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!

* 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

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.

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.

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.

1) Always pack your inflatable away dry and clean. This is particularly important if you're packing away a water slide at the end of the season otherwise mould will develop during the winter. Even on dry days, the underside of your bouncer can get damp from the ground so leave it out to dry, particularly if you plan to pack it away for a long time.

2) Place a tarpaulin underneath your bouncer prior to use. Even if you go to the effort to ensure that there are no sticks, rocks or other sharp/rough objects on the ground where your bouncer is going, there is a chance you will miss something. A tarp underneath your jumping castle or water slide helps minimise wear on the underside by reducing friction and rubbing with the ground.

3) Repair holes and pulled stitching as soon as possible. If you do put a small hole in your bouncer or the stitching starts to come open through wear and tear, repair it while it's still small and before it becomes a big problem.

4) Keep dogs and other pets away. It may surprise you to know that the number one cause of damage to inflatable jumping castles is from excited dogs biting holes in them. Sharp claws and teeth are not compatible with your bouncer so keep the pets away.

5) Supervise, supervise, supervise. Supervision during play is not only important for safety to ensure there's no rough play or kids trying to do silly things, it will also give longer life to your bouncer. Younger children don't think like we do and they will not hesitate to take toys, sticks and food onto the bouncer with them to "enhance" their play experience.

6) Keep the big kids off. While Blast Zone bouncers are built tough and adults have been known to join in on the fun, your bouncer is going to wear out a whole lot quicker if you allow it to be used this way. The stitching is simply not strong enough to withstand the sort of force big kids and adults will place on it if they are on for extended periods of time.

7) Use Armor All or a similar product to protect your bouncer from the suns rays. Your bouncer will look like new a whole lot longer using a proctectant, but check on a small area first to ensure it doesn't cause damage. Also, if you want to do this take care that using a protectant on playing surfaces may cause them to become very slippery and dangerous.

8) Don't drag the bouncer. If you drag your bouncer while setting it up or putting it away, you'll quickly start to wear a hole in it as it rubs on the ground. The same is true if it's in its carry bag as the carry bag is made from the same sort of material.

While people are increasingly looking to the Internet as an option for making a purchase, it can be with some trepidation. The buyer relies on images of the product being sold, as well as written descriptions, and occasionally video content of the products. However, in all honesty these are a poor substitute for being able to see and touch a product in person.

It is worth noting though that in a lot of department stores such as K-mart etc., the customer will not necessarily have the opportunity to see and feel a product other than what they can see on the box on the shelf.

Like anything there are advantages and disadvantages with making an online purchase as opposed to an instore purchase and I have experienced them all as a regular online purchaser. Which is why I thought it was important to create this blog to help fill in some of the gaps for people who are contemplating purchasing a jumping castle for their children.

Matt Rose
PROPRIETOR - JUMP CITY

There are some home use jumping castles out there that are designed to remain inflated and therefore do not require a continuous air flow blower. You should be aware that this design is more prone to damage and deflation because the jumping castle has a perfect seal of air meaning that air has nowhere to escape when you've got several children bouncing on them at once.

Blast Zone jumping castles are designed to continually "leak" air so that they have plenty of give for when children bounce. This doesn't mean that the castle deflates because it is contantly having hundreds of litres of air pumped into it, replacing immediately the air that is displaced as children bounce. The advantage with this design is that even if your jumping castle gets small holes in it, this will have virtually no effect on the operation of the bouncer.

To view our range of jumping castles click here.