A swim ring (also known as a swimming ring, swim tube, rubber ring, water donut, floatie, inner tube, or, in the United States, a lifesaver) is a toroid-shaped (hence the name "ring" or "doughnut") inflatable water toy.
The swim ring was derived from the inner tube, the inflatable inner part of older vehicle tires.[1] The inner tube, when inflated, was used as a water toy, and as a floating object to lounge on.
Swim rings are inflated with air and worn around the user's torso, usually just under the arms, or sat upon, to hold the user above the water. They come in a variety of sizes to fit children through adults, though the larger sizes are often called "swim tubes" or just "tubes".
At water parks, these are commonly used on water slides, with a person sitting in the center of the ring, legs and body leaning over the sides. Some designs even appear as more than one tube sewn together, and include 2 or 4 holes so that more than one rider can fit comfortably.
Although similar in appearance to a lifebuoy, a swim ring is not designed to save individuals from drowning.
A swim ring consists of two identically-sized layers of flat plastic, one of which contains a valve for inflation and deflation. Each layer is circular with a circular hole in the middle. The two layers are joined at their inner and outer edges, sealing an air chamber inside.
Animal-shaped rings sometimes include an additional air chamber in the shape of a forward-facing animal head on the upper side of the ring, with more complex designs also featuring further chambers to represent limbs, tails, wings, etc. These additional air chambers may join directly to the main ring air chamber, or consist of an independent air chamber with its own contained valve.
A lo largo del tiempo se han producido una variedad de formas y diseños coloridos, que van desde personajes populares hasta animales relacionados con el agua (por ejemplo, flamencos, cisnes, criaturas marinas), así como criaturas fantásticas como dragones y unicornios. Aunque generalmente son pequeños y populares entre los niños, estos flotadores con forma de animales también han comenzado a aparecer en diseños mucho más grandes, para adultos, desde 2015, y también se han vuelto populares entre los adultos después de que muchas personalidades famosas publicaran fotos con ellos en las redes sociales. [ cita requerida ]
También hay formas variantes disponibles como barco y pez . [ aclaración necesaria ]
Otros diseños de anillos de natación incluyen ayudas a la flotabilidad, como anillos de cuello para nadar para bebés.
