Bestway Pool Review;  great for families and a staycation!

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When the sun is out and its too hot to do anything else but lounge around, what better way is there to entertain the kids, than a paddling pool? With 4 kids and a small garden we are always looking for great ways to keep them all busy in the garden and have recently bought the Bestway Pools 8ft (2.4M) Bestway Round Fast Set Pool this paddling pool could even be classed as an entry level swimming pool! The kids have even asked could they have their swimming googles so that they could swim under water.  

With our last pool we practically had to arrange time slots for the kids to play in it as not all 4 children could get in at once. It was OK 2 years ago as they where much smaller but now they are starting to get bigger I had to look at something a bit larger, and I think I found it. Our garden is not huge and so to my disappointment the wife said I had to stay sensible…  Read on to find out all about the Bestway Pools Fast Set range

Things you need to consider when choosing a kids paddling pool

After some experience with a few pools over the years (from kid to adult) I felt I had enough knowledge of what made a good kids pool to be able to select one that ticked all the boxes.

• Sturdy construction – Has to with-stand 4 children and myself playing in the pool.  I am not getting left out of this fun!
• Quick to put up and pack away –  Too many parts to assemble = BORING!  Too long to inflate/deflate = BORING! This is not meant to be an IKEA flatpack
• Easy to fill up – I can’t trust the kids to fill it up as this usually degenerates into a hose water fight and one or more crying children.  At the same time I don’t want to stand there filling it myself,  many times I have tried to strap the hose to the back of a chair and angle it just right to spray into the pool. This then ends with a child tripping over the hose or they use it as some sort of limbo bar or tunnel; again result is a crying child!
• Needs a Cover – Often over looked is the need for a cover. Keeps the leaves, bugs and other dirt out the pool when its not in use. This possibly helps to retain some heat as well; who knows. But most of all it gives a clear sign to the children, THE POOL IS CLOSED!  When the cover goes on the pool it goes to sleep for the night to rest ready for the next day after If it doesn’t get its rest all the water will drain away.  Haha – the things I tell my kids
• Keeping it clean and saving water – With a large paddling pool that takes a lot of water I want to avoid water wastage. The kids are going to splash some water over the side and so I will refill each time just before  using it with some hot water to help raise the temperature of an over night cooled pool. To really help save water (especially if your on a water meter)  I want to use a water filter that can clean the water in a few hours and I want to avoid the need to leave a water pump running over night on its own unattended.

After much searching the usually stores, pouring over (yes I said it) google searches I feel I found the perfect pool for us! So next is my complete Bestway Pool Review.  

The 8ft (2.4m) Bestway Pool Review

I know I should have done an unboxing video of this pool but now its out the box it is no way going back into it.  It came vacuum packed and then tightly shrink wrapped so the size of the box is very deceiving as the pool is huge and the box tiny.  It took about 5 mins to unbox with a lot of unrolling of shrink wrap so allow for that.

Putting up your fast set BestWay Pool

The people at Bestway aren’t joking when they say that this is fast set.  It only takes around 5 mins to unroll and inflate this pool (with a pump) as it is only the top ring that you are actually inflating.  I am sure this will be much quicker next time as I rolled it up rather than having it vacuum packed.

I use the Deeplee Electric Air Pump for this job.   I like a battery pump as this means your not restricted by lead and the requirement to be near a plug socket to use them.  These pumps are also great at inflating air beds, pool beds etc and are perfect for when you go camping.  They are recharged via a USB connection and so there is no need for taking spare AA or AAA battery with you, just recharge the same way you would charge your mobile phone.

Preparing the Ground

Before laying out the pool on the lawn I would recommend checking for any twigs, stones, Lego, Barbie accessories and any other sharp toys that may produce a hole in the pool or worse a crying child if stood on.

As I am precious about my feet and my pool, for that matter, I lay down a ground sheet under the pool. This rounds off any sharp twigs or stones and gives an additional cushion feel when in the pool, Hmmm nice.  This is the one that I have:

Best Way also do a ground sheet to go with their pools.  I haven’t actually tried this out so can’t say whether it is any better than the one I have or not, but here it is and do comment below if you try it or have already got this  item.

