Review: Pocket Bouy

Introduction

I was looking for a portable Buoy with a high flag that I could fly with (so it also needs to be light). I found the Pocket Buoy and found the concept alluring:

It has a foldable flag and inflates using regular party balloons, everything is neatly stored in a mesh plastic bag that can be used to put a counter weight:

Flag & Pole

The flag pole is like a small tent pole (fiberglass tubes with an elastic running through the middle, this is a great idea and allows it to fold up nicely as you can see in the above picture. The version I had purchased was their first and there were some defects which I worked around (more on this later):

• The flag pole dismantled when used in windy conditions/choppy waters: I added a string that spanned the length of the pole and titghtened it when in use, this kept the tubes from coming apart.
• The plastic part where the flag pole attached to the buoy cracked on the inside after some use and the pole fell out: I removed the inside of the flag attachement part and used epoxy to fix the pole back on, this held great.

The flag is a nice nylon flag, not one of those cheap plastic flags like Best Hunter uses. I feel it is big enough and that the flag pole is high enough:

The Buoy

The buoy is a nylon sphere with two quarter circle plastic parts inside that come together in the center with a pin. The form a foldable half circle for structure; the ends of each quarter circle have a threaded part to where you can attach the flag pole and on the other side the counter weight pole:

On the center of the nylon sphere is a small slot so you can slip in the uninflated balloon and inflate it, once inflated just tie a knot and you are done. It comes with a couple balloons and you can buy more from them. The balloons are 17" (43cm) outdoor balloons (thicker than the party type), I ended up having to get new balloons quickly so I got regular indoor ones and doubled them up (I had no local source for the outdoor type or the possibility/time to order them), it works just fine and it is cheap. Smaller balloons may work but I wouldn't try as they wouldn't fill up the nylon sphere. I have never had the balloon(s) puncture and I have used the same balloon for two days (on the 2nd day I had a backup with me just in case). After the 2nd day of heat and salt does make the rubber feel a bit weaker so I wouldn't push it. They also sell a more heavy duty inflatable ball that you can use instead of balloons. I read it does not fully fill up the nylon sphere, it makes it a bit more heavy in your luggage and you have to have a pump (which for me defeats the purpose of the original design), but some people may want that:

The counterweight

To attach the counterweight you have a single flag pole segment that attaches like the flag pole, it has a metal plug and a hole so you can attach something to it. You can either directly attach a lead weight as shown in one of the above pictures, buy their a counterweight pouch (also shown being used in an above picture):

but I just use the storage mesh pouch:

and pick up a heavy stone and stick it in the pouch. The original counterweight pole attach point had the same issues as the flag pole.

Support & Build

I ran out of balloons while on a trip and I wasn't sure of the balloon size so I emailed the maker. I got a quick reply and as I thanked them I told them I liked their product and that I had had only some small issues since I worked around them). They told me that the Pocket Buoy has a lifetime warranty and that the first batch had some issues and that they had fixed them, so they sent me (to my home) replacement parts. They had fixed the flag pole coming apart issue like I had done it (but more professionally) and had reinforced the flag and counterweight pole attach points. I have not had any issues with these new parts. I have since used the old flag pole to replace Best Hunter Okipa II flag pole with a new flag (see here for more info).

Conclusion

I am very happy with this buoy, it does what I need in a neat way. I am using the buoy only to signal my presence and not to help me fight/land fish (I have a post about buoy/floats in general here); for this later use case I would not use it. I had some issues with the version I purchased, it was their first version and I worked around the issues myself but as mentioned above the product has a lifetime warranty and they replaced the faulty parts quickly with no hassle. I applaud their great customor service, thank you. Since then I have never had any issues. I would recommend this product for a similar use case as mine.