Cowboy Pools Hard Cover

Our stock tank pool has been a fixture for our back yard for five years now!  And in that time, we’ve made a lot of changes and adjustments to the pool, from changing our filtration system to trying now three different types of covers… While my rolling cover was a great DIY hardcover option, it struggled to keep up in winter, and it was cumbersome to remove solo.

So, we opted for a fairly expensive option, and we purchased the Cowboy Pools hard cover.  After reading reviews from areas with real winter (lake effect snow!) seeing pictures with dogs on top (a German shepherd!), and their updated design to shed rain water... I figured this might be the answer we were looking for.  

Hard Cover Setup

There are a few parts to the set up that we did in stages (since it arrived in August when the pool was quite full).  The first summer, we filled it using the provided hand pump to around 2 psi -it maxes out at 4 psi.  There were absolutely no issues there!  The hand pump took a bit, and I enlisted the help of our pre-teens to do some of the work.  The hardest part was finding a second 8’ circle that was free of dog debris.

It also came with a set of straps to secure the top to the pool.  We waited until early spring to add these, and with our young pool-loving kids, they were definitely needed!  The cover is easy enough for them to remove alone.  So adding the straps under the pool and around the sides has helped with keeping them from sneaking a swim when no adult is around.

Sturdiness

The cover sure seems to be sturdy!  While keeping the kids from swimming solo is our main goal… we now need to keep one of the little kids from using it as an impromptu trampoline.  So far, there have been no problems with his precocious bouncing, but neither a pop nor a fall would be good either!  Still, that review with the dog lounging on top has put my mind at ease on more than one occasion.

If that didn’t stop my brain from racing, snow management should!  After a few bigger snowfalls this year, I can definitely attest to its weight-bearing capabilities.  Eventually though, the top starts to invert with the weight of the snow, and I worry about a collapse... Though that is after at least 100 lbs. of snow on top.  Since this is made from the same material as inflatable kayaks, I'm not shocked. I started brushing the top off the pool as part of my shoveling maintenance.  It's very small price to pay for keeping the pool empty and ready for next season.

Overall, this has been one of the best pool accessories we’ve purchased. From simplifying maintenance (no pool-flipping here!), to keeping the little kids and any backyard critters safe, this has been a major stress-reliever among the tools we have for our yard.  It's definitely a splurge!  But they've designed something worthwhile for what we need here.

(As always, this is a review from an item I purchased!  The cowboy pool people have no idea who I am or that I'm using their equipment in the upper midwest... Unless they audit their shipping from last year.  These opinions and experiences -all good things here!- are all mine.)