I’m so excited that we finally decided to purchase a pool for our family! Seeing how it’s now August, we are a little late in the pool season but nonetheless, there’s still plenty of time to swim before Fall rolls in.

We purchased the Intex Prism Pool, size 16’x8’v42” off Amazon and it’s the perfect size for a young family. We will likely keep it up through mid- September and store it throughout the winter months. Here are the details and my honest thoughts on this pool!

The Kit

The best bang for your buck is to purchase the pool kit, which includes the pool, ground tarp, pool cover, ladder and filter system. The kit is now on sale for $499, which is such a steal!

The Setup

Intex claims that this pool should take 60-90 minutes to set up. Although we were skeptical at first, my husband and I got to work and to our surprise, assembled the whole pool (minus the filter) in 90 minutes! While the images within the manual were less than satisfactory, the instructions themselves were fairly easy to follow and the set-up became rather intuitive.

The hardest part of the set-up process was certainly finding a level location. A spot that initially appeared to be flat, turned out to off by just a few inches; which became very apparent once water filled in. We were able to rectify this by shifting the pool just a few inches in one direction, however next year we will likely use sand to build up one side.

The filter installation was also time consuming, as we originally were attempting to install an upgraded filter that (as it turned out), wasn’t compatible with our pool model. Once we switched to the filter that came in our kit, it was smooth sailing!

Initial Thoughts

Once assembled and filled, we were thrilled by the look of the pool and by its durability! The structure has no problem holding the weight of the water and the base is also very secure.

The liner projects a beautiful blue and the pool is very attractive overall. It can easily support 4-6 people at one time, along with pool toys!

Recommendations

A thing that came up in the Amazon reviews was to upgrade the filter system. However in our experience, the filter that came with the pool is quite powerful and has no issue circulating the water. In addition, larger filters (such as the one that we purchased), are likely not a perfect fit with this pool size and model. I would therefore recommend sticking with the filter system provided in the pool kit.

I also strongly suggest upgrading the ladder. The one that comes with the kit isn’t designed with a top platform; something that is quite important for little one’s when entering and exiting the pool.

We upgraded to this Delux Safety Ladder, which is designed with a stair storage system, to prevent kids from sneaking into the pool unsupervised. It is also far heavier than the kit ladder and has a landing platform.

Finally I recommend purchasing a solar cover to assist in warming the pool water. We filled our pool right from our hose and as you can imagine, the water was freezing. After 1-2 days with the solar cover, the water rose to near 80 degrees!

If you’re on the fence about purchasing a pool for your family or are considering this pool specifically, I highly recommend you go for it! All products are linked below for your convenience!

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