Gogokids Toddler Swimming Float Vest Review

The Gogokids Toddler Swimming Float Vest is a float with built-in armbands, for children aged 2-6. This swimming aid vest is secured at the back with a buckle and has adjustable shoulder straps. It’s designed to help children learn to swim and to support buoyancy in the water. ‘Our children’s flotation device has you covered’, says the Amazon description. Having tried numerous different float options before – either vests or arm bands - I was excited to try out this one from Gogokids which has both combined. The price of £22.99 – slightly higher than other popular options – meant I had high expectations.

It arrived quickly and was well packaged. My son loved the fun fish design and bright colours. It appeared to be good quality. There weren’t extensive instructions, but clear labelling inside meant it was obvious which way round it went.

Testing the Gogokids Toddler Swimming Float Vest

I took the vest swimming with my 2.5-year-old son. I’m an editor in my late 30s, and have had weekly swimming lessons with my son for the last two years. During this time, we have tried out a number of different flotation devices, from cheap inflatable armbands, to foam ones, and other competitor float vests. So I feel very confident that I can give this Gogokids vest a fair test. My son wore it for an hour during a family swim session, which I felt was ample time.

The description on Amazon is that it is to aid swimming and buoyancy and it claims to be ‘perfect for pool, learn to swim and beach,’ and a ‘safe guarantee’. It is aimed at parents who want to make sure their children are extra safe when around water, on holiday, at the beach, at a swimming pool, or to support those who are learning to swim. While it is already inflated, the vest is still quite small, so could be easily put in a suitcase if travelling abroad.

The vest was easy to set up; the buckle simply clicks around the waist and sits at the back, and the shoulder straps were easy to adjust. While the materials and design seemed like a good quality, we did find the straps started to loosen in the pool, so you do need to keep an eye on that.

I also found that it didn’t keep my son’s face out of the water, and I felt like I couldn’t take my hands off him. It felt like the buoyancy wasn’t strong enough to keep his head out of the water, and his chin and mouth kept going under. When he was playing in the shallow water it was great, but when he was out of his depth it just wasn’t sufficient in my opinion. We are used to using foam armbands (Zoggs) and we do not have this problem with those, so it was unexpected.

The positives are the fun design, the buckle around the middle and having both arm bands and a vest combined – this means there’s little chance of the arm bands popping off if the child jumped in the pool. It’s a good size and is already inflated.

The negatives are that the straps and buckle felt a bit flimsy and for us, the buoyancy didn’t feel sufficient when he was out of his depth. Perhaps this design is more suited to slightly older children for that reason, who don't need the assistance to keep their head out of the water, and just a bit of added buoyancy.

I think it’s a great idea and having both armbands and vest together, but I was disappointed and had expected it to offer more buoyancy than it did. In small print on the Amazon page it does state, ‘Only to be used in water in which the child is within its depth and under adult supervision.’ And on the float, again in small print, there is a lot of additional safety information and rules to follow when using the vest. If you only go in shallow water – like a toddler pool on holiday - and want a swim vest that doesn’t come off easily, then this might do the job. But if you’re planning on swimming in or being near deeper water where your child can’t stand, then I'd look for something else.

It's also worth noting, the jacket itself has different safety information to the Amazon page. On the jacket itself it says suitable for 30-60lbs and 15-30kg, whereas online it says 20-50lbs.