Bestway Fast Set Pool Review

The Fast Set above-ground pool series is Bestway’s answer to the Intex Easy range of inflatable pools. For us, the Intex product wins out by a hair, but the differences between them are pretty marginal. If one meets your needs, the other will almost certainly do too.

In other words: look at both reviews, but understand that you’re probably going to choose whichever is cheapest in the end. Retail prices for backyard pools fluctuate often and dramatically depending on the season and supply and demand, so shopping around is definitely a good idea.

Dual Water Suction, One Outlet

Like the Intex Easy, the Bestway Fast has dual suction ports and one clean water outlet for the filter pump. This does not feature the same aerating technology that’s standard on Intex products, but the clarity of your pool water is much more dependent on regular cleaning and care in any case. Both manufacturers use the same blue color scheme, though the Bestway has a light gray rim, which will look slightly more attractive in most back yards.

The first thing to know about both the Bestway Fast and the Intex Easy is that they are completely painless to assemble, but also very sensitive to slopes.

What to Expect in Between Opening the Box and Putting on Your Swimsuit

As an inflatable above-ground pool, the Bestway Fast keeps its shape through the buoyancy of the inflatable donut at the top, plus the weight of the water pushing the walls outwards. This means, among other things, that you can’t fill it all the way to the brim. The depth of the water will be about 6 inches less than the height of the pool’s side.

It also makes it absolutely essential to erect this pool on a totally level surface. A drop of an inch over the width of the pool should be okay, but anything more than that should be dealt with before you even think about unpacking this pool. If it’s too lopsided once it’s filled, the wall at one end may collapse and end up draining your pool completely. This is basically a bag full of water, after all.

You may therefore want to install it on a patio or deck instead of your lawn. Know, however, that concrete patios typically have a slope of at least one degree to let the water run off in the right direction; some are angled much more than that. A wooden deck may also not be adequate: the 12-foot version of this pool weighs over five tons when filled, while the 18-footer tops out at nearly 50,000 pounds! Unless you’re sure that your structure is up to the task, you may end up with no pool and no deck either, which is no way to enter the summer.

If you have a patch of firm and level ground at your disposal, however, installing a Bestway Fast pool is a breeze. Simply use an air pump to inflate the rim, pull the base out to the sides to get rid of as many wrinkles as you can (this will be nearly impossible once the pool is filled), and hey presto!

Here’s what Bestway have to say about setup:

It’s recommended that you keep topping up the upper portion with air, as all pools of this type deflate over time.

Underpowered Pump

One common complaint among people who’ve just bought this Fast Set pool set is the following: the pump, ironically, doesn’t suck as much as it should.

One solution is to use more pH chemicals, another solution is to drain and re-fill more frequently, and yet another solution is to pay extra for a more powerful pump than the one that’s included. If you choose to do so, you will probably want to stay within the Bestway family, as the fittings of other manufacturers won’t match those on your pool unless you’re willing to fiddle with hose adapters.

Even if you do get a larger pump/filter combo, you will still have to do a couple of basic maintenance tasks. Using a skimmer every day to get rid of leaves and assorted floating gunk will do wonders, while – especially if you don’t upgrade the pump – rinsing out the filter every other day will extend its life considerably. Watching the instructional DVD included with your Bestway pool will be time well spent, too.

Finally, note that the smallest Bestway Fast pool, the 6-foot diameter 20 inches high, has no hose connections for a filter and has to be emptied to be cleaned.

Worth the Money, Or too Cheap to Last?

As with most above-ground pools, the Bestway Fast range uses a multi-layer construction for the liner, basically a fabric-like mesh covered in waterproof PVC sheeting on either side. This makes it reasonably resistant to tears and punctures, but it’s inevitable that these will occur eventually. Your package includes one underwater repair patch, but you may want to get a couple of extras.

That having been said, Bestway’s warranty typically runs for 1 year on the pump and filter components and 90 days on the liner. These are better terms than those offered by Intex for its Easy pools, though it does seem like Intex has a better quality liner in general.

Apart from removing all sharp objects from your chosen installation site, you will also definitely want to get a ground cloth. This is, along with a ladder and pool cover, already included with the 18′ by 48″ version of this pool.

The ground cloth is square instead of round, which slightly offends my inner interior decorator but is probably not that big a deal. More significantly, it is only barely larger than the pool itself: you’ll have to center your pool carefully before filling as it’s nearly impossible to move even with only an inch or two of water inside.

The lining material is resistant to ultraviolet radiation, but any kind of plastic is degraded by too much exposure to sunlight. When you won’t be using your pool for several months, it’s recommended that you drain it using the convenient hose connection on one side and store it indoors. One of the advantages of inflatable pools is that they have no frame to find space for when you put it in the garage for winter.

So, Which Should I Buy?

There really isn’t much to make you choose a Bestway Fast pool over an Intex Easy Set of similar size, or vice versa. It’s worth mentioning, however, that the Bestways seem a little less stable even when on perfectly level ground.

They can, for instance, collapse if not filled adequately (or slightly overfilled), especially with rowdy bathers inside. Pushing the rim downward can lead to a kind of chain-reaction flooding if the pool can’t recover its shape in time.

This factor may be enough to get you to go with the Intex instead, if the place where you plan to set it up isn’t equipped to handle a major spill.