Below is my review of http://www.balloonbounce.com
I have broken down my review into five sections: Content, Balloons, Models, Photography and Overall, each one with a rating out of 10. Remembering that this review is best suited for people who want to join a looner site dedicated to riding content and I’m basing it on estimates of clips and picture counts vs. DVD content from other websites, since this is the only website I’ve ever been a member of.
*** Content = 9 / 10 ***
When you first sign up, you gain access to somewhere over 2000, possibly 3000 pictures, (I lost count about halfway through twice and decided I didn’t want to count again), and a little over 4 hours worth of clips. Compared to a DVD purchase, some of which can be twice or three times as expensive for only a fraction of that content, especially geared to riding, it’s an extremely good deal. To continue membership is actually a smaller fee than the startup, and updates are pretty-much bi-weekly, with the never-missed Monday update being a photo set or a clip, and another mid-week update being a member appreciation picture set, where a balloon with a member name written on it is ridden by one of the models. Although clip updates are always small compared to picture updates, they do even each other out over time to make the continuation fee a good deal.
There is about an equal amount of non-popping and popping content for the clips. Picture sets with popping are usually limited to the very last few pictures out of 50 to 90 or occasionally more, so if you want popping pictures, there’s not much here for that, but for everything else, there’s plenty to see!
Also, as far as I can tell, there’s no removal of content. Everything since the website first opened looks to still be here!
*** Balloons = 7 / 10 ***
The variety of balloons used in the clips and pictures is mostly limited to 24″ rounds or smaller, or GL airship balloons. There are not many picture sets or clips with balloons larger than 24″, which is a little disappointing, but my initial guess why this was the case was confirmed when I E-Mailed their feedback line: They don’t want the models to get hurt. I suggested the air-mattress idea used by Mausi, or any kind of large, soft surface really, to greatly reduce the chance of injury and to even make the balloons less likely to burst. There’s only been one update since I made the suggestion but I’ve got my fingers crossed that it will be heeded sometime soon, because that’s the only thing the website lacks for balloon types really. Shaped balloons haven’t made very many appearances either, but then, they are much more unpredictable and harder to inflate to begin with, so that’s not an expectation you can really have anywhere on the net.
*** Models = 10 / 10 ***
There is a wealth of excitement being shown by the numerous models who do pictures and clips for this website. Extremely few of the clips and pictures show anything but an excited, or at least, amused model, though some of the content is more along the lines of sultry than excitement. Either way you slice it, the models certainly appear to be enjoying the work they’re doing here, leaving any emotional burdens from life behind during their shoots to give the members the highest quality work they can. Each model brings their own sense of flair and individuality to their sessions as well. It’s hard to compare any particular two models to each other because each one has their own way of doing things.
*** Photography = 9 / 10 ***
For the most part, the quality of the clips is very good. About a third of the clips, all the oldest ones, are recorded at a lower resolution than the rest, but every clip now is recorded at the resolution you would expect from a pay site. The actual settings of the clips and pictures vary, ranging from the bedroom, to the living room, to the office, the garage, or just a plain backdrop. Most of the clips have riding either on a couch, bed, stool, or hardwood flooring. As you might also guess, many of the clips on the hardwood floors and stools have popping and vice versa for the couch and bed surfaces. Lighting is good in most of the clips; not excellent, but certainly much better than some websites I’ve seen free pictures and clips from.
*** Overall = 9 / 10 ***
Riding content can be very hard to find in any sort of quantity, but there’s tons of it here and very few of the clips and pictures have anything but. The bottom line is: If riding is your favourite kind of content then this website certainly deserves a look-see. Whether you stay a member or not will probably be based on whether or not you enjoy the kinds of balloons there are, because the lack of jumbo-sized balloons is about the only pitfall and the only thing making me question my decision to remain a member or not. Everything else either met or exceeded my expectations!
— Gemini
