Intex 12-Foot by 30-Inch Metal Frame Pool Set

For several years, I had the Easy Set Up pool, which I keep for my grandchildren and daily water walking for myself. I found the set up was, indeed, easy, but the maintenance was a pain in the keister. The pool bubbles out, and if it gets the least bit dirty, you are doing the mermaid thing with a rag to get the sides clean; no pool vacuum will do, and the pump is not strong enough to leave it to chemicals. Twice each summer, I was draining ALL of the water (thank goodness I am on a well), scrubbing it out, refilling it, and watching my eager grandkids turn blue in the new, freezing water.Also, the usable swimming space in the Easy Set Up is considerably reduced because the water pushed the sides of the pool out - simple geometry (physics?).So I decided this year to go with the frame-based pool. I read the reviews, I hit a great Amazon offer, and I went with it. I had little to lose.I like a number of things about my decision.1. There is no "bulge factor." The water you get is the same from side to side -- not watery versions of dust bunnies or lurking scum in deep water that nobody can use. No wavering from side to side when the kids get a little too happy with water fights. No water gushing out when a kid leans over to spit out a snoot-full of enthusiasm. This pool is solid.2. The pump is so, so much better than the pump that comes with the Easy Set Up. While it's not exactly a Jacuzzi sensation, I CAN feel the water pumping out with this new pool, shooting "clean!" across the diameter.3. My "pool yard," while reasonably level, is not exactly golf fairway accurate. But the weight of the water stabilized the frame posts, so that by the time we poured some 2,000 gallons of water into the pool, it was solid enough that I trust it for myself and three healthy, active grandkids. They lean on it, they climb over it, they lounge on the frame. It does not waiver. That, all by itself, makes me trust the pool.4. For some reason, it stays cleaner. Maybe it's the shape, maybe it's the quality of the vinyl, maybe it's the pump. But with the old Easy Set Up, I was always taking old towels into the pool to wipe off scum at the bottom that made the pool slick and borderline treacherous, at least for an old lady. With the framed set up, it has not been a factor.So, this is what I did with the old Easy Set Up Pool:I took my good scissors (the kind you buy in Tool World at Lowe's) and cut out the white bottom of the old pool. That became the ground cloth for the new pool. I used rectangles of the blue vinyl (from the old pool) to piece out the white, so I had a good, large ground cover. And, I had enough left over to lay out a little walkway, which I lined with old towels, from my patio to the pool ladder. No dirty feet polluting the pool!I cut off the blow-up ring from the Easy Set Up, inflated it, wiped it off, and set it inside my new pool. This accomplished two things:1. The ring makes a great place to just spread out your arms to rest on it and let your body float in the water.2. The new frame pool did not come with a cover; the Easy Set Up did, and I had this pool cover that did not fit my new pool. But with the blown-up ring from the old pool, I just lay the old cover on and tuck it in around the ring. It fits, I didn't have to order a cover, and I can keep the pump running even after I have covered the pool.All in all, it was a good decision. If had I had it to do over, I'd have bought this pool in the first place.Now -- if I could just find a good pool ladder at a reasonable price......

Our 2.5 yr old is 39" and he can stand in this easily. He can also get over it without help so we decided to secure our patio door so he won't be able to let himself out in the yard without supervision. It's the right height that I'm not super worried about him in it, but I want to be around to supervise when he's inside it.We love this pool because it's just the right height for us to float in with baby in a float and let toddler play in at the same time. I didn't want to get a deep pool and have to always be holding him up in it. That would make it hard with two kids at this age where they can't swim yet. Looking forward to teaching him how to swim in this pool. It's big enough to fit lots of people in it too.I read a lot about whether or not we should level the ground. We ended up finding a decently level grassy spot and just used that. We have had it up a few days and haven't had an issue. This is a pretty solid pool... I really like how sturdy the walls are and I'm glad we didn't get one of the soft wall setups I saw through Intex.We bought the Intex Krystal Clear 12-Foot Solar Cover to go with it. We did not need to buy a ladder because it is easy enough to step over carefully. You may need an outdoor extension cord if you don't have an outlet near where you're setting it up. We also laid tarps under it. I ordered some pool toys and chlorine tabs as well.

We have a four and five year old that do not yet know how to swim, so I was looking for a pool that would be deeper than an inflatable but not too deep to be over their heads. It has worked out great so far. The purchase and delivery was of great ease through Amazon as well as accessories. The area where the pool was to be located needed to be graded and so we did. We thought all was good and started filling the pool when we realized it was not level all around. The instructions were very explicit in getting it level or the water instability could compromise the structure of the entire pool. So we pulled it all up and re-thought our leveling plan, this time using a level to precise measurements as well as adding sand directly under the pool area to give a softer feel under the feet and to help protect the life of the liner. Once that was done, we laid a 6 mil blue tarp to cover the entire area. Then we covered the tarp with pea gravel to fill the surrounding area adding stepping stones all around the pool. It has been a great addition to our summer fun! We did also purchase the Intex floating chlorine tablet dispenser = awesome! We got a $10 flat net from a local store which has more than served to skim out debris. We also purchased the Intex Magnetic Led Lights which are super bright and work perfectly with the pool as suggested.So to recap: 1. Leveling the ground area was the greatest difficulty but highly essential to properly maintain the life of the pool. 2. The assembly of the pool was quite simple and only needed two people in the end stages. 3. The pool was filled in about an hour and the filter assembly was also of great ease. 4. We did purchase extra filters which will be needed since this pools filter pump is so minimal and the filter will get dirty quick.I would also like to add that although I did see several very negative reviews, I purchased any way because the seller I purchased from was a Prime seller and Amazon has the best sellers and return processes. I truly do not think this company would still be in business if their products were as bad as the 1 star reviews. I also believe that if you handle with care and follow directions as precisely as possible, you will have no problems!!!