Jumping Castles and other inflatable amusements

This month we are pleased to introduce five new domestic inflatables to our line up bringing our total up to a range of 14 bouncers or water slides to choose from.

The Princess Castle is a pink and purple version of our best selling Magic Castle and is great for little princess of the Aussie backyard. Featuring a commercial quality bounce floor, it also includes princess logos and purple flags from all four steeples.

The Rip Tide Water Slide is our water park for the budget conscious. It features a tunnel, slide and wading area and is ideal for keeping your 3-6 year olds cool this summer.

Our Crocodile Isle water park is already selling fast. It features dual water slides, one straight and one curved and a large wading area.

The Play Palace is ideal for the budget conscious who want to entertain plenty of children at once on a jumping castle for under $400.

Finally, the Magic Kingdom is a larger sized version of the Magic Castle featuring a front area that can be used as a ball pit that can entertain up to 5 kids at a time for under $500.

We will be continuing to add more quality inflatable jumping castles and water slides to our line up. We may not sell the biggest volume of domestic inflatables in Australia, but we certainly sell the best!

As more domestic use jumping castles become available on the market, it can be difficult to know which inflatable brand is going to be suitable for your purposes. Some things that we think the astute buyer should consider when comparing the Blast Zone range with the competition are:

* Blast Zone domestic inflatables are the toughest available in the Australian market - we know because we used to sell a competitor's brand.

* Blast Zone are the only inflatables on the Australian market that incorporate commercial quality materials and stitching in their manufacture.

* Every Blast Zone inflatable bounce house and water park is inflated and tested before it leaves the factory (if experience is anything to go by, we doubt our competitors do this). Full-time quality control personnel inspect the stitching and materials on every item before it ships from the factory, as well as thoroughly inspecting and testing the materials before the manufacturing process begins.

* Our inflatables are covered by a 3 month manufacturer's warranty, and we honour our warranty. What this means is that if something goes awry with your inflatable that is obviously because of poor manufacture (unraveled stitching, weakened materials etc.) we will repair or replace your inflatable as soon as possible at our expense. In reality, in the unlikely event that there has been a manufacturer's fault, you will most likely notice it the first time you use the product.

* When comparing warranties with other manufacturers, check what it is exactly that they are covering. A long warranty that is only covering a manufacturing fault is nothing more than a gimmick as manufacturing faults are apparent within the first few uses.

* We estimate that if your Blast Zone jumping castle is used in accordance with the manufacturer's guidelines (no overloading, packed away clean and dry after use) it should last 5 - 10 years if used infrequently at home (birthday's, parties, holidays etc.).

* Blast Zone inflatables are manufactured with phthalate-free material in accordance with strict European standards yet to be adopted in Australia. Phthalates (pronounced Thal-8) are a group of specific chemicals used in PVC manufacturing and are used as plasticisers in the coating on the material, making the PVC flexible and are beneficial to the strength of the item. Although the evidence is inconclusive, there have been concerns that phthalates can affect the hormonal development of children which is why the EU have banned them.

If we can assist you further in your decision making please do not hesitate to contact us on 02 4403 0511.

Jump City
www.jumpcity.com.au

For almost four years now, Jump City has been supplying the Australian market with domestic jumping castles that we have shipped to all corners of the country, and some to overseas. During that time we have had many, many enquiries from people asking whether we also sell inflatables suitable for commercial use. Well after much research, negotiations, conversations and a trip to Orlando Florida we have finally come to an agreement with The Inflatable Depot to distribute their fantastic range throughout Australia and New Zealand.

We are very excited to be forming this relationship with The Inflatable Depot because after searching all ends of the earth, we're convinced that they simply manufacture the best designed inflatables in the world. If your idea of a jumping castle is a three walled structure with room to bounce around, it's time you took a look at some of the designs The Inflatable Depot has in its range.

The Inflatable Depot range of commercial inflatables is ideally suited for those that run children's indoor centres and the big scale hire companies that specialise in fetes, shows, and school and church events. The range also includes something for the backyard hire companies too. We'll be taking the time to write in more detail about some of the different inflatable games that there are in the future.

Jump City is excited to announce that from early August 2009 we will distributing the Blast Zone range of inflatable bouncers, water slides and jumping castles. Although we have been selling the Happy Hop range since October 2005, we have regrettably decided to stop selling this range for a number of reasons. Jump City has always prided itself of supplying a quality product with excellent customer support and strongly believe we will be able to achieve this much better with the Blast Zone product.

The Blast Zone range of inflatables is a significant step up for us in supplying customers with domestic bouncy castles and is sure to take the Australian market by storm. The quality of manufacture is second to none in the non-commercial bouncer range, incorporating commercial quality materials and stitching in key impact areas of the inflatable. While we'll be looking at a 10-20% price increase on our previous range, we believe the product quality is at least 100% better. The Blast Zone range includes visually attractive inflatables with themed designs including pirates, rainforests, space, crocodiles and sharks! There will be different sizes and designs to suit a wide variety of tastes, backyards and budgets.

Our new domestic range will be ready to ship to you from mid-August.

Some of you may have read information put out by KidSafe Victoria warning people not to buy toy jumping castles due to safety concerns. I took the time to write a lengthy response to their article asking for some clarification on some of the information that was put out such as:

How does the number of children presenting with injuries on jumping castles compare to children who have injured themselves on trampolines, swing sets, bicycles and skateboards?

I also told them that from reading their article it also seemed apparent that the majority of children who are injured on jumping castles are actually injured on commercial jumping castles that people hire out or children ride on at fetes and fairs.

Unfortunately I received no response from KidSafe.

The key reason why jumping castles have come under the spotlight for safety in recent years is due to the tragic death of a young girl in South Australia in 2001. If you take the time to read the coroner's report into this incident, you will discover that the death occurred when a large commercial jumping castle which was inadequately anchored in a carpark, was hit by a large whirly wind. The wind speed of the whirly wind was estimated at 100-120km/h and hit the jumping castle directly while children were still on it, lifting it over 4m into the air.

Strong winds are the major safety concern with inflatable bouncers which is why our bouncers clearly state that they should not be operated in winds exceeding 40km/h.

Don't risk serious injury by operating your bouncer on a windy day, and be extra vigilant if you live in areas that are subject to sudden gusty winds or whirly winds.

Here are some more suggestions to help you operate your bouncer safely:

1. Ensure your bouncer isn't overloaded. Too many children on it at once increases the likelihood of children bumping into each other.

2. Do not push against mesh walls. They are designed as a safety catch like on a trampoline, but not to be run into deliberately.

3. Don't mix big kids with small kids on the bouncer. Injuries are often caused by larger kids falling onto little ones.

4. Ensure children take care entering and exiting the bouncer.

5. Do not allow children to take any object onto the bouncer.

6. Be aware that on hot days the surface of the bouncer can become hot. A light spray of water will cool down the surface.

7. Keep in mind that children will often be more careless on a jumping castle than they will on other outdoor toys as the softness of what they are playing on feels safer, so supervise them at all times.

If you're sensible about how the kids use your jumping castle you will see that the risk of injury is much less than on things such as swing sets, trampolines, bicycles and skateboards.