I'm a minimalist. If I don't need a gadget or gizmo, I don't want it.

I blow them up by mouth just because of that.

Mike, I can blow up 2 260s at a time and can blow up 160s both by mouth. I never will do this at a gig. If the odds of some thing bad comeing from mouth inflating are 1000 to 1 my act is that 1 part safer than yours.

I think mouth inflating is a good skill, and great to shut up the wise guys with, but I work to the standerd that I would like to be hired and I would not hire some one who dose not use a pump. It looks bad.

besides I think all you mouth inflaters just don't know how to use a pump

Hmmmm I don't know what looks worse form a distance:

A guy standing up erect, blowing up a balloon by mouth, while people gawk in awe.

Or

A Guy hunched over in a group of kids making short stroking motions.

Never had one complain in the 20+ years doing it that anyone has said it was unsanitary.... never been an issue.

I blow up all my odd balloons such as geo, heart, & bee body by mouth. The 260s I primary use a pump.

I say who cares how you blow up a balloon. If what you are using works...use that method. The kids don't care they just want their sword, flower or other favorite balloon.

It is all about creating fun for the kids and your audience.

Have a great weekend,

Steven

DJ Ehlert makes an awesome battery powered pump called
the Majiloon. I used to inflate by mouth, then moved to
a hand pump, and now I swear by this device.

It scores really high on the cool factor when you use it.

Go to DJ's site at http://www.kenoshamagic.com and look under
products for Majiloon. And FYI, I don't get any kind of
commission/JV on this. I just think it's a tremendous
product and recommend it highly.

--Jack

I use a pump and I mouth inflate when I need to show off or in a rush or if I realy need to show off I blow it up with my nose and make a dog and ask what is it? Its spot the dog I mean snot the dog

I use a Filbert pump which is a floor pump that inflates a 260 in one stroke. It also has a holder that can hold inflated balloons while I am working on other balloons. If I am only inflating a small bubble in a 260, I'll do that by mouth.

Steve

I had more breakage with pump inflation. The skin came out thinner and was more prone to rupture. Also, I do some in-inflation bending that I have trouble doing with a pump.
TV Mc Arthur
Fresno (CA) County Public Library

I use a filbert pump it I'm stationary, but like the small $4 purple pumps that I get from my balloon supplier. I used to blow them up by mouth, but somehow it just seem unsavory to me now. Also, since I started using Bellatex balloons, there is no way that can mouth inflate even if I wanted to.

I usually do a combination of mouth and pump. The warmer the event happens to be the more I use the pump. I tend to perspire less when I use a pump at warmer events. Plus with a Filbert pump, I can use one of the balloon holder holes to hang a nice clean white absorbant towel from.

I have tried to mouth inflate, can do maybe two or three before I am worn out. I know that with enough practice I could probably get it, but I have a 10 year old Pumpo that won't quit, so I keep pumping. I always get the comments from parents, but they usually look at the pump and tell me I'm smart to have it.

My hands usually give out before my lungs do. Between burn scars and arthritis, I can't tie more than 50 without a break, now, and my fingers hurt like the Dickens (Little Jimmy, not Charles). Is there an easy-tie method?

In contrary to what I read before on this topic, I think there is way more oportunities to make jokes when you inflate by mouth. for instance try to keep telling your joke, while inflating the balloon. whatever you tell, it ìs funny.
It goes faster, and you are free to move. unless you use a noisy rechargeable inflator.
And something important: you can not make a spiral form while not inflating buy mouth ( I think...), can you?
suggestion: If you inflate balloons by mouth, only qualatex.I tried sempertex, but someway these caused a pretty bad irritation of my troat. so avoid this one for mouth-inflating.

I inflate 260 spirals by mouth so I don't do this, but I have heard that some non-mouth inflating artists wrap the uniflated balloon around the child's fingers and then use a pump to inflate. I do have a design or two that I spiral a 160. Since I don't mouth inflate 160's, I use a short piece of PVC pipe. I have cut a notch in the end of the PVC pipe and insert the end of the balloon in it, and then I wrap the balloon around the PVC pipe and inflate with my Filbert pump to make the spiral.

I honestly don't know why so many people believe you can't make spirals using a pump. I make my best spirals using my floor pump. I inflate the 260 fully, deflate, wrap it around my fingers, and inflate it with my floor pump of choice, a Filbert. Right now, my pump spirals are better than by mouth inflated ones, as I need to develop better lung strength to spiral a 260.

Steve, that has got to be one of the coolest avatars I've seen. Top work!!!

Last weekend 2 hrs in to a 5 hr job my pump broke and my back up pump just ran off.So I had no choice but to mouth inflate for 3 hours with no break It has also been 5 or so years since I have had to mouth inflated for such a long time. After 100 balloons I thought I was going to die I give credit to all who never use a pump I wish I never started to use one myself

When I do a strictly magic show for kids, I do one balloon animal for a helper because it's fun to see one being made and I have a lot of good lines and bits of business as I do it. For this, I inflate by mouth because I don't need to carry a pump to inflate one balloon.

When I am doing lots of balloons, however, I use a pump because I can do it faster and I can talk while pumping. I try to make my balloon sculpture much like a show with lots of good lines and bits of business. If nothing else, I get the kids guessing about what I am making as I do it. This all requires talking. To save space I use a T. Myers hand pump and can inflate a balloon fully (not all balloons will be inflated fully for sculpture, of course) in three strokes.

I don't do many fairs of festivals where the idea is just to churn out balloons in volume. If I did, I'd use a floor mounted pump because it's even faster. 260's can be done in one stroke.

Dennis Loomis

Alan Wassilak the magician actually did burst the blood vessels in his eyes by trying to blow up balloon animals.

Wow that a lot of risks... I have heard blowing balloons up causes problem.. YUP.. I still do it anyways...

However I agree that when you blow them up using a pump or electric pump you have the ability to talk to everyone and entertain your guests!