Heavier riders?

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  • Popemall
    • Mar 2024

    Heavier riders?

    Anybody else out there around 300 have a balloon they like to ride that can handle a good long ride without busting too soon? Do you fill them 3/4 or so and tie them off? I've recently discovered riding for fun and not just S2P and I'm looking for some options.
  • BYGavia
    Senior Member
    • Dec 2017
    • 246

    #2
    Re: Heavier riders?

    I’m on the opposite end of the weight spectrum, but I reckon a good B250 or B350 would do quite nicely.

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    • LoudPopper
      Senior Member
      • Jan 2016
      • 228

      #3
      Re: Heavier riders?

      I gotta admit that if I'm riding a balloon, I don't see any point to riding or sitting unless that balloon is eventually gonna bust when I'm done with it. Regardless, if I'm riding or sitting on a bigger balloon, I really wanna feel like I worked for my balloon popping reward. So if I'm playing with bigger balloons, they gotta be super durable, even to the point that my roughest riding and bouncing seemingly won't make the balloon explode. I weigh about 180 right now (down from 200 a year ago) and the GL500 supported my weight really well back then and now as well. Other good strong balloons I'm familiar with are Cattex long-neck 32" (the classic mould with the wider, not the new narrower neck). Also Cattex 36" (round) when 3/4 full or Cattex 36" long-necks with the bulb fully inflated while the neck is left uninflated are extremely strong. Tbh, I've never successfully popped any Cattex 36" balloon to this day, and I've really tried as hard as I can. Like BlueYoshi said, I don't know them well but I understand that Bebals are pretty good too. I've also heard C+Z balloons are really good from non-poppers and large loon connoseurs. Cattex hands down are my favorite because they feel really soft and are still super stretchy even when more fully inflated, plus I love how the neck grows by like a whole foot when you sit on them. But GL's are a close second, and even when 80% full I can still find myself completely sinking completely through to the other side of the balloon so that I'm literally sitting completely flat on the bed when I'm bouncing as hard as I can. If I'm trying to pop one of those, bouncing alone won't work and I have to resort to wrapping my arms around it and squeezing with all my strength while still bouncing if I wanna get lucky. Hope this helped and good luck finding a couple good loons that you can enjoy. Happy riding, friend.

      Comment

      • Loveinloons
        Member
        • Nov 2018
        • 99

        #4
        Re: Heavier riders?

        Im 250lbs and the walmart 36in or the party city 24in hold me just fine at 3/4 full

        Comment

        • belcatball
          Junior Member
          • Apr 2017
          • 28

          #5
          Re: Heavier riders?

          For tougher balloons I've found the following works:
          1) Larger sizes like 24"/36". A lot depends on how tall you are, too.
          2) Balloon quality matters. Here's what has worked for me (I use clear ones):
          . Europe -> Belbal, Cattex
          . US -> Amscan 24"
          3) Inflate to 70-80% of rated size
          4) Double stuff the balloon

          If that's still not tough enough there's other things you can do, let me know if you want to know more.

          Comment

          • LoudPopper
            Senior Member
            • Jan 2016
            • 228

            #6
            Re: Heavier riders?

            Originally posted by belcatball
            For tougher balloons I've found the following works:
            1) Larger sizes like 24"/36". A lot depends on how tall you are, too.
            2) Balloon quality matters. Here's what has worked for me (I use clear ones):
            . Europe -> Belbal, Cattex
            . US -> Amscan 24"
            3) Inflate to 70-80% of rated size
            4) Double stuff the balloon

            If that's still not tough enough there's other things you can do, let me know if you want to know more.
            Great points here. I definitely think the bigger the balloon the safer is a decent rule of thumb. 24" are definitely a good starting point. Even though I've never really succeeded in popping a 24" (except Q24) by riding/humping while squeezing, its mainly bc I can't get my body and arms fully around the circumference of the balloon to apply enough pressure to make it burst. I imagine a 24" can definitely take the weight of a heavier person for laying on it and humping for sure. But I've always had no problem popping a 24" with enough rough sitting. Usually w 36" and up, they become way more difficult to pop by the pressure of weight essentially because there's even more balloon surface area that can expand, relieving the strain you put on it. Also there's the practical aspect that the sheer size of a bigger balloon as it goes up is just more physically cumbersome and more difficult to break by conventional methods. I'm definitely not a non-popper, but some that I've talked to said that they gravitate towards really big balloons 40" and up because they can last for months.

            I never thought about double stuffing the balloon, I imagine that would enhance strength greatly. I know a lot of professional balloon decorators use that method to enhance durability (as well as make the loon more opaque in coloring) for their 36" that they have in arrangements and displays. 70%-80% in size is always a good move. I've always noticed that when my nails were trimmed, I could literally dig my fingers deep into the latex of an underinflated balloon and essentially close my hand and grab a "handfull" of the latex and pull away at the balloon without it breaking. This even works for underinflated 16"ers. That's how strong the latex can be when underinflated. Of course a good brand of balloon with thicker latex makes this easier.

            Also, I mentioned this before w the GL500, but basically anything from Rifco is really great with super thick latex, but also their egg-shaped loons GL800/900s are really good to. I feel like the shape of the balloon has a lot to do with the amount of weight it can take as well; as it's durability while riding/sitting depends on the direction and manner in which the air is displaced by you on it and the way the displacement causes the balloon to expand in a specific manner or direction. This is depending on if it's round (Bebal/Cattex), bulb (Cattex longnecks/Q24), egg shaped (GL8/900), or wide and long (GL5/700).
            Last edited by LoudPopper; 11-03-2019, 13:34.

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