Billy R20 Recycled Drybag Float
The Billy R20 Drybag is a 20L inflatable drybag tow float made from recycled plastic bottles, it’s bright and light, helps increase the safety of the swimmer, and can carry items whilst swimming. Packed with useful features we really have thought of everything including the environment.
- Made with recycled plastic bottles for eco-sustainability
- Designed with Optimised Streamlining for minimal drag
- Can be used to store items whilst swimming e.g keys, phone.
- Grab handles, integrated safety whistle and gear attachment points
- Durable, Bright, and lightweight
The Billy R20 Recycled Drybag Tow Float has been designed by swim safety experts Swim the Lakes and is highly recommended to open water swimmers who need to be extra visible in the water to help keep them safer and those who might need to carry some small items whilst swimming.
Instructions for using the Puffin Tow Floats:
- Start with the drybag deflated
- Place your items in the drybag
- Roll the top closure down a minimum of 3 folds
- Bring the 2 clip ends together and clip it closed.
- Inflate the drybag float by using the fast flow valves on each side of the float.
- Attach the leash to the bag via the carabiner clip. Attach the waist-belt to the leash by threading the waist belt through the loop. The leash length can be adjusted to swimmers preferred length.
- Clip the waist-belt around your waist and away you go.
- To deflate simply take the little caps off the valve, turn the cap over and push the back of the cap into the valve to deflate.
NB: We recommend placing electronic items inside a waterproof bag, such as the Waterproof phone pouch, before placing inside the drybag. The Billy Drybag Tow Float is not a lifesaving device. They are designed to be used by competent swimmers. Floats are not designed for continuous immersion.
Product Description
Sustainable and better for the environment
The new Recycled Tow Float Range from Puffin Swim are the first swimmer’s tow floats in the UK to be made with Recycled Plastic bottles, recycling plastic helps to reduce landfill and reduce the number of new plastics being made.
These quality floats have been created by swimmers and swim safety experts Swim the Lakes.
Bright, Light & Easy to use
The Billy R20 Drybag Float easily attaches around the swimmer’s waist with the adjustable waist-strap and leash, it floats above the swimmers’ thighs, out of stroke range whilst swimming. The float leash is adjustable in length so the swimmer can alter it to their preferred length.
It’s bright to make the swimmer more visible to other water users and is ideal for holding onto whilst taking a break. There’s even an integrated safety whistle at the buckle and gear attachment points.
Drybag Storage Compartment
With 2 inflatable chambers and a separate storage compartment, swimmers can place items inside to take on the swim, e.g. phone, keys, snacks. The float can be used in all swimming conditions, with or without your gear inside.
Used correctly the Billy Drybag floats are waterproof but we recommend electronic and other valuable items are sealed inside a waterproof pouch before placing inside the dry bag tow float.
Optimised Streamlining for Minimal Drag
The leash attaches to the float via a stainless-steel karabiner clip under the front of the float. This low tow point along with the float shape, valve position and direction of tow have all been designed to reduce drag.
The Billy R20 Recycled Drybag Features & Specification:
- Brightly coloured and designed to increase visibility to others
- Optimised streamlining for reduced drag
- Dual-air chambers with separate equipment chamber for storage
- Ideal to hold on to whilst taking a rest in the water
- Signaling whistle integrated into the buckle and gear attachment points
- 2 Carry/ grab handles on float sides
- 2 Fast-flow air valves to easily inflate or deflate for transportation
- Flexible use: Can be used with or without items inside
- Designed by swim safety experts
- Material: RPET (Recycled Plastic bottles) / PVC
- Capacity 20L capacity.
- Weight: 351g
- Dimensions of drybag deflated: 610mm x 340mm
- Waist belt extends to 120cm (spares are available)
The Billy R20 Recycled Drybag Float helps increase the safety of the swimmer and can carry items whilst swimming. Its light yet packed with useful features. Use it in a variety of swimming situations such as solo swims or swimming with groups and with or without items inside, we really have thought of everything including the environment.
Which Swim Tow Float Do I Need?.
