Do you know a little swimmer who loves playing in the pool? If they like practicing their underwater skills, pick up a set of swimming pool dive toys. They can have hours of fun playing games retrieving rings, sticks, and other treasures.
Just toss dive toys in the pool and let your kid embark on their underwater adventure. Invent games to up the fun, or have siblings, pals, and even parents face off in diving challenges. Affordable and engaging, swimming pool dive toys are must-haves for the summer.
To help you find the best swimming pool dive toys for your kids, we’ve assembled this buying guide. Our favorite is Melissa & Doug’s Sunny Patch Undersea Treasure Hunt Pool Game. Kids love hunting for the coins and jewels, which are oversized for little hands to hold while they swim up to the surface.
Popular designs for swimming pool dive toys include sticks, rings, balls with tails, and torpedos. There are also plenty of toys featuring characters from TV shows and movies, as well as those shaped like animals, vehicles, or even tropical fruit.
Variety sets of pool dive toys include different shapes and sizes, some of which are more challenging than others to grab or locate. If swimmers intend to play with others in the pool, consider a set that includes at least four to six toys.
If you’d like to travel with pool dive toys, it’s worth getting a value set that includes a carry case. These often include other essential dive accessories, such as goggles, snorkels, or ear plugs.
Well-made swimming pool dive toys are designed to withstand extreme exposure to sunlight and pool chemicals, especially chlorine. It’s common to see toys made from high-grade plastic or silicone, as these materials are known for their overall durability.
Swimming pool dive toys are usually made with bright colors, namely ones that contrast with the pool liner. This boosts their visibility for divers, making them easier to locate. Toys are often designed with fade-resistant colors to make sure they remain visible through years of play.
Some swimming pool dive toys sink immediately, whereas others are designed to leisurely float to the bottom of the pool. Toys slow to sink can pose an extra dive challenge, as divers can race to retrieve toys before they touch the pool bottom.
For advanced divers who want to add more challenges to their dive games, choose toys that are susceptible to movement. Rather than settling at the bottom of the pool, these have features like tails and vent holes. This means they shift around with pool currents, so divers need to plan and navigate their treasure-hunting dives accordingly.
There are some swimming pool dive toys for $5 or less, but if you’d like a set with more toys, expect to spend closer to $10. Premium sets priced around $20 include better-made toys that tend to hold up against sun and chlorine exposure for several years.
A. Before anything else, turn off the filter system to prevent the toy from being sucked inside any further. Next, contact a professional pool service. Their technicians have the training and tools to get the toy out without causing major damage to your pool.
A. You can place them inside a shed or outdoor storage unit, or simply place them inside a bucket near the pool. If you have pets, you may wish to keep them somewhere out of reach to prevent them from chewing on toys, which can be hazardous.
Melissa & Doug’s Sunny Patch Undersea Treasure Hunt Pool Game
Our take: Cute floating treasure chest guarded by an octopus with six pieces of booty.
What we like: High-grade plastic pieces are sun- and chlorine-resistant. Fun for all ages.
What we dislike: Gems are bigger than the coin slot, so you need to open the chest to place them inside.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Intex’s Underwater Play Sticks
Our take: Brightly-colored sticks are easy to spot in the water for young divers.
What we like: Made with soft, flexible rubber. They stand upright on the bottom of the pool.
What we dislike: Relatively lightweight, so they shift around the pool’s bottom.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Our take: Sinking design with easy-to-grab seaweed tails are fun and very affordable.
What we like: Slow to sink, so you can invent speed-diving games to retrieve them. Bright colors and soft neoprene detail.
What we dislike: Toys are weighted, so be careful when tossing them into the pool around other swimmers.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
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Sian Babish writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
