Water pads

Looks like we are deciding to use a friend’s cabin for a family vacation this summer. The only downside is that the shoreline is more rocks and weeds than beach, so we are thinking about getting a water pad with the money we won’t spend on a resort. We tried a maui mat this summer and it was an absolute blast. Seems like a great idea over the graveyard of inflatables that resides in my in laws boathouse.

Wondering if anyone has one or has opinions. I am assuming if you keep them from laying in the sun forever and don’t let them mold in storage they hold up ok? Considering a paradise pad or a bullfrog maui mat – basically the thicker ones and one that is small enough to transport.

our family has decided to get one for swimming activities this summer. it looks like loads of fun. Ive done some research on them and unfortunately it seems that the opinions on quality between the many different brands varies quite a bit. Some say brand X is the best and the next guy says it fell apart in less than 2 weeks. At $500+ for an investment it gives me an uneasy feeling pulling the trigger on any one model. Curious to hear if anyone on this site has experience with one.

We have a 6′ x 18′ Rubber Dockie that my sister in law got on Groupon last year. The kids love it, the adults love it, heck, even some of our dogs like going on it.

We usually put it in when we get to the cabin and pull it out when we leave. I have noticed that the color has faded quite a bit. Overall, we like it. Other than the fading my one “complaint” is that ours isn’t towable by a boat, which means if we want to take it out to the middle of the lake, we have to roll it up, take it on the pontoon, and roll it back up when we head in. And rolling it up in the middle of the lake is a challenge.

The price of these things is ridiculous, but it’s a fad, and I am sure the cost will come down as the market gets more saturated. It’s amazing how many I saw on our lake last summer.

I was in the exact same spot last summer. I found this on Craigslist and it was a great mat!
https://www.gnarlywatersports.com/
Give them a call for better pricing. I ended up driving west of the cities to pick it up from his warehouse (Dassel, MN). I got the 22′ x 6′ x 2″ mat for $399. Much better price than any were else I could find for that size!!

Personally, I’d rather have an inflatable floating island. With the seat backs, it’s more comfortable. We spend an entire afternoon on ours. The kids can still jump off it. Plus it deflates. I think the water pads are great for kids who can just run around on it all day and maybe lay down once in a while. But for adults, your only option is to lay down flat on it. The islands allow you to lay down or sit up with a beverage in hand.

do you have an example of the floating islands queenswake? I am not familiar with those

crappie55369 wrote:

do you have an example of the floating islands queenswake? I am not familiar with those

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=floating+island

https://www.overtons.com/Watersports/Lake-Pool-Leisure/Party-Island-Floats

I personally have one like this: https://www.amazon.com/Intex-Pacific-Paradise-Relaxation-4-Person/dp/B00SACPHBM/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1515627449&sr=8-10&keywords=floating+island

The water comes up in the middle to keep you cool. They all come with a boarding ladder and drink holders. As you can see some of these are massive and some give you a choice of chair-like seating or flat lounging all in one float. And they give you options to stay up out of the water if the water is cold or to keep your legs in the water when it’s hot out.

I’m thinking about moving up this one: https://www.amazon.com/CoolerZ-Tropical-Breeze-Inflatable-Floating/dp/B0009V89NK/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1515627836&sr=8-4&keywords=floating+island

The only thing with these is you need a high-speed inflator. I keep a spare deep-cycle battery on my boat that I use just for this purpose.

Yea we had fun with a costco one for the one year it lasted. $150 for one year isnt great imo. I am done with inflatables (except for my indestructible kayak and inflatable SUP that is going 4yrs strong).

This is also for a differen’t purpose. Crazy kids and jumping and crazyness.

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Wife got a lily pad last summer for the kids. 6 x 18. They abused it all summer at the cabin. Best purchase we’ve had for the kids. Out all weekend and put away when we leave. Recommend it highly.

I bought a ifloats mat last year at the boat show. We didn’t use it much last summer. It seems rather stiff. I have a hard time getting it to lay flat. Maybe we haven’t used it enough yet. It does seem to be of good quality.

Do you need to license them in MN? I thought I read somewhere that in MN anything over 10′ long needs to be licensed…….

Paul Berger wrote:

Wife got a lily pad last summer for the kids. 6 x 18. They abused it all summer at the cabin. Best purchase we’ve had for the kids. Out all weekend and put away when we leave. Recommend it highly.

x2 same deal with us kids on it morning to night,kids of all ages!

super_do wrote:

Do you need to license them in MN? I thought I read somewhere that in MN anything over 10′ long needs to be licensed…….

No. Watercraft (including stand up paddle boards) over 10′, yes, but not swim mats/rafts.

If anyone is going to the boat show I heard that Paradise Pads based in Iowa will be there. I would appreciate if someone could post some show prices.

We have had a paradise pad for two years. It has seen many wrestling matches and plenty of floating and holding up well.

Paul Berger wrote:

Wife got a lily pad last summer for the kids. 6 x 18. They abused it all summer at the cabin. Best purchase we’ve had for the kids. Out all weekend and put away when we leave. Recommend it highly.

We’ve had a lily pad 6x 18 for 3 years now. It goes in the water first thing on the weekends, last thing to be pulled out.

Lots of kids, adults, wrestling, cartwheels and it still looks brand new.

This is our Rubber Dockie. It gets a lot of use!

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Lily pad is looking pretty attractive off their website

nhamm wrote:

Lily pad is looking pretty attractive off their website

SOLD!

Yea it seems all these companies are shameless in their use of bikinis (with video). I was trying to research brands at the community center in a cafe area and it became too awkward.

We have a lily pad also. Kids love it. They spend all day on it.

Costco has the 6’x17′ Aqua Lily Pad in store now for $299.

We bought an iFloats with iSki three years ago from iFloatsMN.com and it has held up great. Our family picked this float as it was the only one that could be towed. This proved to me that it had the highest strength compared to all the other floats sold. Last year they came out with Red,White and Blue float. We got the blue and pink pad. iFloats are made in USA. Many of the floats sold in big box stores are made in China. I would suggest asking many questions before buying a float as there is a lot of junk on the market.

walleye1274 wrote:

I was in the exact same spot last summer. I found this on Craigslist and it was a great mat!
https://www.gnarlywatersports.com/
Give them a call for better pricing. I ended up driving west of the cities to pick it up from his warehouse (Dassel, MN). I got the 22′ x 6′ x 2″ mat for $399. Much better price than any were else I could find for that size!!

Do you still have gnarlywatersports phone number?