Ah, decisions decisions. Which Tow Float Do I Need? is a fairly common question and there are a few points to consider when choosing your swim tow float. Here’s our guide to help you decide Which Puffin Tow Float to Choose. Tow floats are hi-visibility bubbles of air that are towed behind the swimmer for improved safety and for rest stops, they differ in their features (such as handles, built-in whistles) and storage ability. Tow floats also vary in how eco-friendly their materials and manufacture is too, at Puffin we have a range of eco-friendly and recycled tow floats. The term ‘Tow floats’ is generally used as an umbrella term that encompasses both regular tow floats and drybag floats.
Regular Tow Floats
Tow Floats are bright bubbles of air these are great for safety and rest stops but don’t have any waterproof storage. All Puffin regular tow floats are called ‘bubbles’.
Drybag Floats
Drybag Floats are bright bags of air for these are great for safety and rest stops and also include an in-built waterproof drybag for taking items with you on your swim. All Puffin drybag floats are called ‘Billys’.
What to Put in Your Drybag Tow Float
What you wish to take with you on your swim will vary depending on the swim and your circumstances but there are some common small items that swimmers find handy to take, such as keys, phone, energy food, drinks, medication, small camera, lightweight footwear, small towel, t-shirt, etc. Remember whatever you take does have to be fairly lightweight and leave enough volume for the air to float the bag and of course, you don’t have to but anything in your drybag float, you can use it empty and simply use it as a regular tow float. NB: We recommend all electronic items are double-bagged, i.e. place them in a small waterproof bag or phone pouch (which you can also buy from Seabirds) before placing them inside your drybag tow float for added waterproof security.
Eco Credentials
*Eco-Friendly Range
Our Eco-friendly range of drybags floats are made from Biodegradable TPU and recycled single-use plastic. The material for these drybags is PVC-Free. These are the most eco-friendly floats available as they help reduce plastic going to landfill and the manufacturing process is better for the environment. These include the Billy Eco15 and the Billy Eco25.
**Recycled Range
Our Recycled range of tow floats and drybags are made from recycled single-use plastic and PVC. These floats help reduce plastic going to landfills and are a great sustainable option. These floats include the Billy R20, Billy R28, and Bubble Eco.
Sustainability
It’s not easy in business to be sustainable or eco-friendly as consumerism is mainly driven by price, but one of our missions is to use our business to try to raise awareness of environmental issues, this has lead us to ask the question of ourselves and our suppliers – Can we do better? If we keep asking the question it helps us to change our environmental impact for the better. We are not perfect but we are moving in the right direction.
Eco-friendly and Recycled Tow Floats.
In 2018 Puffin Swim was the first company to launch an Eco-friendly tow float in the UK – the Puffin Billy Eco15 ( and now the Eco25) are made with bio-degradable TPU a material that is much better for the environment than the more often used PVC.
PVC is toxic in its manufacture and disposal so the compact Billy Eco15 and larger Eco25 use a PVC-free material called TPU this helps us to reduce our use of PVC. TPU is a quality material suited to inflatable floats and arguably better than the PVC it replaces.
The Billy Eco range of floats continues to be popular and in Summer 2021 we improved the eco-credentials of these floats further by replacing the nylon in them with recycled PET plastic. PET plastic is plastic bottles and food trays recycled into RPET.
In April 2021 Puffin Swim had another first with the launch of our recycled range; a fabulous family of swim tow floats and drybags made with recycled plastic and PVC, the Billy R20 Recycled Drybag and the Billy R28 Recycled drybag and the Bubble Eco tow float all use recycled PET plastic in their construction. Using recycled materials helps reduce the amount of plastic going to landfill and is much more sustainable.
Packaging
Where possible we have chosen to reduce our product packaging and remove unnecessary plastic packaging, examples include the Waterproof Waist Pouches, Waterproof Phone Pouches, swim caps, and safety whistles where we have rejected the plastic packaging, and some of these items come wrapped in tissue paper.
We haven’t been able to remove all packaging from the floats as these need something for protection and to hold everything together on their shipping journey. Currently, our floats are packed in polythene bags which can be recycled time and time again, we hope you can re-purpose or recycle the plastic pouch in which your float comes. We are looking at suitable eco-friendly alternatives.
Our postal packaging is mainly made from party recycled contents or is recyclable.
"We have listened to our customers and also redesigned elements of our products that we needed to make more durable. We make quality floats designed to give you great service.
We know we can do better and we will continue to challenge our suppliers and ourselves, and with the help of our customers, we will do better.
Thank you for choosing Puffin Swim, a small family business based in the Lake District."
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