JOSEN
Unbox in the shade. Vinyl that has been folded in a hot truck is stiff, and forcing a cold-folded crease open is the most common way a brand new float gets its first weak spot. Lay it flat in the sun for ten minutes first and it will relax on its own.
Inflate the main chamber to about ninety percent, then stop. A pool float is supposed to have a little give — press the rim with a thumb and you should feel it move a few millimetres. Fully rigid is not stronger, it is the opposite: a hard chamber has nowhere to put the pressure when someone sits down hard or when the afternoon sun adds heat, and that is when seams tear. Fill the smaller chambers — headrest, footrest, cup holder — last and softer still.
Air expands. A float inflated at nine in the morning will be tight at two in the afternoon, so on a hot day open the valve for a second around midday and let it breathe. Our products carry a 48 hour inflation test before shipping, which means they hold air; it does not mean they are immune to physics.
Keep them off concrete and gravel. Almost every puncture we hear about happened on the deck, not in the water. Carry rather than drag, and if you must set a float down on a rough surface, put a towel under it. The same goes for the yard pieces — a dry stem in long grass will do more damage than a whole season of swimming.
At the end of the season, rinse with fresh water, dry completely in shade, and fold loosely rather than tightly. Sunscreen and chlorine both attack vinyl slowly, and a float put away damp will grow something unpleasant in a dark garage. Store it somewhere that does not freeze. Done properly, that is the entire maintenance routine, and it takes about fifteen minutes a year.
Everything above comes from doing this badly for years before doing it well. The experience that changed our minds was a party where three rafts went soft within an hour because we had filled them hard in the cool of the morning and left them in full sun. If you want the sizing side of the question rather than the air side, start with the float guide and come back here once you know what you are inflating.