My TT17" popped

[palloncino90]

So 2 weeks ago me and my wife were enjoying surrounded of 3 beautiful and big tuf-tex 17", one blue and a yellow and purple knotted both with a elastic band and at a certain point my wife grabbed the two balloons and without a reason the yellow one popped. We just smiled and continued our special moment; I'm glad it didn't make me shocked.
Anyway, I'm wondering why it happend. I remember when I inflated the yellow one it was hard at any blow and became tough very soon instead the blue and purple inflation was very easy and the became bigger than the yellow one although all the 3 balloons were new.
I didn't notice any weakspots, I thought maybe my wife grabbed them with nails but I saw she grabbed by the knot and when we clean our bedroom I found a "side" of that balloon like if that part was detached perfecly.
What do you think?

[PBK]

Re: My TT17" popped

How old were they? One thing I've noticed about Tuf-Tex (and I love them to death. They are by far my favorite brand) is that they do not age well or have a decent shelf life.

[palloncino90]

Re: My TT17" popped

I bought them many months ago, but I don't know how long they were stored in the shop; but about my last experience it was the first inflation.
I noticed that all the yellow and red ones were really tough and their size very small than other colors (all clear colors, the oranges became very huge; instead with the pastels I never had this problem).

[snh61]

Re: My TT17" popped

TT balloons are not quality balloons (any more - if they ever been any better).

[palloncino90]

Re: My TT17" popped

TT balloons are not quality balloons (any more - if they ever been any better).

I always felt confidence with them although as I said I found strange the yellow and red crystal, I don't know why. Anyway this is the first pop after 6-7 years maybe, the last pop was a jewel 16" it popped while i was stretching its neck.

[LoonerPlanet]

Re: My TT17" popped

Tuftex are like the little girl in the Longfellow poem: When they are good, they are very good; And when they are bad, they are horrid.

If you play with them long enough, you can usually recognize the bad ones (smell bad when inflated, look bad, very old, little elasticity). It may not be 100% reliable, but it works well for me. I also inflate them multiple times and they get to be huge!

[PBK]

Re: My TT17" popped

Tuftex is a brand I trust with helium. The key to Tuftex (and most other balloons) is how they are stored where you buy them from, how they are transported in the truck if you order them (UPS delivered a bunch of 17's and 24's to me in the middle of summer in a non-air conditioned truck and I was the last stop for the day. My balloons were ruined because they spent 5 days in a truck at 100+ temperatures), how you store them, and the date they were manufactured. If stored and transported in a cool, dark, dry place away from sunlight and hydrocarbons and used within a year of their manufacture date Tuftex balloons are usually flawless.

[snh61]

Re: My TT17" popped

Well, I am sorry, but I do not play the "it have to be perfectly good storage" game and bullshit needs to be called here.

If Qualatex, Belbal, and even those balloons from smaller brands like Strong, Gemar,... and even the pure Chinese ones from grocery stores, can withstand any standard storage habits and handling without issues even for years, I do not see any point in defending Tuftex as a "good brand". It may have been good in the past. It may be sometimes good now, but it just isn't cutting the mustard. Balloons that can't be trusted even at the time of delivery, are junk and "storage" is just a bad excuse.

Their products are (compared to others) just way below average in durability. I strongly doubt, that other brand balloons are handled any different. Yet they survive it without being affected in any noticeable way. How come?

I have tried TT loons once. Seriously disappointed. It is I think more than 5 years I think, I still have them in a box. And I also still have a batch of Qualatex and Belbals from around that time too. Qualatex and Belbal, look almost the same as new (although many of them a bit tarnished from being blown numerous times over the years), yet still very very strong. The bag of Tuftex on the other hand has turned to a chunk of smelly goo. All of them are stored in the same box, at constant room temperature.

[PBK]

Re: My TT17" popped

Well, I am sorry, but I do not play the "it have to be perfectly good storage" game and bullshit needs to be called here.

If Qualatex, Belbal, and even those balloons from smaller brands like Strong, Gemar,... and even the pure Chinese ones from grocery stores, can withstand any standard storage habits and handling without issues even for years, I do not see any point in defending Tuftex as a "good brand". It may have been good in the past. It may be sometimes good now, but it just isn't cutting the mustard. Balloons that can't be trusted even at the time of delivery, are junk and "storage" is just a bad excuse.

Their products are (compared to others) just way below average in durability. I strongly doubt, that other brand balloons are handled any different. Yet they survive it without being affected in any noticeable way. How come?

