While I was flipping through an online marketplace looking for product ideas, I couldn’t help but notice a picture of a child playing inside a transparent ball – and it was floating on the water.

Once inside the ball and floating on the water, you can walk, run, jump running, bounce and even read a book or take your iPod with to relax. All while staying perfectly dry.

While I could imagine myself playing inside the water ball, I wanted to know more about the water walking ball – its good and bad points.

Here are some of the PROS and CONS of the water walking ball (or bubble ball, hamster ball, aqua sphere) that I discovered.

PROS

1. It lets you experience the thrill of walking on the water and bumping into others.

2. It takes less than a minute to fill the ball with fresh air. To fill with air simply open up the air intake and insert the blower, even with someone already inside the ball.

3. It helps you lose weight. It’s not easy to walk in the sphere, so it’s a great way to burn calories and have fun at the same time. Just 5 minutes in the ball is equivalent to 25 minutes on a treadmill or in a sauna.

4. It is 2 meters in diameter and holds up to 300 kilos, so even two people can climb in and enjoy literally floating on water.

5. Playing on the surface of water is fun and restores your energy!

But there are also some aspects that might think about before you play.

CONS

1. You can use it for only about 10–15 minutes at a time on a warm day (a bit longer on a cool day).

2. The air has to be changed every 20 minutes. Once the time is up you can climb out or simply blow some fresh air back in.

3. There is the possibility of it leaking, deflating, or sinking in the water. The material should be checked and before using it, you should read the safety instructions carefully.

4. The average price is not very cheap (and a pump has to be purchased separately).

5. Will it be easy to find a suitable place to use it?

From those pros and cons, you can decide for yourself about the product.

Despite several cons, it still gets a thumbs-up for its uniqueness and creativity in letting us have a happy time on the water.