Self-Sealing Water Balloons: Are They Worth The Cost?

Summer is here and the cool new thing is to have water balloons that self-seal. I mean, what parent doesn’t want this genius invention that will fill and tie 100 balloons in under a minute? For me, it’s a parents dream because less time tying (not to mention, no more sore fingers!) and more fun getting each other wet. Since truly love making your lives easier we are here to answer the ultimate question today – Self-Sealing Water Balloons: Are They Worth The Cost?

Self-Sealing Water Balloons: Are They Worth The Cost?

Want the fast answer? Yes! Yes, they sure are worth the cost! But, WAIT! Before you leave, you should know not all self-sealing water balloons are the same. In fact, one quick search on Amazon will populate several different brands and styles, so which one do you go with? Now that isn’t such a fast answer but we do have the answer because we took the time to try and review 5 different brands so we can share our favorite with you! Below we have each brand that we tried and the pros and cons of each one. Then, at the very (very) end, we share our top choice for choosing a self-sealing water balloon brand!

The Brands

The first brand we tried was the Newisland Water Balloons  (Water Bombs as the package says). This pack came with  110+ Balloons and with a 120-Pack Unassembled Balloons for $16.00. When we first opened the package they seemed cool because it came with an extra pack of water balloons and ties so you can reuse the straws and have another round of water balloons. However, once we filled  the water balloons (according to the directions which were very limited)  we noticed they did not stay filled. Water was squirting out of almost every single balloon and the balloons were getting small very fast. Leaking is no good in my book. So this wasn’t exactly a win for us. Pros:

• Came with neon colored balloons
• Came with extra pack of water balloons and ties

Cons:

• Pretty much no instructions (connect, fill, done was it)
• Leaked really bad – BIG DOWNER (and it was pretty much all of them)

The second brand we tried was the Balloon Bonanza. These are the “as seen on TV” brand and I believe were the original self-sealing balloons. These came with  120 Self-Sealing Water Balloons in 3 Bundles for $12.00. These did not fill up very well at all. We had several balloons that did not fill at all and the ones that did, leaked. They didn’t leak as bad as the first brand we tried but these weren’t a win either in my book. Pros:

• Inexpensive
• Easy to pop

Cons:

• Came all in one color of balloons
• Had a hard time filling the balloons
• Lots of balloons did not fill up
• The straws are separate from the base (which explains why the balloons had a hard time filling)

The third brand we tried was the Instant Magic Water Balloons. These came with 111 balloons for right around $6.00. Much more cost effective than some of the others. We assumed these worked like the others we have tried since there were no instructions on how to fill them. The top leaked really bad during filling. These leaked after they filled (not at bad as the first brand) but the balloon material was much thinner so these popped really easy. Pros:

• Came in an assortment of colors
• Very inexpensive compared to other brands
• No instructions at all

Cons:

• Popped really easy
• Seal when filling was pretty bad (it leaked)
• Some  balloons did not fill up or had holes in them
• Zero instructions on how to use them

The fourth brand we tried was ZORBZ Self-Sealing Water Balloons. These come in a pack of 100 for $7.21. Now I want to mention these do not use straws to fill them. Instead, they use a plastic hose adapter to fill each water balloon individually. When we started filling them we actually thought they were pretty cool. Although they were filled one-by-one, they self-tied which still made filling water balloons easier. They contain a small capsule inside each balloon which floats to the top after the water enters the balloon. You pinch the top and BAM they are tied. Overall, I really liked these ones aside from the fact that you have fill each one individually. Pros:

• Self-tying balloons with capsule inside
• The capsules start to dissolve once they become wet
• Hardly any leaking
• Lots of colors
• The balloons are biodegradable latex

Cons:

• Takes a while to fill each balloon individually
• Balloons are a bit thick and don’t pop very well

The fifth and FINAL brand we tried was the  Zuru Bunch O Balloons. These can be found just about everywhere (Toys R Us, Walmart, Target, Kroger owned stores, etc.). You can get 100 balloons for right around $10.   The package does include specific instructions which makes filling the balloons so much easier. The straws are all one-piece (you can see the difference in the image below) which also keep the straws from leaking while we fill. Pretty much all of the balloons filled and they tie very well so your kids have enough time to use them before they deflate. Pros:

• Pop easily
• Fill well
• Leak very little or none at all
• Pop off easier
• Include step-by-step instructions including a template on how big to fill the balloons

Cons:

• Doesn’t come in various colors (you can choose from a few different colored 3 packs just not an assortment of colors)

And the winner is…

BUNCH O BALLOONS!

I just have to say, we used this brand one time before we reviewed all of these brands and I LOVE THEM. They work great, fill up great, include handy-dandy instructions and are totally worth the money in my opinion. Although they do not come in cool neon colors, that is a small sacrifice to have balloons that work well and keep the kids playing and having fun! So now that you’ve seen 5 of the self-sealing water balloons, I think it’s safe to say that YES they are the worth the money but make sure you get the right brand because that will make all the difference! You can order some here. In case you want to see all of the water balloons mentioned in this post in action, you can watch our Live Facebook video below where we gave all of these a try in real time! Looking for more summer fun? Check out 100+ Fun Things to Do This Summer with Kids.