Premium Quality

Two of the four things on this page you simply cannot check when you buy. Good PVC and cheap PVC look identical when they are new. So does good thread and cheap thread. You find out which one you bought later, when it lets you down — and that can come sooner than you would expect.

The other two — how it is put together, and whether the reinforcement is welded or sewn — you can see, if you know what to look for. Most buyers do not, because nobody has ever told them it matters. That is what this page is for.

The PVC

Our inflatables are made from 550 g/m² PVC tarpaulin. That weight is the industry standard. Most reputable manufacturers use it, and on its own it tells you very little.

What varies enormously is the quality of the material at that weight. Ours is locally manufactured and carries a UV component to resist sun damage. A great many factories use cheap imported material instead. You will not tell the two apart in a showroom. You find out when the cheap material starts to fail in the sun, and that can happen a great deal sooner than you would hope.

The thread

There are plenty of cheap thread options on the market, and thread is an easy place to save money because nobody inspects it. We buy the highest quality polyester thread available. It is a small part of the cost and a large part of how long the seams hold.

The stitching

Seams are double-stitched on double-needle walking-foot industrial machines. Double stitching is the industry standard and we will not pretend otherwise — but it is the standard because it is markedly stronger and longer-lasting than a single row, and it is worth doing properly.

The reinforcement — this is the real difference

Jumping castles carry reinforcement strips over the seams on the jump surface, where all the wear happens. Most manufacturers sew those strips on. We weld them.

This is the one you can check for yourself on any inflatable, ours or anyone else's — look along the seams on the jump surface and see whether the reinforcement is stitched down or fused. It is worth knowing what you are looking at.

The reason matters more than it sounds. A sewing machine works by piercing the material, so a sewn reinforcement strip puts a line of holes straight through the jump surface. Those holes are weak points and they leak air. As the castle ages the holes stretch a little wider, more air escapes, and it gradually loses its firmness. Welding fuses the layers together instead, so there are no holes at all.

On water slides it matters even more

On a water slide or slip-and-slide, sewn seams let water run straight through those holes into the inflatable, where it accumulates. Because our reinforcement is welded, the seam is watertight and far less water finds its way in.

There is a second problem, and it is why most manufacturers fit no reinforcement at all on slip-and-slides: a sewn strip irritates a child's bare chest as they slide over it. So it gets left off — and then the exposed thread gets wet, children jump on it, and eventually it wears through and breaks. That slide has to be re-sewn.

Because we weld, we can reinforce a slip-and-slide with nothing for a child to slide across. The thread underneath never gets wet, the reinforcement takes the impact, and those seams do not need re-sewing. It is the single biggest difference in maintenance between our slides and a cheaper one.

What comes with every inflatable

• A 12-month warranty against manufacturing defects, covering personal and commercial use alike
• Blower and carry bag included as standard
• In-house repairs — by the people who built it, for the life of the product

See how we build them Our factory, the CNC cutter, and the six steps every inflatable goes through →