Imperial Toy Kaos Portable Pumping Station, (colors may vary)

As an easy way to tie the water balloons, the stick on the top of the bottle is pretty good. But as a water pump to fill the balloons, the bottle is very poor, I would only give 1 star if not 0... Think about the design concept for a moment, the goal is to make the water flow into the balloon as you pump, and *NOT* let the water in the balloon flow back into the bottle. So this requires an one-way valve. Without a good quality valve, there is no seal, water just goes back and forth between the balloon and the bottle. Well, that's exactly what happens to Kaos Pumping Station. The one-way valve is just a rigid plastic coin, whereas a good valve should be made of rubber. Luckily, the fix is easy, I uploaded photos to illustrate.1) Disassemble the pump by holding A) the tube under the pump handle and B) the part that the straw goes into, then twist to unscrew.2) There is a white cover on the straw assembly, pry it off carefully (I used my fingernails). There is a penny-size disc inside. This is the one-way valve.3) Stuff the disc into a water balloon, then cut off the excess balloon. Essentially, you have rubberized the disc/valve.4) put everything back again.The one-way valve now has very good seal, Easy to fill the balloons. 5 star quality now.Update 2018.I bought another Kaos Pumping Station, but this time it didn't come with the no-tie stick on the top. Reading other reviews, this seems to be a problem others have encountered as well. I filed for a replacement, and the new one came with the no-tie stick.

This is our second purchase of the Kaos pumping stations because the first one broke. The little peg that helps you tie the balloons broke off, probably because I was using it as a lever to help unscrew the top rather than it not being built well. I have used the adapters to your garden houses to fill up water balloons and they never seem to work well. This thing pumps up the balloons fast and saves the skin on your fingers after having to tie off lots of balloons. It's a great design although it will take you a couple of tries to master the tying assist piece as it's not completely intuitive...but once you get it it's easy. We have three kids and I can't tie the balloons fast enough by hand to satisfy their grabby little paws so this toy definitely helps me out. The balloons themselves are good, pretty good size, hold up well, and are biodegradable. One word of warning, the balloons will degrade quickly if left in the sun so when you are done playing with them bring them inside or put them under cover. I left some of ours outside in a jar for a couple of days and they were so degraded you couldn't fill them anymore, they just fell apart. A second word of warning, don't use the tie assist peg to help you open the jar, it wasn't designed to do that and it will break eventually.I try to make my reviews engaging and useful. Please click the helpful button if you thought this review was worthwhile. Thanks!

The media could not be loaded.  Update 8/8/2017: I sent the video to Amazon and they immediately sent me a new one and it works! LOVE the pump. Would recommend over and over again! UPDATE: My review was based on prior knowledge of this toy. Unfortunately I am sitting outside with my 9 year old, attempting to use this for the first time and it does not pump water. Including a video.I love the KAOS Water Balloon Pump, so I knew what I was getting from the beginning. I love that with the tie tool, the children don’t need me to tie water balloons until my hands are raw. They can do it! And when I do it, it’s fast and easy! Highly recommend you add this to your summer arsenal!The only issue I have with this order, is the description seemed to say it included the launcher. I bought it thinking I was getting a little something extra for my money so I was mighty disappointed to find that I hadn’t. Just the balloons and the pump...no launcher. Please fix the misleading description. It is the reason for 3 Star rating. The product itself is 5 stars!

The media could not be loaded. We LOVE the pumping station!!!! The item is basically a plastic jug with a pump-type dispenser. How to do it:1. Place your balloon on the nozzle (you can see on the video that you don't have to hold it, but sometimes they pop off...that is part of the fun!!)and pump until the balloon is as full as you like it2. wrap the balloon around the tying stick once3. slip the end of the balloon through the pincer-end4. just pull the balloon!! It is tied!!!The pumping station comes with 250 balloons, which are on the small side, but we had fun with them playing catch! It works with other balloons too. I (as the mom) LOVE LOVE that the kids can tie their own now. I remember them filling many balloons on the faucet and running (with water squirting everywhere) for me to tie balloon after balloon. Either that or my fingers would get sore from tying a bucket full. No more!!!The jug itself is just clear plastic. I don't think it could take a whole lot of dropping while full, but it works as intended. My kids know to just fill it up and set it down. It does have a handle.Just a fantastic invention!!!

This is seriously a fabulous summer toy!! We live in Minnesota so while summers are short, they are still intense-- frequent days in the 90s and sometimes even higher. I first purchased this toy locally and it was an immediate hit. Best part-- my five year old can knot his own balloons, thanks to some twist-wrap-pull design built in [that the kids master better than me]! That's right folks-- my kids will fill and tie their own balloons for HOURS! An added bonus-- the balloons really are biodegradable like it says. It takes time of course, but I feel a little bit better about bits and pieces left in the grass! This pump held up to heavy use all last summer, and something gave out the following June. I did not hesitate to purchase another immediately, knowing it would be put to good use again. Once again the kids (and adults!) have been enjoying it ever since! In fact, everyone who uses it asks more questions so they can buy their own. This will be a permanent feature around our house.