Date: Tue, 17 Jul 2001 11:17:27 -0400 (EDT)
From: Larry Moss <moss@balloonhq.com>
To: Balloon Twister List <balloon@balloonhq.com>
Subject: Re: Specific Pump Question

On Tue, 17 Jul 2001, M Rock wrote:

> Can anyone here compare the Hip Hugger from ClownSupplies to the Majiloon
> Pump.

The two pumps are worlds apart.  They're both worn around the waist and the
actual compressor inside may be the same.  If not, they're at least
functionally the same.  But the entire design of the pumps is different
from that point on.

The Majiloon rests on your back.  It has a flexible plastic hose that
carries the air from the pouch to the front of your body.  (There's a
trigger on the end of the hose where you'll load the balloon to release air
so it can be a one-handed action.)  Since the hose is flexible, moving it
and pointing it wherever it's convenient for different types/sizes of
balloons is easy.  The noise is behind you and blocked (somewhat) by your
body so those in front of you don't hear as much of it.  If you're in front
of a microphone, your body is sufficient to completely block the noise from
being picked up.  The thing I like least is that this pouch on your back
now is in just the wrong place if you want to wear a jacket while twisting.
If it's under the jacket, you have a huge hump on your back.  If you put it
over the jacket, it just looks really weird and you now have your jacket
pinned to your body.  I wear a vest usually.  If I need to wear a jacket
(rare, but it happens), I'm not going to use the majiloon.  the padding in
this pump bag helps a great deal in making it comfortable to wear for a
while and it reduces the noise further.

The Hip Hugger is worn in the front or on the side.  (I wouldn't recommend
wearing it right in front of the body.  We've all heard the stupid penis
jokes with 260s.  With this pump positioned in front of your body, it isn't
going to help discourage that.)  You need to be able to reach the nozzle on
the pouch itself.  And since there's no hose to carry the air away from the
pump, I find the position needed to inflate the balloon a bit awkward.
Despite what all of the pump makers say, I've never found any position of a
pump around my waste to be very comfortable.  Wearing it on my back is the
best I've found so far for comfort, but even that isn't great for extended
periods for me.  I do it for the convenience of portability.  With the Hip
Hugger, at least I can shift the weight from one side to another as I need
to.  While I prefer the weight on my back, at least having this flexibility
helps.  And being able to move it from side to side means I can switch the
actions that each hand makes, meaning greater balance and less repetitive
strain injuries.  The majiloon hose only goes in one direciton, so you have
to buy either a left-handed or right-handed pump.

Ok, that's all about wearing/carrying the pumps.  Except for the costume
problem I described above, I find the majiloon to be the winner for me in
comfort and usability.

Next for me, is speed.  Hands down the fastest battery powered portable
pump I've seen for balloon twisters is the majiloon double pump.  There's
just no comparison.  If you need speed, go for the majiloon double pump.  I
can inflate 350s on stage while telling a story and don't have a problem
with excessive pauses in the action.  I also pre-inflate most of my
balloons before a show, and I really don't want to add any more time to
setup than I have to.

I think you'll get about the same battery life from the majiloon single
pump as you will from the hip hugger.  I'm not sure which batteries either
pump is currently shipping with, but they're roughly comparable.  The
double pump comes with a heftier battery, but still won't get you as far as
the single pump.  That only seems fair.  If you want speed and you want to
run double the number of compressors, you have to expect some hit on
battery life.  Still, I typically do two shows back to back in a school,
using about 100 balloons per show.  I never need a recharge while in a
school (but I carry a second battery with me anyway).  I've been asked a
lot recently about how long I can go working a line with the double pump
and I honestly can't tell you, so please don't ask.  (See my comments from
a couple weeks ago about working lines.)

Both Clown Supplies and Majiloon seem to be good on service.  Both have
answered me quickly when I've had problems or just general questions about
products.  My pump of choice is the Majiloon double pump right now.  As it
happens though, the backup pump that I carry with me everywhere is a Clown
Supplies product.  I carry the Convert-a-pump Pro for times that I want a
manual pump.  It can be used standing or sitting and it breaks down to fit
in a bag.  There are other standing manual pumps that I like better for
some situations, but the Convert-a-pump is nice and light and easy to carry
no matter where I go.

Larry Moss
BalloonHQ.com