SAN ANTONIO – A good, old-fashioned water balloon fight can be pretty cool fun on a hot afternoon. What's not fun is filling and tying the balloons.
The ads for the $12.99 Balloon Bonanza claim the gadget can fill 120 water balloons "freaky fast."
Neighbors Alison Bergin, Rebecca McKenna and Jenny Cummings gathered their kiddoes to put it to the test.
"I have blown up a million water balloons for my kids," McKenna said.
Busted balloons, tired fingers and lots of time go with the territory. So can the Balloon Bonanza be the answer?
For best results, the instructions suggest partially filling a large plastic tub with water. That creates a soft landing for the balloons.
Following the directions, they twisted the connector onto the backyard hose. When one of the kids turned on the faucet, a bouquet of 40 water balloons began to bloom.
The did seal themselves and fall off into the tub.
Most of the balloons were a good size, although a few were tiny, a few were duds and several began to leak.
"The balloons did seem to leak quickly, so you do need to use them right away," said Cummings.
The instructions do say to use them within 10 minutes.
That was no problem. The kids were eager let the balloons fly. The children gave the balloons a thumbs up because they did bust open rather than bounce.
The box comes with three bundles of balloons.
So is the Balloon Bonanza worth it?
"Absolutely, and to not have to tie off all those water balloons for sure. " Cummings said.
"I will say it's a huge time-saver," McKenna said.
Bergin agreed.
"It does work," she said. "Surprisingly, it does work."