I just received this today... haven't had a chance to actually try it. However this is my fifth tube trainer and third brand of this style of tube trainer that I have purchased in the last year. I have two little ones a year and a half apart, and have used them for both. The first brand I tried was the Swim Tee Trainer. The second was an Aqua Coach tube trainer. The reason we keep buying new ones is that we LOVE this style of flotation device, but they keep popping on us from being left in a hot car, or wearing out because of poor design. Last summer my 12 month old could swim around the pool after the second day of swimming with it, and loved it! They just have to learn how to balance themselves. The swim Tee trainer had really flimsy material around the tube that got holes in in from just touching things, like the slides at the pool. This happened with both of our tubes. The rubber inner tube, which you would fill with an air compressor, eventually was bulging horribly out on all sides. And that was only after less than a month. On one of our tubes, a hole in the fabric started from just filling the tube up with air. This brand really didn't last long. I think a better material would have made a huge difference. The Aqua Coach tube trainer seemed a lot better, but the tube itself was actually smaller, so it was harder to get on my 3 year old. We could do it, though, and it really wasn't an issue for us. However, the safety strap wasn't comfortable long enough for my 3 year old to use. So, we cut the under strap off, and because the tube was too small to fit over his shoulders, I didn't see any reason to worry about the possibility of him falling through. This one again had the rubber inner tube filled the same way with an air compressor. I was over-all completely satisfied with this brand. I did have one of these pop while being filled up, and therefore, needed one more. I wasn't particularly careful to get this exact brand - just careful not to get the swim tee trainer - and ended up now with the Aqua Leisure one. I ordered this Aqua Leisure tube simply because the price was right and I figured it would be worth a try. I did like that the strap for the bottom had a clip. On the past ones I had used, they had Velcro to secure the strap, which I was a little worried would perhaps catch on their swimsuits, though they never did. I thought it might be nice to try this one with a clip and see if I liked it better. And I figured I might just cut it off again anyway. Well, just out of the box, my biggest surprise is that this tube is not a durable rubber inner tube. Through the fabric, it feels like a plastic inner tube that you buy for a couple dollars at the store. The box claims it is a "rugged inner tube for years of use." You are not supposed to fill this one with an air compressor. There are TWO little valves that look like the ones on a beach ball or any other blow up toy. Strange. I used my bicycle hand pump to fill it up. I wasn't sure what to expect... I wasn't sure how it would look round like a tire if there were two air compartments. Since you can't see the inner tube within the fabric, I was really skeptical. However, once both compartments were filled, it does look fine. I'm just not sure there is enough air inside to safely hold my little ones up out of the water the way our other ones do. I will have to give a follow-up once we give this new one a try. Update after first use: The tube is not durable. It popped after about an hour of normal use by a three year old. It was a slow leak, and very dangerous since it took us a little bit of time for us to realize what had happened. He was securely above the surface of the water when we began. Because of the slow leak, it wasn't immediately obvious there was a problem. At some point, we noticed he was lower in the water, to a nearly dangerous level, and realized there wasn't enough air anymore in the tube. Of course we were in the water there with him so he was safe, but had we not been paying close attention, it could have meant him drowning. We immediately took him out of the water, and tried to refill it with the hand pump. As I put air in, I could hear air leaking out of the tube somewhere, though I couldn't see where because the tube is covered with fabric. I am so disappointed in the quality of this tube. I am hoping to get my money back. I am not familiar with Amazon's returning of a product that has been used, and unfortunately I through the box away prematurely. The box said "durable"... I should have trusted my gut instinct and returned it before using. Any one have suggestions of how I proceed to get my money back??
