Most balloons, small, medium, or even your favorite large balloons like these https://balloons.online/latex-balloons/large-latex-balloons are made from latex. This is the most common material for creating colorful pieces of happiness.
But in recent years, the so-called foil balls have become their serious competitor! Before you start planning your balloon party and browsing the Web in search of the coolest balloon decorations ideas, we want to tell you what exactly these types of balloons are, what are the differences between them, as well as their pros and cons!
Features of both types of balloons
Latex balloons
Latex balloons are made from 100% latex, a flexible, durable material derived from natural ingredients.
The elasticity of latex allows this type of inflatables to take various shapes and stretch to large sizes without popping. However, they are quite “picky” about environmental conditions: they’re vulnerable to oxidation, don’t “like” wind, drafts, and being exposed to ultraviolet radiation, ozone, and are sensitive to temperature conditions.
Foil balloons
The foil ball is made of a special metalized film, additionally reinforced with nylon. This design allows them to be significantly more durable than the latex version. Due to this material, the gas molecules do not leak out through the walls of the balloon, and, accordingly, the durability also increases.
Due to their high durability, foil balloons make the most different shapes that are impossible for conventional latex ones (for example, foil air walkers, that copy famous cartoon, movie, and book characters, or musical balls, that can play songs and melodies, or even play the recorded voice! Imagine that you can’t visit the party, but you can still congratulate your friend with such a balloon!
Pros and Cons of latex balloons
+ Low cost. Compared to foil balloons, their latex analogs are much cheaper, you can buy much more of them for the same price.
+ Versatility. Latex inflatables are perfect for decorating rooms and the entire house, creating arches, garlands, decorating gifts, or just launching them into the sky!
+ Ease of use. You can inflate your latex balloons both manually and using the balloon pump. Foils balloons are inflated only with the pump.
+ Environmental friendliness. Latex decomposes in the ground, so launching these items is virtually environmentally friendly.
+ Wide range of colors.
– Latex items cannot be reused.
– They will never be able to shine in direct sunlight as foil inflatables.
– They’re much less durable than foil products.
Pros and Cons of Foil balloons
+ Bright and shiny appearance.
+ Huge selection of forms and unlimited possibilities for design and printing.
+ Durability. These balloons can hold their inflated shape for up to 14 days, while regular latex balloons last only 20 hours maximum! Also, while a latex balloon can pop easily, it is much more difficult to burst a foil balloon (so they can’t frighten your kids as latex balloons often do).
+ They’re safe for your health. Such inflatables, just like latex products, are absolutely safe for human health.
– High price. They are much more expensive than latex balloons, so if you order the foil balloon decorations, it will cost you much more than latex balloon compositions.
– Fixed size. When inflating a latex balloon, you can choose a slightly smaller size, medium, or maximum possible, but foil items have a fixed size and shape, so you cannot make them larger or smaller.
– Foil balloons aren’t environmentally friendly. They do not decompose in nature for a long time, so you can’t launch them in the sky. Also, they conduct electric current. But today, manufacturers are producing polymer products that have no metal spraying (the so-called “plastic” balloons).
