Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Update May 29, 2012: My son is almost 2y5m old now (I didn't update the video...), and we are into the 2012 swimming season with the Puddle Jumper. He still wears it with his wetsuit on, but now his chest measures a bit over 20" with the wetsuit (he's 33lbs and almost 40" tall, pretty much the size of 3 or 3.5 yr old), and the Puddle Jumper still fits on its cinched-up-tightest setting. I can that once he grows from now on, we'll have to start letting it out. As a note, in the 2011 summer swimming season (four months), I left the Puddle Jumper out drying in the desert sun every day for hours (I always meant to move it later....) but it's still going strong, so it's quite durable. It still doesn't float up under my son's chin in any way, but I make sure it's cinched on him tightly. I'd say it's starting to stick on his arms a bit when I go to pull it on, similar to what other reviewers report, but nothing that really impacts getting the Jumper on him. And there's still quite a bit of growth space in the arms, so that doesn't seem to be the issue. It's possible that as his arms get bigger it will become more of a problem. My son is very tall and lanky however, so it likely won't be an issue this season. I'll update as time goes on. ************************************ Original review: [Edit 6/29/2011: Adding the video for those who would like to see the Puddle Jumper in use on a young toddler who had no previous swimming experience. At the point this video is taken (6/24/2011), he is 17.5 months old, 27lbs, and had a total of 1 week and 5 days of Puddle Jumper experience, with no swimming experience before that at all. So it's not a review, per se, just a quick example of how a young toddler at the low end of the weight range experiences the product. He is treading and learning how to do a basic dog paddle. Note that the Jumper doesn't ride up under his chin the way other reviewers report.] My 17m (27lbs, 35" tall) son didn't have any pool experience at all really before these last three weeks. But summer season is starting, so I bought him the Deluxe Puddle Jumper , namely because it becomes quite a constant strain to always be providing all of the buoyancy and support for a bouncy, active toddler in the water. We bought the Blue Turtle, it's very cute and very similar to the product photo. Before I give my review (we are very pleased), I thought I'd give some additional sizing info for those who are interested. Sizing on the Light end of 30-50lbs recommended weight range: My son is exactly 27lbs (35" tall) at the moment (I just weighed him), and he can wear the Puddle Jumper over his wetsuit with the Puddle Jumper belt cinched up as tight as it will go. I wish I could cinch it up a little bit tighter on him actually, there's still about a 0.5" of give, but that seems fair as the starting weight range is stated as 30lbs. The belt, fastened at the back, goes around his lower torso + suit, mid-chest. He measures about 19.5" at that point, over the wetsuit, 4-5" down from his armpit, where the Jumper goes across. I'd say if the child were much smaller than, say, 25lbs, that the Puddle Jumper would probably be just too loose. Sizing on the upper end of the product usage, ie. With the belt let out all the way: OK, I got out the measuring tape, and have written all of this in a Product Discussion forum post, for those who are interested. The short version is: It seems to let out to a final chest measurement of 23.5" fairly snug, so I would think that's the max chest measurement you should consider if you are just buying this product. According to wetsuit guidelines that I recently have been researching, this is likely to be around the low 40-something lb mark for a child. Anyways, in the Discussion forum post I explain my method. Background and "Testimonial": I wanted a flotation aid that would provide some more buoyancy for my 17m old non-swimmer son in the pool so that I wasn't his only source of flotation: It wears on you after a bit. Obviously, I would still be constantly holding him. I have to say, I am so impressed, the Puddle Jumper has ended up being so much more than a simple flotation aid. I find it easy to use on him because I can put one hand under the front foam section at his chest, and hold the strap on the back with my other hand to kinda "fly"/swirl him around in the water around me. I should note that my son wears a wetsuit so that he does get some additional buoyancy there. After three times in the pool with it on (so, a full 60 mins. playing) he started learning how to tread water for several seconds on his own (we're right there beside him). After a cumulative total of 120 mins. of playing in the water with it on, now he can tread water for about five-10 seconds on his own, and then control how he shifts his center of gravity more horizontal and flips onto his front at which point he slightly kicks his legs to do a rudimentary dog paddle (we are right beside him, we are always two inches from him). To summarize, on the Monday my 17m old had zero swimming skills, and by the end of day Friday, five days later of swimming with the Puddle Jumper on, and he can do a rudimentary swim (while wearing the Puddle Jumper), after having taught himself. (Again, we're within two inches of him.) My husband and I are just average level swimmers, we're not instructors or anything. Ease of pulling on: Very easy (for a child at the start of the weight range, at least). Even my wiggly toddler manages to stay still just long enough for me to pull on one arm, and then pull on the other arm, click the belt at the back and cinch it up. It takes about 15 seconds. It adjusts for cinching/loosening very easily, you don't have to inch the belt through the clasp or anything, so you can easily adjust on the spot for a different sized child to start using it. Another reviewer noted that they wet their child's arms to put it on, however at 27lbs, we didn't need to do that, it pulls on fine. Floating up to chin factor: Other reviewers have noted that the Puddle Jumper floats up to and sits just under their child's chin. I don't find this on my 17m son, it doesn't seem that close to his chin at all. But he wears it over a wetsuit, and that may help keep it positioned correctly, as it gets a certain amount of grip to stay in place. And he's obviously not going to be as active in the water as an older child. In any case, he doesn't experience that as a problem. Difference between the Deluxe Puddle Jumper and the Basic Puddle Jumper: My research shows that the Deluxe Puddle Jumper has an outer covering of woven polyester while the Basic Puddle Jumper's outer covering is nylon. I couldn't determine any other difference. I bought the Deluxe Puddle Jumper because I thought that the polyester material sounded easier to pull onto my son's arms. Compare to Speedo Begin to Swim Classic Swim Vest (which we also bought at the same time): I wasn't sure what product would work for us, so I ordered both the Deluxe Puddle Jumper and the Speedo Begin to Swim Vest in size Medium (weight 30-40lbs). In short, we tried the Speedo Vest once in the pool with swimmies on his arms, and it's just too big for my son who has a 19.5" chest (Speedo website states chest size for the medium vest is 22"). On the Speedo Vest, only the between-the-legs strap part can be adjusted, not the actual vest itself in terms of girth. Also, the child has to exert a fair amount of treading effort to keep afloat, as it is a swim trainer. My son as a rank beginner couldn't stay afloat at all. At this point, I have no other comment on the Speedo vest, other than we kept it to use next season. It's my opinion that the Puddle Jumper is a better choice if your child is a few pounds under the 30lb mark, and has a chest size a fair amount under 22". In summary, at 27lbs, 35" tall, with a 19.5"chest measurement, my son just fits into this product on its lowest setting. My estimate would be that the max. chest measurement would be around 23.5". I'm very pleased that the product allows the child enough support to keep them floating with some kicking/treading and encourages them to start developing early swimming skills.