It took about 10 minutes to inflate by mouth, and about the same amount of time to deflate flat enough to put back in the included bag. My cats LOVE to chew on anything new and rubbery and I've had other inflatables meet their doom at their tiny, sharp, evil teeth. If you're looking for a large, um, HUGE, inflatable wand, this should suit. I'm happy. The video here at Penguin (and elsewhere) pretty accurately depicts the product. It can be underinflated to be comically floppy or blown up pretty firmly as desired. It makes me laugh.