air matresses made by Sevylor
for rather more up to 220FF. The shop
sells swimming costumes and other swimming aids. They also stock inflatable sofas and crocodiles and they speak English - Plein Soleil Tel and fax +33 4 93 67 39 19
Opposite Salis Plage is a shop with a good range.
In the Petit Casino food shop on Cap d'Antibes the the webmaster was asked where one could buy inflatable toys for the beach . . . In fact near to the turning in the middle of the Cap up to the lighthouse, near the good restaurant and Glacier for lunch there is a newsagent with a good selection of canvas beach shoes and children's inflatables. No air mattresses however.
In Juan there are boutiques with a good range and sometimes more
flashy transparent designs. You'll end up buying other toys for the
children as well.
These shops normally have a good range of canvas beach shoes.
Types of Air Mattresses for the beach commonly available in the
South of France. In England air mats, air mattresses are known as
lilos whilst in America people refer to them as rafts or floats. Click here to buy pool inflatables / beach airbeds in England UK
The Blue Blanc range by Pyraqua. Thin, tough and good quality.
Some were emblazoned "Royal Nautic Club" for those who wanted to
pretend they owned a yacht! Commonly available in Juan and Antibes.
The best place to get them is the good shop Plein Soleil near Le Salis. Email the webmaster for the telephone or fax number - they speak English. Around
85FF.
These double ones are useful for sleeping on - although one
partner is vibrated by the movement of the other. Cotton on one side,
PVC on the other. Tough but don't have the flexibility of
old-fashioned rubberised cotton. Available in Juan and Maxi Bazaar. Click here for double airmattresses in UK
Looks good and comfortable. Other good quality looking Sevylor air
mats have one air chamber including the pillow: this expands in the
heat and the distorted shaps is less than useful. This one however
does not look as though it has that problem. 100FF special end of
season offer in Juan but otherwise you can expect to pay nearly double for a good quality one such as this.
This sort made by Intex is one of the most comfortable in the market. Around 130FF. Sadly no longer made and only available very expensively in America.
This banana boat is fun. With two air chambers on each side it's
unsinkable. However, short of leaning off the front end and paddling,
it's un-navigable. Wide enough and tough enough for a Large Heavy
person - or to take a child with you for an adventure. BUT don't take
it on the sea in a wind - safer for use on a pool. Believed to be out
of production but near the camping sites at Biot there is an
excellently stocked inflatables shop at the side of the road. On
offer as an end of line item in Juan for 100FF, expect to pay 250 to
300FF elsewhere. This style of air mattress has a design problem -
the webmaster had a similar Italian one once: the air tanks on each
side tear away from the pillow. As soon as you see damage occurring,
patch and glue it. A repair kit is often supplied with this type.
Weilencke Spiel & Sport - a popular make. This type is
comfortable but it is one air chamber. It's good for riding the
waves! Air matresses like these are available in England made by Sevylor imported from France
Blue Sky 18 hole air mattress. The window is brilliant for seeing
the sea-bed. The Blue Sky sort is comfortable and the two chambers give one
the ability to flatten the pillow: if you have a thin mattress on
your bed with hard slats underneath, typical of popular French bed
construction, a pair of these underneath (not inflated hard) will
make it feel like a sprung interior mattress giving extreme comfort
and a good night's sleep! Used at the beach they are tough and
inflated hard are rigid and brilliant for riding waves.
This sort of Bly Sky 18 hole air mat is like the Intex below. From
the illustration, perhaps the pillow might be better placed nearer to
the end. However, the webmaster was not extravagant enough to buy one
just to compare. Has anyone compared them? Email the the webmaster . . .
Here's a manufacturer that makes similar ones.
Also made by Blue Sky are these 1.9mx0.9m large transparent air mattresses:
Because they are glossy they are useless to sleep upon - but they are big, wide and comfortable for the beach and for floating on the water . .. and you can see fish through them. Similar ones are available in England
All of the following are available from Carrefour in the summer
season and if you happen to be going there, can be worth considering:
Intex 18 hole air mat on the left. Not rigidly inflated these are extremely comfortable on the water. The pillow is not in the best place for reclining upon - perhaps turn it upside down for that and the plastic of the underside feels pleasantly soft - but "the correct way up", and on your front the pillow lifts you well out of the water to give a good view of the sea-bed and fish in front.
The one on the right is marketed as a "Tote 'n float", whatever that means. It's thin but provides a good support for floating on the
water - but too wide if one likes swimming on top of a lilo. If you
have a hard mattress, putting one of these beneath the sheets gives a
soft luxurious cushioning. Taking these to the beach has a real
advantage over a conventional air mat - you can take them inflated,
rolled up.
Intex suntanner chair - floats. These are good as suntanner chairs
or recliners but less than practical on water. The connecting strip
is fairly fragile and one sees separate halves of them on the beach
from time to time.
