Carolyn J. Braden • 2 Minute Read
This Wind Inflatable Lounger is a Sanibel Island Beach Favorite
After receiving tons and tons of questions and compliments by Sanibel Island beachgoers about our wind inflatable beach lounger, I thought I’d write up a little review of ours for anyone who is curious. I saw a person using one on one of our local beaches (we currently live on Sanibel Island in Florida) years ago and thought it looked really comfortable. Read on to learn about our windsock like inflatable lounger, including the one product downside we learned about.
Walking onto one of Sanibel Island beaches
As I sat on the beach admiring the person’s lounger, I instantly looked on Amazon and found quite a few to choose from and saved them to my Wishlist. It’s hard to stay scrolling on your phone too long while on Sanibel Island.
Sanibel is known for it’s great shelling
One thing Hurricane Ian could not take away is Sanibel’s beautiful natural beaches. The Gulf of Mexico water surrounding Sanibel is usually warm from March to November and its beaches are lined with shells.
See more of our beach and camping gear that we’ve tested and loved in our one minute video below or via my YouTube channel @carolynjbraden:
After reading many, many reviews later that night of my saved Amazon inflatable loungers, I settled on one brand particular due to its raving reviews. In many reviews, I saw many of these inflatable loungers getting punctured easily or just not holding air for very long. The WEKAPO inflatable lounger had raving reviews to its durability and its ability to keep air locked inside.
Sailboat off of Sanibel Island
I ordered two WEKAPO loungers after wanting one for myself and one for my husband. At the time, they were around $39 and we used an Amazon coupon to get a bit of discount. I figured we could use them on the beach OR when we were at a lake or camping too.
See how to inflate and store the inflatable lounger by watching our 1 minute video below or via my YouTube channel @carolynjbraden:
How this inflatable lounger works:
It comes rolled up inside its own carrying bag. When you take it out, it is made out of a parachute type of material, 210T rip-stop polyester. It’s very lightweight, but has a thickness to it. It is 82x27x35 inches in size. It has two openings that are basically “tunnels” lined with a thin plastic that catches the air. This makes it similar to a windsock, but with one end being closed to catch and hold the air.
I love these inflatable loungers
If it’s a nice windy day, you can hold the lounger up into the air and catch the wind inside each “wind tunnel” panel, close it, roll it up and use the strong clip to clamp the end together.
If it’s not a windy day, you have to kind of run around with the lounger to catch your own wind. It’s definitely more work, but something you’d have to do if you were camping or on a windless day in your own backyard or a sports field. Usually, a beach has at least some wind in the air.
Sanibel’s March sunshine is warm
If you had no wind, I’d say it would be smart to hold it up to a strong camping fan (we like this rechargeable camping fan) to fill it with air OR use a portable air compressor (one that comes with multi use tips like this one). A portable air compressor would come in handy when blowing up any rafts for the beach or lake!
My husband loves the inflatable loungers too
Due to all the shells on the island on all over the Sanibel beaches, I was very concerned with one puncturing the loungers, but the material is thick enough to withstand them. Ours hold air well and can hold up to 650 lbs. So, you could lounge on it yourself or use it as a couch and multiple people can sit on them, facing each other. Their product description says they will hold air for 5-6 hours, but we have not tested this. We had them inflated for at least 2 hours at a time and never had to refill them.
It’s extremely packable and lightweight
When you are done using the lounger, you open the clip and start rolling the lounger from the closed end to the open end, clamp the ends back together and place inside the included carrying bag. These are extremely packable at only 2.65 lbs. each, so you could pack one inside your luggage if flying and not have to pay for expensive beach chair rentals when traveling!
We had many people ask us if they are comfortable and they really are. If you are someone that has trouble getting up though or aren’t extremely nimble, you may have a little difficulty getting out of the lounger when laying down.
I’ll always love Sanibel Island beaches
They sit very low to the ground, so you may have to have someone help you out or go to a seated position before standing up. They are water resistant and dry quickly and easily. Definitely do not store it rolled up when wet because it could mold and mildew, especially if you live in Florida!
The downside to this lounger:
Due to its extreme lightweightedness, it WILL take off and roll down the beach or anywhere where it’s a windy day. Ours did not come with any way to anchor it down, so either de-flate it when you are not using it, or place some heavy things on top. Even a strong windy day can launch these, even with items on top. My niece placed a bag on top and the wind knocked the bag off and it almost launched into the air.
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Carolyn J. (C.J.) Braden is the owner of Carolyn’s Blooming Creations is a regular contributor and editor for CBC. She has been featured in numerous media publications such as InStyle Magazine, on HGTV, on Bustle.com, and more. She is the author of the books Georgia McMasters in Amethyst Lake Cemetery, How To Be Yourself: 3 Ways To Help You Being You, and the illustrator for the children’s book Bridging Connections. She is a former classroom teacher that now dedicates her life to educating others on how to live their most healthy, creative and happy life. Learn more about her visiting our About Us page.