I have tried TT loons once. Seriously disappointed. It is I think more than 5 years I think, I still have them in a box. And I also still have a batch of Qualatex and Belbals from around that time too. Qualatex and Belbal, look almost the same as new (although many of them a bit tarnished from being blown numerous times over the years), yet still very very strong. The bag of Tuftex on the other hand has turned to a chunk of smelly goo. All of them are stored in the same box, at constant room temperature.

If Qualatex, Belbal, and even those balloons from smaller brands like Strong, Gemar,... and even the pure Chinese ones from grocery stores, can withstand any standard storage habits and handling without issues even for years, I do not see any point in defending Tuftex as a "good brand". It may have been good in the past. It may be sometimes good now, but it just isn't cutting the mustard. Balloons that can't be trusted even at the time of delivery, are junk and "storage" is just a bad excuse.

Their products are (compared to others) just way below average in durability. I strongly doubt, that other brand balloons are handled any different. Yet they survive it without being affected in any noticeable way. How come?

I have tried TT loons once. Seriously disappointed. It is I think more than 5 years I think, I still have them in a box. And I also still have a batch of Qualatex and Belbals from around that time too. Qualatex and Belbal, look almost the same as new (although many of them a bit tarnished from being blown numerous times over the years), yet still very very strong. The bag of Tuftex on the other hand has turned to a chunk of smelly goo. All of them are stored in the same box, at constant room temperature.

Alright, well, you can be that way if you want. Nobody is holding a gun to your head to buy TufTex if you don't like the brand. It's YOUR money to spend on whatever you want and I am not an officer, salesman or executive of TT so I don't have a horse in their race.
The next time you want to call bullshit on facts though I suggest you consider other people's experience.
As for TufTex, individual mileage varies. I've been buying TufTex for 15+ years and the only bad bags I've ever had were the ones that were dated for manufacture 3+ years prior to purchase (and even some of them were good) or poorly transported or left in hot vehicles, rooms, etc. Same with Qualatex, Unique, Tilco/Prestige and several others.
I don't know you, so before you go calling on me to provide links, URL's, proof, facts, yadda yadda yadda just know that I have nothing to prove to you nor do I care to. I store and handle my balloons the way I've stored and handled my balloons for years and I get years of useful life out of them. And I will continue to do so. Regardless of brand. Take it or leave it.
It's all good, however. After training with some of the finest military men and women in the world and jumping out of planes in the infantry for a living for 10 years (and even earning a few medals in the process. Imagine that!) and working in the oil patch for a few more I have pretty thick skin. Especially when dealing with someone across a keyboard.
I'm done with this thread. In the spirit of maintaining good decorum if you want to continue this discussion I invite you to PM me.
Cheers!

[palloncino90]

Re: My TT17" popped

Calm guys :-)
I'm not an expert but I always preferred Tuf-Tex, to leather. Maybe cause their softness and shape and I always felt comfortable with and I'm sure I will use them again also if I'm seeking for another brand a bit stronger than them, the problem is I love 17", which do brand produce 17"? I see Qualatex produces 18" but I don't like the shape, Belbal does? Which would you recommend?

[LoonerPlanet]

Re: My TT17" popped

Sempertex makes a very strong 18 inch balloon with a great, long neck. Balloons-united just started carrying them and you can see photos on their site. I like the balloon shape, but the colors are not great IMHO. They also inflate very hard the first time, although you can easily get multiple inflations and a somewhat softer balloon. I think they will be good for making clusters (a future challenge for myself).

That said, there is something about a TT 17" that is hard to beat, despite all the potential problems. With multiple inflations they get huge, they feel good, and the colors are great. I also find that different colors inflate differently, which I enjoy as a challenge.

The bottom line is that we looners are lucky to have choices. Just have fun.

[PBK]

Re: My TT17" popped

Yup! LoonerPlanet is right about choices. Thanks for the tip on Sempertex. I think they even have a distributor up here in Canada. I'll give them a try.

[balloons4life]

Re: My TT17" popped

To be honest you already said multiple times you didn't like them and that's ok but at some point it starts to be annoying. Learn to store them correctly or accept that you bought already old ones and stop complaining on every single tuftex thread on this forum please.

[palloncino90]

Re: My TT17" popped

To be honest you already said multiple times you didn't like them and that's ok but at some point it starts to be annoying. Learn to store them correctly or accept that you bought already old ones and stop complaining on every single tuftex thread on this forum please.

Are young talking to me?

[BYGavia]

Re: My TT17" popped

BSA 17” are also wicked strong. I’m not the best generally at necking balloons, but I can neck these every time.