These Intex suntanner 4-tube design lilos are a good size, a
comfortable shape and good in the water . . . However, not only is
the top a transparent "glossy" surface but the silver underside is a
glossy surface too - to which one sticks - so it's useless to sleep
upon when camping . . . so cheap but not the best . . . Around 25 to
30FF at Carrefour. There is another sort of Intex air mattress which
is a 5 tube design that is cheap (but often sold more expensively) and really nasty: it only has one
inflation valve - the pillow shares the same air chamber as the body
of the lilo. Because the pillow is a larger diameter, the surface
pressure is a much greater pressure and it expands in the heat and
expands and expands like a balloon. It ceases to be a pillow but a
massive obstruction . . .
There is only one use for these lilos -
although 2 chamber (ie the pillow is inflated independantly) are
better - the most extraordinary use for a lilo . . . Defrosting a
fridge! They are just the right width to catch all the water from the
melting of the ice in a fridge . . . which one then collects in a
paddling pool. Very good for collecting rainwater from leaky roofs in
the loft!
Much better are these Intex air mats: -
These Intex 4 tube printed designs come in a variety of patterns - Looney Tunes Taz, flags and beach scenes. For around 23FF at Carrefour these are the best value in the south of France. The PVC is a pleasant to feel soft vinyl, thin but tough and very strong. Whether for floating on the water, sunbathing on or sleeping on when camping, they are excellent. Their thinness makes them lightweight to pack in a bag and they are very strong.
New in 2001 is a comfortable textured surface translucent model, slightly more expensive at around 30FF but sells in the boutiques in Juan for around 80FF
Shops that sell lilos inflated always overinflate air mattresses with compressed air. Normally this substantially reduces their life but not with these: in the heat they expand considerably and can end up 25% wider, longer and more comfortable than almost any other.
The best air mattresses, however, are not available in the South of France and only appear to be sold in Mallorca. They are slightly longer and wider than the Intex variety and are made by a Spanish company called "Gre". Large, tough and comfortable . . .
If you want a laugh, here's an air mattress of extreme rarity now - with Pamela Anderson printed on it! The webmaster's wife disowns him when he takes Pamela Anderson to the beach! But she causes a head or two to turn :-)
Here are the best Beaches in the South of France to go to with your ordinary or your Pamela Anderson air mattress.
If you would like to rent a nice apartment or two in an old villa or anywhere else the the webmaster knows local owners and agents and can put you in touch. Please put Antibes Rental in the subject heading.
By popular demand . . . a UK supplier of . . . £5 + postage. Email the webmaster if you want to buy one.
THE MOBILE PHONE AIR MATTRESS
are available for around £10 in England from
C & N Raleigh Cycles, 67 London Rd,
East Grinstead,
West Sussex,
RH19 1EQ
Telephone 01342 311207
and can be obtained out of season. The shop also stocks the ride-on whale and 3 man boats. Also, if you're looking for an 18 pocket Intex air mattress or a dolphin ride-on another shop nearby often has them. Email the webmaster for the phone number..
HEAVY DUTY STANDARD BEACH / POOL AIR MATTRESS
Ideal for the pool, beach or for camping, it's a heavy duty (10 gauge rather than thin 8 gauge) 27 inches by 72 inches. Children like this size to play with in water as, whilst being wide enough to sleep upon, it's narrow enough for them to use their arms on each side to paddle with.
The box says "embossed" but in fact the surface is smooth without being glossy. If you are going to India where sheets are not well washed and the beds are very hard, then you'll find one of these a godsend and not heavy to carry whilst being durable. If you're going somewhere sunny and fear an airport delay . . . then one of these in your baggage could be useful!
Does anyone else have unusual uses for inflatables? Please email the webmaster.
Here's a dehumidification tunnel drying out a spillage on a floor:
Not Musical Chairs:
Musical Mats! - Everyone knows that the Lilo character loves rock-n-roll, so your guests are sure to enjoy this version of Musical Chairs. Instead of chairs, use beach mats or beach towels laid out in a large play area. Use one less mat or towel than there are players and play some classic tunes (Elvis’ Hunka, Hunka Burnin’ Love is recommended.) When the music stops, players rush to sit on a beach mat. The player who is left without a mat is out of the game. Continue removing a beach mat each round until you have a winner!
Click here to buy lilos for childrens' parties in England UK
"All men should experience a Thai soapsud massage before they die. But why trot halfway round the globe when all you need is soap, a lilo and a willing (preferably light) partner?
What to do: Jump in the bath together, grab the soap and work up as much lather as possible. "Then apply to the entire surface of a beach lilo," says Hooper. Next, cover the entire surface of your partner with the frothy white stuff and lie face down on the lilo. All she needs to do now is gently lie on top of you, wriggling up and down and from side to side in slow, slippery movements, using her entire body as a giant sensual sponge. "If you lose ‘slipperiness' during the massage, simply apply more lather," suggests Hooper. Then turn over and let her do your front - which is where the fun really begins."
Click here to buy airmats to take on your honeymoon in England UK
The Thai lilo massage
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