The Ten Best Pool Toys for Grown-Ups
Floating poker tables, motorised bumper boats and inflatable watermelons. Dive in.
Steamy, sunny days are still upon us, making afternoons around the pool an enduringly high priority — and a surefire reason to leave the office inappropriately early. While swimming a few laps satisfies the large majority of water babies, there are those of us yearning for the playful days of yesteryear; when fighting your siblings on the back of inflatable dragons was the ultimate, when diving for sunken rings was the best of times, when blow-up alligator time had to be shared out and rostered by your tired-but-practical Aunty Jane.
But pool toy companies haven't forgotten you. There's a huge market for pool toys to suit all ages, with plenty of stylish, weird and genius inflatable ideas on offer. From floating poker and ping pong tables to giant floating birds and watermelons, these are our favourite inflatables to make any pool party that little more Instagrammable — and your summer that extra bit more nostalgic.
THE GIANT FLAMINGO/SWAN
One of the most Instagrammable pool accessories around: the giant swan (or pink flamingo, if you're feeling more flamboyant). According to the Giant Swan website, the swans are "popular in fashion shoots", so for $99 you can nab your very own oversized aquabird and get yourself a perpetually summery profile picture.
POOL SHOOTBALL
If you like shooting hoops but find the asphalt a little too steamy in summer, this genius little game brings the court to the water. For just $40 with free shipping, this one's perfect for pool parties or sorting out sibling rivalries.
AQUA ZORBS
With the increasing popularity of Zorb Bumper Soccer and Human Zorb Bowling, Aqua Zorb water walkers could be of the most epic additions to home pool toy collection. One of the more exxy pool toys on the market, the Zorbs are $595 each — and obviously you're going to need two for battle reasons. One for the truly dedicated pool fiends.
FLOATING POKER TABLE
Now here's a truly grown-up pool toy. Bestway are responsible for the world's first pool poker set, complete with inflatable poker table, chairs, cards, chips and most importantly, drink holders. It's just $39.95 for the set, however a day of poker in the pool may end up costing you more.
THE LAKE TRAMPOLINE
You're going to need a bigger pool for this one, preferably lake-sized. Remember all those hours you spent as a youngster doing precarious trick jumps from your trampoline into your pool? Now your adult self can get some solid (and somewhat safer) air jumping off a giant lake trampoline, priced from a rather steep $1800 to $3700. With a price tag like that, might be worth getting your crew to chip in.
MOTORISED BUMPER BOATS
Yep, motorised bumper boats. Longtime aquatic toymakers Hammacher Schlemmer have created these floating vehicles for long afternoons spent crashing into your loved ones at four kilometres per hour. For $100 each, these bumper boats can also be used to ferry your summer snacks from one end of the pool to the other, or could be used as a flimsy excuse for a jetski in a lake situation.
FLOATING POOL PING PONG
Never chase ping pong balls around your garage again. Yours for around $60-90, depending where you buy it, this floating ping pong table is as summery an activity you can get. You're going to want to take this to the shallow end though; treading water and playing ping pong sounds like one hell of an exercise.
AQUAGLIDE REVOLUTION
If you're looking to make other people jealous (or highly confused) of your toys, this'll do the trick. Priced at $4500, the six-foot-high Aquaglide Revolution has it all: slides on one side, some form of extreme seesaw on the other, climbing walls aplenty. The Revolution allows up to ten people on board at once, and will have you outrageously exhausted and immeasurably happy by the end of the day.
URBAN OUTFITTERS POOL FLOATS
Another much more realistic and adorable option to brighten up any pool party. From watermelons, Monaco bars, snakes, suns, smiley faces to floating beer pong, American retail giants Urban Outfitters have a variety of novelty pool inflatables on offer for just $25 to $50 each.
By Tommy Codling and Shannon Connellan.
