Material is the single biggest difference between a balloon that lasts fourteen years and one that lasts a season. It is also the thing nobody mentions in a listing.
Polyurethane
What we build in. Light, strong, heat-weldable, and it holds helium well.
Light matters more than it sounds: lift is the difference between the weight of displaced air and the weight of gas plus skin. Every ounce of envelope is lift you do not get. A lighter skin flies higher and steadier on the same fill.
PVC
Cheaper and heavier. Common on imported balloons because it is easy to work and easy to source.
It costs you lift, and it stiffens and cracks with cold and with age. A PVC balloon that has been folded in a box through a winter often comes out with crazing along the fold lines.
Nylon and coated fabrics
Strong and light, and used widely for cold-air inflatables driven by a blower.
Woven fabric is porous, so it needs a coating to hold gas, and coatings wear at the folds. For a helium balloon that has to stay inflated for weeks, it is the wrong choice. For a cold-air shape with a fan running, it is fine.
How to tell what you are being sold
Ask directly, and ask about the seams in the same sentence. Welded seams and polyurethane usually travel together; stitched or glued seams and PVC usually travel together.
If the answer is vague, that is an answer. A manufacturer knows what their own material is.
Ask for a quote. Call 1-800-791-1445 or email sales@arizonaballoon.com and tell us the size and whether you want it printed.
More at arizonaballoon.com.
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