The 13 Things You Need to Maximize Your Pool’s Fun Potential

Ask anyone with a swimming pool and they’ll tell you it’s the best part of summer. However, even the most diehard swimmer eventually tires of swimming laps and playing games of Marco Polo. Add some new features to your summer pool parties with any of these 13 pool products and swimming accessories.

1. Angry Life-Size Inflatable Shark
   • Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the pool, an Angry Life-Size Inflatable Shark suddenly appears in the shallow end. Re-enact scenes from Jaws or use it to scare off any neighbors who might try to sneak into your pool while you’re away. This 7-foot-long shark is made with heavy-duty vinyl and costs $69.99 at Stupid.com.
2. The Lunocet
   • Want to swim faster than Michael Phelps without years of strenuous training? The Lunocet is a technological marvel that allows humans to swim with greater force and speed. Modeled after lunate-tail swimmers like whales and dolphins, the Lunocet features such exceptional propulsive efficiency a person can launch themselves out of the water like a dolphin. Prices range from $1,250-$1,800, but it’s worth it if you can parlay it into a date with a mermaid or merman.
3. AquaClimb
   • While insurance companies have long deterred home owners from installing diving boards, there’s now a new way to splash down from greater heights—AquaClimb. This fiberglass climbing wall is simple to install and provides unlimited fun for those who want to rock climb. The price tag of around $8,000 is painful, but it’s offset by the considerably more gentle landing should you fall.
4. WaterWalkerz
   • Waterwalkerz are essentially inflatable hamster wheels for people that can float on water. This is how it works: 1) A person crawls into a giant balloon. 2) Someone hooks up what looks like a leaf blower to a valve and fills the ball with air. 3) The person in the inflated ball gets pushed into the pool.
   • It’s more fun if there are multiple Waterwalkerz so people can collide with one another, but they do cost around $700 a piece. The spinning spheres provide endless fun, but also the opportunity for private reflection. At some point, you will probably begin pondering whether hamsters can swim. The answer is Yes.
5. Party Pool Swimming Pool Color Dye
   • Urban legend has it there’s a special chemical that can be added to pool water that turns red if someone urinates in the pool. This chemical doesn’t actually exist, but since not everyone knows that you can incriminate someone with this swimming pool color dye from Party Pool! The non-toxic dye acts as a water clarifier, lasts for 3-5 days and simply filters out. It also works for staging shark attacks or convincing the neighbors that you fill your pool with Kool-Aid. Prices range from $6-$15 per bottle.
6. Floating Golf Pool Game
   • You may not have the funds to build your own miniature golf course in the backyard, but you can still work on your short game with this surprisingly pricey ($46!) Floating Golf Pool Game from Urban Outfitters. Featuring a moving green and considerable water hazards, this course promises a significan challenge for even the most experienced pool golfers.
7. Donut Pool Float
   • Until the day scientists finally invent a giant donut you can both eat and relax in, this Donut Pool Float will have to do. You can always tell people the donut is there to feed the inflatable shark. Get it at UrbanOutfitters.com for $18.
8. Aqua Rocker
   • The Aqua Rocker is a versatile pool toy you can use as a teeter totter or a rocking chair. For those with some imagination, it can also double a Viking ship for raids on the shallow end. You can buy it at Amazon.com for around $50.
9. Inflatable Pool Volleyball
   • Beach volleyball duo Kerry Walsh and Misty May-Treanor certainly inspired many to take up beach volleyball with their gold medal-winning performance at the 2012 London Olympics. However, before you go to the trouble of filling the backyard with sand, consider confining the volleyball game to the pool. This brightly-colored, 95-inch by 24-inch set costs just $9.99 from ToySplash.com.
10. Flood Force Water Cannon
    • With the invention of the Flood Force Water Cannon, the era of the squirt gun came to an end and a new era of water war arrived. Not to be limited to a small stream of water, this new water weapon unleashes a torrent of water on any foe. The Flood Force Water Cannon operates by turning the handcrank to draw water in and then shoots it in an endless stream at the target. Get it at Amazon.com for around $15.
11. Spring Float Paddle Paws
    • Nobody likes to be left out of the pool party, especially the dog. Bring your pooch along for all the fun with the Spring Float Paddle Paws from ToySplash. While the photo may suggest otherwise, this float makes for fun day on the water for dogs who enjoy lounging in the pool. If you don’t believe this, please view the video clip of the corgi pool party below
12. Digital Camera Swim Mask
    • What happens undewater is just as worthy of being photographed as what’s happening on the surface. Since you can’t take you smartphone underwater to take pictures, try this versatile Digital Camera Swim Mask. It’s the exact tool you need for a photographic expose on what’s really going on at the bottom of the pool. Get it at ToySplash.com for $46.77.
13. Big Bobber Floating Drink Cooler
    • Uncle Pete’s doctor ordered him to start exercising, but he’s content to do 12-ounce curls of his favorite brew from the comfort of his deck chair. Entice him into the pool with the promise of his favorite suds located inside this floating cooler. Strong, lightweight and portable, the Big Bobber Floating Cooler is everything Uncle Pete is not, with the exception of being filled with beer. Get it here for $39.99.

But the best way to improve your pool party is by turning it into a corgi pool party.