One of the most common phone calls we get this time of year is what bounce house should we buy? There are literally 100's of inflatables to choose from and each serve a purpose. To sort through all of the items, the first thing you need to identify is who the bouncer will be for? The reason this is the starting point is that there are two types of general inflatables. First you have residential. This category is ONLY for kids up to 100 lbs in weight, essentially 10 years old and under. The second category is commercial. These are what you would find at a carnival, indoor fun center, or rental company. These will meet the needs of all other users who are over 100 lbs in weight and or over the age of 10. For the purpose of this article, we will only discuss residential inflatables since these are the most popular units purchased by parents.

Now that you know who you are buying the bounce house for, the next issue is capacity. Capacity can be a little confusing. When an item say it can hold 5 users up to 500 lbs, you have to remember that these are designed for kids up to 100 lbs only. That being said, if you have 5 kids at 40 lbs each totaling 200 lbs, you can not add more kids. While we are on capacity, it is important to note that capacity is not an indication of quality. These units are whats called constant airflow. This means that the blower must be attached and running at all times to keep it inflated. Because of the way these are designed, the amount of airflow and blower that they are partnered with will ultimately dictate the end user.

Now that you know how many kids will be playing in the bounce house you can focus on the actual activities offered. We classify the categories as follows:

• Bounce House

• Bouncer Slide Combos

• Water Slides

A bounce house would be a wide open bounce area. We believe this to be the most important item when selecting your inflatable. The jump area will ultimately dictate how many kids can lay at one time. All of the feedback we receive points to the bigger the better and to buy as large of a jumper that you can afford and space will dictate. Bouncer Slide Combos indicate that there is a slide included with the jumper and potentially other activities such as a climbing wall, ball pit or obstacles. While all of these are great and will add to the entertainment value, it is important to understand when it comes to slides that they will not function like a rigid slide that you would find on a typical swing set.

We hope this gives you a better explanation on choosing the perfect bounce house for your family.