Buying guide
Twelve bounce houses where the slide is the point, each drawn to scale with the lawn it needs, from a 9 foot compact combo to a 17 foot castle with two lanes.
A slide adds length to a bounce house, and the bottom of it needs open grass as much as the walls do. Most manuals we've read, from Little Tikes, Action Air and Bounceland, ask for 2 meters (6.6 feet) of clear space on every side; Sportspower's asks for 6 feet and HeroKiddo's for 7. Each card uses its maker's own figure, and the 6.6 foot default where we found no manual.
The sections run small to large. Compact combos suit younger kids and a modest yard, the classic 12 by 9 is the size most kids picture, and the long and double slides are for bigger groups with the lawn to match. Ages and weight limits come from the listing or the manual, and where a listing contradicts itself the card says so. Pick a size below, or start with the buying guide.
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Slide combos from 9 by 8.4 to 10.5 by 7 feet, sized for younger kids and a modest yard. With clearance, three of them need about 23 by 22 feet of lawn and the longer Little Tikes needs 24 by 21.
Our pick under 11 feet
A climbing wall with padded handholds leads up to the slide tower, and mesh walls around both let you count heads from a lawn chair. H2OGO! lists no weight limit, only a cap of three kids at a time, and at 7 feet tall it's sold for indoors too if your garage or basement has the headroom.
View on AmazonGames built into the walls
A shark-faced bouncer with its slide on one side and a ball pit on the other, plus a ring toss and a pitching target built into the walls. It's sized for ages 3 to 6 and 198 pounds in all, and the pit can hold a little water on hot afternoons.
View on AmazonSlides from age 2
Little Tikes starts this one at age 2, a year before anything else on the page. Its manual caps it at two children of 80 pounds each, so it suits a pair of small siblings better than a birthday crowd.
View on AmazonMost weight, compact size
The slide and a ring-shaped ball pit sit side by side out front, with 40 balls, a dart target and a hoop in the box. Its 300 pound limit is the highest of the compact four, and the blower carries ETL certification.
View on AmazonThe size most kids picture: about 12 by 9 feet, with the slide out the front. With clearance that comes to 26 by 23 feet, except the Sportspower, whose manual asks for 6 feet a side and brings a slightly bigger unit in at 25 by 22.
Our pick at 12 by 9
Of its 12 by 9 feet, the bounce floor inside is 7 feet square; the walls and the slide take up the rest. It inflates in under a minute on its GFCI blower and packs into a 39 pound carry bag between parties.
View on AmazonAges up to 10
Action Air uses extra-thick fabric on the jumping floor and the slide, with mesh netting on three sides. Setup and takedown take under three minutes by its listing, and ages run to 10, two years past the Little Tikes.
View on AmazonA measured 3 × 6 ft slide
The rare listing that sizes its slide: 3 feet wide by 6 feet long, beside a 6.9 by 7.2 foot jumping area. It also takes the most weight of the classic four, 400 pounds with no child over 100.
View on AmazonSlide doubles as the door
The slide is also the front door: a wide, cushioned ramp that kids climb in on and slide out of. Sportspower's manual asks for 6 feet of clear space a side rather than 6.6, and sets an 85 pound limit for each child.
View on AmazonTaller climbs for bigger groups, from 12.7 by 8.3 feet up to a 14 by 17 foot commercial castle with two lanes. Plan on 26 to 31 feet of lawn the long way, and check overhead too: the tallest stands 15 feet.
Our pick for a long slide
A 9 foot castle with its long slide down one side and an extra cover over the sliding surface to take the wear. The blower sits at the end of a 6 foot intake tube on a 25 foot cord, letting it sit well clear of the landing.
View on AmazonClimbing wall and obstacles
Kids weave through a row of obstacle poles and up a climbing wall to reach the long slide, which has raised rails on both sides and a cushioned stretch at the bottom. A ball pit that doubles as a splash pool is built in, and the whole thing takes 400 pounds.
View on AmazonSlide lands inside
Its curved slide drops riders back inside the netting instead of onto the lawn, so less grass and dirt get tracked in. It holds five kids and 500 pounds on a 1,100 watt blower, and Island Hopper backs the seams with a three-year warranty against blowouts.
View on AmazonTwo lanes, commercial vinyl
Two slide lanes side by side, so a pair can race to the bottom, on a castle built from commercial PVC vinyl and rated for 700 pounds. It stands 15 feet tall and weighs 132 pounds, so setup is a two-adult job and the spot needs nothing overhead but sky.
View on Amazon
Toddler and indoor
Small backyard bouncers, indoor units and play yards from 12 months.
Water slides
Wet slides with splash pools, climbing walls and double lanes.
Big kids
Commercial vinyl and obstacle courses for kids past 8.
All bounce houses
Twelve picks for every size of yard, slide or no slide.
