Can You Swim in Shade Balls?

The creator jumps into a pool with shade balls and describes it feeling like floating in a ball pit, though the experience becomes challenging like quicksand.

After making a previous video about shade balls on LA's reservoir, viewers asked if you can swim in them. Rather than just theorize, the creator contacted the manufacturer and ordered 10,000 shade balls.

• The shade ball manufacturer does not recommend swimming in shade balls due to safety concerns • The manufacturer typically refuses residential customer requests for this purpose • The creator committed to showing what happens rather than promoting it as something people should do

Shade balls are dangerous because they are half-full of water, making them heavy. A bag of 1,200 shade balls weighs 300 kilograms, requiring a moving company to transport 10,000 balls to the pool.

• 6,000 shade balls cover approximately the whole pool in a single layer • The balls arrange themselves in crystal structures when packed closely together • Despite their purpose of blocking sunlight, only about 91% of the water surface is covered

The creator can swim through a single layer of shade balls using breaststroke and freestyle, though constantly getting balls in the face.

• The noise from shade balls is extremely loud and overwhelming, making it virtually impossible to hear anything else • Light passes through the cracks between balls, creating interesting patterns on the pool bottom • Swimming in shade balls provides an extra challenging workout

Swimming through shade balls demonstrates how drag increases with velocity squared—the faster you move, the more balls you encounter per second and the greater their impact as you push them aside.

• The creator tries to run across the surface of multi-layer shade balls but fails • Each shade ball when fully submerged only supports about 300 grams of weight • To support the creator's body entirely above water would require more than 260 shade balls trapped underneath

Swimming in multiple layers of shade balls is extremely difficult. The creator can only swim by moving mostly beneath the balls in an unorthodox style, finding it nearly impossible to go anywhere while staying on top.

Unlike single-layer balls that move past each other easily, multi-layer balls get trapped against each other and act more like a solid, providing significantly more resistance to movement.

• Floating on top of multi-layer shade balls feels like being in a ball pit when you don't move • Movement causes the balls to shift and you start sinking deeper and deeper • The behavior closely resembles quicksand dynamics

You can technically swim in shade balls, though it is extremely difficult, particularly in multi-layer configurations where movement becomes severely restricted.

• Single-layer shade balls allow swimming with moderate difficulty • Multi-layer shade balls act like a solid obstacle with high resistance • The balls create a quicksand-like effect where staying still works but moving causes sinking

The video demonstrated that swimming in shade balls is not recommended and people should understand the dangers before attempting it.

The creator plans to sign each of the 10,000 shade balls and mail them to Patreon supporters worldwide as a thank you for their support, acknowledging the significant shipping costs involved.