much easier.

I was excited to get the loungers and wanted to try them right away.  I had watched enough YouTube videos to realize that it might require a little bit of running to get them inflated.   Fortunately, the tradewinds were blowing and I only had to run about 20 feet to get them inflated.  My wife did have a good laugh watching me run around our small yard.

They are comfortable, but after a few minutes of laying in the sun, I could feel myself sweating.  The same plastic liner that keeps the air trapped inside, also keeps the lounger from breathing.  Once the breeze kicked up and the sun went down, the lounger became VERY comfortable, so it appears there is a sweet spot.  I could see where these would be great for camping in a cool environment.

While they do a good job of holding air, the process of getting in and out of them pushes a lot of air out.  You can get on and off of it maybe twice before you are going to need to fill them again.  I haven’t tested how long they will hold air, but I am convinced it is a least a couple of hours.

I recently took them to the beach, which is where we really intended to use them, even though we thought they would

be nice for the backyard theater too.  The stiff sea breeze made it so much easier to fill!  I was able to fill and refill several times in just a matter of seconds.  When I did run, it was only about six feet.  Our beach wasn’t too crowded, but on a crowded beach I don’t know that filling them would be practical.  Best case scenario you have some of the 8 ft of fabric invading your neighbor’s space, worst case you, end up flinging sand on them.  Again, I was sweating in the sun, but after getting out of the lounger, the fabric was dry in a few minutes.  The quick drying is great, because I came back from the water with a wet suit and plopped down, the wife decided she was ready to go and by the time we were done packing up everything else, the lounger was dry and ready to pack up.

Packing up the lounger is fairly easy.  Unbuckle the end, and then start rolling from the closed end of the lounger, this forces all the air out.  Buckling the lip of the lounger forms a U shape, you can push the bottom of the U into the storage pouch and it slips right in.

First Impression:

Even at the substantial discount I purchased these for, I think they were still a little expensive for what they are.  I was super comfortable at the beach and impressed with how quickly I was able to get it set up.  The quick drying also made them a good fit for the ocean or pool.  My daughter kept climbing in and out of the lounger while I was in it and this made me have to refill it several times.  If it had just been me, without a squirming little person, I would have been good with one inflation the whole time.  I would be concerned about my guests having to refill during a movie, if they get up for food or drinks a few times, it would be very distracting for the other guests.

Pros:

Light

Portable

Comfortable

Easy to pack away

Quick drying

Cons:

Challenging to fill

Lined with plastic, so they get sweaty easily

Deflates with a lot of motion

 

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