Filling the 8ft Best Way Pool

Once the pool is stretched out on the ground sheet you can start to fill it. The pool has a great hose attachment to enable really easy filling of the pool, I was amazed at how easy this was to use. Unscrew the blanking plate to reveal a one-way valve hidden underneath and then screw on the hose attachment.  You can then use a standard hose attachment like the Magic Expandable Garden Hose to attach from your garden tap direct to the pool.

Once the pool starts to fill, pull out the sides, the idea is to get the base as flat and wrinkle free as possible.  This is a slightly tricky task and I am thinking takes practice to get it perfect. Don’t hang about doing this as the water fills up it will get heavier and harder to move and then impossible to move. The pool design is genius as it uses the weight of the water to raise the sides of the pool. There are no bars or posts, just the weight of the water in a large bag with a doughnut on top. The inflatable ring around the top holds it together and prevents it from toppling over and all the water escaping.

Bestway Pool Cover

After the pool activities are completed and it is time to pack the pool up for the night there is a Bestway Fast Set Swimming Pool Cover. This cover, for me, is one of the easiest I have owned. Lots of pool covers have elasticated straps to fix around the corners of the pool or tuck under the pool, the Bestway Pool Cover has a draw string that loops round the top inflatable ring and a draw string that then pulls tight to keep it in place. So far I have had no issues with this slipping or it being blown off in the wind.

Keeping the water clean

You don’t want to have to empty this pool to change the water every few days so I would recommend getting a filter pump.  So once the Pool is packed away for the night it is time to attach  the Bestway Flowclear 530gal Filter Pump Swimming Pool.  The pump attaches to the 2 dedicated pump tubes that have 2 “stoppers” inserted in them on the inside of the pool. Once the pump is attached via 4 easy screw clips (2 on each tube) you can remove the stopper from the inside of the pool and switch on the pump.  Now sit back and relax and let the pump do the work.

Leave the pump running for a few hours or until its time for you to go to bed, then pack away the pump, tubes and leads.

Final Verdict

I would definitely recommend Bestway Pools as an option if you want a larger than just a paddling pool for your garden this summer.  The Bestway Fast Set Pools come in several sizes 6ft, 8ft, 10ft and 12ft.  If we had the space I would probably have gone for at least the 10ft version, but the 8ft one is still a really good size and there is enough space for 4 kids to have a really good time.  As it is round they swim round and round it chasing one another.  I know once the real summer sun kicks in the wife and I will be fighting them for pool space as this pool is deep enough for us to sit in and relax.  

As far as depth goes this is not a pool for jumping in as it isn’t deep enough, but it is deep enough to have a little float especially if you are a child.  I know that this is going to give us as a family hours of fun and enjoyment.  We are really happy with our purchase and now just can’t wait for the sunshine to come back so we can get in everyday.

Just as a note if you don’t want such a deep pool and really want paddling only, but to still be able to sit down in it as a grown up I would recommend the Best Way Family Pool

Kids Garden Swimming Paddling Pool Safety tips

Water Safety is vital and rules near and in the pool are a non negotiable in our house.

• Do not leave the kids unattended while using a pool, paddling or otherwise. Adult supervision should be maintained at all times
• Do not use the pump while the kids are around. They will only mess with the tubes or try and feed leaves down the suction tube or something equally silly
• Do not place mains cables near the water. Water and electricity do not mix well, try and avoid the use of extension cables that water could get into.
• Do not over fill your pool, obey the maximum full line. Drain some water out if you need to top up with hot water.
• Always cover the pool after use. Gives that clear massage of the pool is closed.
• Always use pump when the kids have left the pool area.
• Always place any cables up high away from water with the pump at the same level as the pool.
• Always check to pool temperature is not too cold, even on a hot day a child’s body temperature can drop drastically
• Always remove any pool toys when you pack up, this reduces a child’s temptation to go back into the pool to get them back out.

I hope our Bestway pool review has been useful and above all hope you have fun this summer in your pool, but stay safe!!