Punch Balloons: Yay or Nay

[softsquishyballoon]

I do remember seeing those - and I think I even played with them, on one or a few occasion. I'm pretty sure I never had one in my possession, though.

I'm gonna change that, this week (I don't think balloons of any sort have been bought out due to "panic buying", thankfully.). I'll probably blow up just one, for started, and see how they differ from the more "traditional" rounded balloons. I know they have those at Walmart.

[BYGavia]

Re: Punch Balloons: Yay or Nay

The “neon” colors are kinda cruddy, in my opinion. I don’t like the texture. The standard and crystal colors are better, but I personally prefer ordinary balloons from reliable brands. With that said, I would love the chance to try Unique punch balloons.

[softsquishyballoon]

Re: Punch Balloons: Yay or Nay

I don't wanna burst a hole in my wallet, so to speak - but, as I'm still so new to this balloon stuff, I'm quite open to experimenting. So, right now, I'm a bit curious to see what a punch balloon feels like.

From what I understand, punch balloons are created will thicker latex - so they're designed to take quite a beating. So I'm guessing they don't pop as easily. (I'm a non-popper.)

I also really like my balloons to be soft, and I've read positive comments here on the Tuf-Tex and Unique brands - but that one drawback is that they aren't as durable. Most of the balloons I have are the 12-inch Walmart brand, which are very inexpensive to buy. With those, you just gotta be a bit patient - and wait a few weeks for them to soften.

Does anyone here know if larger balloons tend to soften faster?

[BYGavia]

Re: Punch Balloons: Yay or Nay

I can elaborate a bit on my experiences with punch balloons.

Yes, you should find that they are typically thicker than your average balloon. Among the balloons generally available in stores, they are relatively durable.

The neck is typically long, so there’s the potential for some extra fun with it.

As far as I’m aware, punch balloons tend to be between 14” and 16”, making them relatively large as well.

They can often be purchased in bulk online, but the best ones that I’ve had tend to come in small packs of two at dollar stores. YMMV

[ReynaMae]

Re: Punch Balloons: Yay or Nay

I can elaborate a bit on my experiences with punch balloons.

Yes, you should find that they are typically thicker than your average balloon. Among the balloons generally available in stores, they are relatively durable.

The neck is typically long, so there’s the potential for some extra fun with it.

As far as I’m aware, punch balloons tend to be between 14” and 16”, making them relatively large as well.

They can often be purchased in bulk online, but the best ones that I’ve had tend to come in small packs of two at dollar stores. YMMV

I would imagine this takes a really long time to blow up by mouth? Is that even possible? Sounds really fun!

[softsquishyballoon]

Re: Punch Balloons: Yay or Nay

I just picked up some punch balloons from Walmart (4 pack, 16 inches), and I just blew one of them up. Those things are a *nightmare* to tie!!

[SweetBouncer]

Re: Punch Balloons: Yay or Nay

I have tried them. And normally these balloons are made with a thicker latex, better than what one can find in a dollar store or sweet store, and have a rubber band. In some places, they put some rice inside so when you punch them using the rubber band they made a lot of noise.
For some people like me, this was the first big balloons easy to find. Also, they are good to ride and have a nice almost spherical shape. In at issue of the price, I don't think they are expensive, I have found them for 1€ all my life, inside plastic cans in round and tall machines that were always in a lot of places back in the days.
Some important things: first, get a neck in this thing is almost impossible and they get almost no-neck when overinflated. Second, they pop loud when B2P, if I remember well, it been a while though. And third, they get soft, like really soft, being so sturdy make them last so when you blow them up multiple times they get softer and softer, also bigger and weaker. I hope you find this information useful.

Also, for the ladies here, the knot could be very thick and they all have this little bulb where the rubber band go, it could be a very pleasant way to stimulate yourselves during a long and slow ride.

[bubblesNdragons]

Re: Punch Balloons: Yay or Nay

I haven't considered buying punch ball balloons on my own, but I remember being very attracted to then when I was a wee bebby. I wouldn't mind encountering one again.

[softsquishyballoon]

Re: Punch Balloons: Yay or Nay

I blew up one of the ones from Walmart. They're fun to play with, but they are a real nightmare to tie!! They're of the same brand as the 12-inch ordinary balloons I got from Walmart. I blew up five balloons (one punch balloon and four ordinary balloons) this week, and it'll be interesting to see how the punch balloon oxidizes compared to the others. I must resist the urge to blow up more balloons until next week.

[PBK]

Re: Punch Balloons: Yay or Nay

Punchballs are my original love. When I was 3 or so I got an orange He-man punchball my parents brought home from somewhere that they went and I think that particular balloon kicked off my special life long love for punchballs.
Punchballs make up the bulk of my balloon collection. I literally have thousands of them. Some are quite rare (the extra large CTI ones that were manufactured for only a limited time. Or my crystal clear ones that were available from a local store for a very limited time before they were discontinued).
My favorites from times past were the BlueBird punchballs that Qualatex makes now. The quality and smell of the Qualatex ones is not quite the same as the BlueBird ones of my childhood. They are very thick, inflate to 16" or so perfectly round and fluted and feature the "lipless" neck that is designed to be rolled into the punchball to seal instead of tied. I still have a bag of perfectly preserved yellow, blue and pink BlueBird punchballs with Yogi Bear Jellystone National Park printed on them and they still blow up to 16" perfectly.

When I was a kid they made punchballs K-mart sold inflated hanging from a display that blew up to 30" easily after a couple of inflations. The only ones I can get to do anything close to that with careful coaxing (and the occasional accidental pop) is the Unique/Mexico punchballs that Dollar Tree here and in the USA sells.
Most "dollar store" variety punchballs are made in China, very thin, full of flaws in the latex and take on the shape of a football or oval when blown up more than the traditional round shape punchballs should inflate to. The seasonal printed ones the Party City stores here sell are not too bad in quality and take a nice shape with a slight neck when slightly over inflated.
I love the sound and look of punchballs being blown up. My wife blows them up all the time for me and we always have them rolling around the house.

[Danniballoon]

Re: Punch Balloons: Yay or Nay

The Chinese ones are a lot thinner. I prefer then to other makes as the ones with a thicker latex can give you a nasty welt when they pop.

[npratt]

Re: Punch Balloons: Yay or Nay

Freshly inflated look and smell best, except for the Chinese polka dot ones from Dollar Tree (pretty crystal colors, but smell like an oil refinery).

[watchman1968]

Re: Punch Balloons: Yay or Nay

Since some punch balloons are thicker, they are a LOT of fun to sit on, not so much fun to hump until they soften over time. You can get some amazing necks on punch balloons if you bounce on them hard enough!

[NEKOCC]

Re: Punch Balloons: Yay or Nay

I've already bought 200 PCS of different size punch balloons from online shop before COVID-19 spread. I do not know the excat size, because the seller use gram to show different model instead of inch. I bought 7 grams, 8 grams, 10 grams and 12 grams. I think 8 grams is the best for me. I can hug it, squeeze it, lie on it. 8 grams one is similar to a 15'' round balloon but much longer than it. A well inflatable one's length is from my chin to my thighs. Of course, more weight means bigger ,longer and harder.