Pool Mate Platinum Extra-Strength In-Ground Winter Cover (16×36 ft)
The 16×36 pick, if it comes back in stock — Pool Mate's mid-grade in-ground water-tube cover, sold by Amazon itself, cut for a 16×36 ft rectangle: 12×12 scrim polyethylene at 3.7 oz per square yard on the listing (the maker's own Platinum page says 3.26 oz), a 5 ft overlap that makes the finished cover 21×41 ft, water-tube loops every 4 ft and a grommet at each corner. 4.2★ across 186 ratings, all of it from paying owners — no Vine in the visible cards — but pooled across every size Pool Mate sells in this grade, so none of it is about the 16×36 cut specifically. It was temporarily out of stock on 16 September 2026, which in closing season is the catch that matters most.
Sold in 45 sizes and grades on this listing (12×24 to 30×60 ft, across five grades) — this page is the Extra-Strength, 16×36 ft. Check the size before you add to cart.
Specs
| Fabric | 12×12 scrim polyethylene, 3.7 oz/yd² (listing; the maker's Platinum page says 3.26 oz) |
| Tie-down system | Water-tube loops every 4 ft + a grommet at each corner (deck-installed; the maker recommends no other method) |
| Tear strength | Not published |
| Fit | In-ground rectangle 16×36 ft — the size a 16×35 pool takes; 21×41 ft finished with the 5 ft overlap |
| Cover pump | Yes (solid) |
| Warranty | 15-year pro-rated: years 1–2 a replacement, then a discount on a new cover (70% in year 3 falling to 20% by year 11); registration within 30 days or void |
| Model | 571636R |
Pros
- Sold and shipped by Amazon itself, so the question of an authorised channel does not arise
- The fabric is stated in numbers most rival listings leave out: 12×12 threads per inch and 3.7 oz per square yard, with a 5 ft overlap that makes the finished cover 21×41 ft
- Clean on the incentive axis: none of the 20 visible review cards is a Vine review, and every one is a verified purchase
Cons
- Temporarily out of stock at the read (16 September 2026); the two Pool Mate grades that were in stock at 16×36 cost roughly sixty percent more, on bases of three and four ratings
- The 15-year warranty is a pro-rated discount on a replacement, not a free cover: one owner was offered a discount plus shipping after five years that 'made it just shy of what i paid for it', and another was told small holes are not a seam defect
- Owners of the bigger cuts report pinholes and tears inside one to two seasons, and there are no edge grommets to tie it down — it is water tubes on a deck or nothing, which rules it out on an above-ground frame
Lifespan and the warranty behind it. Owners report small holes and tears inside one to two seasons — 'the material had small holes everywhere' at a year and a half, a hole at seven to eight months, holes out of the box on closing day — and then find the 15-year term pays a pro-rated discount on a replacement rather than a cover: 'after 5 years they offered me a discount on a new one and I had to pay shipping', and one was told the warranty 'only covered separation on the seams'. Two practical knocks: the cover ships folded with no way to tell the long side from the short, and it has no edge eyelets, so there is nothing to tie down on a pool without a deck.
17 critical reviews of 186 ratings (9.1%); the 10 visible critical cards are all the Extra-Strength grade in 18×40, 20×40 and 20×45 — none is a 16×36 · critical reviews read September 2026
“Second time purchasing. Value for your money. It doesn't last as long as stated, we got almost two years before it tore. Maybe if we had kept the water drained off and wet leaves out it would've lasted longer.”— Nancy T, Amazon Verified Purchase (the 20×40 cut of this Extra-Strength listing) · Verified owner
FAQ
Who is the Pool Mate Platinum Extra-Strength In-Ground Winter Cover (16×36 ft) for?
Your in-ground rectangle is 16×35 or 16×36 and you want the Amazon-sold water-tube cover with the deeper paying-owner record at this size — and you are ordering early enough to wait for stock.
What do owners say about the Pool Mate Platinum Extra-Strength In-Ground Winter Cover (16×36 ft)?
4.2★ across 186 owner ratings (Amazon, read September 2026 · listing-wide base). What owners complain about: Lifespan and the warranty behind it. Owners report small holes and tears inside one to two seasons — 'the material had small holes everywhere' at a year and a half, a hole at seven to eight months, holes out of the box on closing day — and then find the 15-year term pays a pro-rated discount on a replacement rather than a cover: 'after 5 years they offered me a discount on a new one and I had to pay shipping', and one was told the warranty 'only covered separation on the seams'. Two practical knocks: the cover ships folded with no way to tell the long side from the short, and it has no edge eyelets, so there is nothing to tie down on a pool without a deck.
What is the warranty on the Pool Mate Platinum Extra-Strength In-Ground Winter Cover (16×36 ft)?
15-year pro-rated: years 1–2 a replacement, then a discount on a new cover (70% in year 3 falling to 20% by year 11); registration within 30 days or void
Record
- — Added as the pick for a 16×35 or 16×36 in-ground rectangle after a same-day read of every 16×36 cover on Amazon: 4.2 stars across 186 ratings, all verified purchases and no free-product (Amazon Vine) reviews, pooled across the Extra-Strength grade's sizes but not across grades (the Premium and Industrial cuts return their own thin bases). Temporarily out of stock at $138.72 that day, recorded as a backorder. Critical tail read: 17 of 186, led by holes inside one to two seasons and a pro-rated warranty that pays a discount, not a cover.
Warranty — and what changes if you buy it on Amazon
15-year pro-rated: years 1–2 a replacement, then a discount on a new cover (70% in year 3 falling to 20% by year 11); registration within 30 days or void · you are buying this on Amazon
Read it yourself: Pool Mate warranty document · we read it . Terms change without announcement, so treat this as a dated snapshot. How warranty works by buy path →
What we have seen it sell for
- — $164.38 recorded
- — $138.72 recorded
Each date is when we recorded that price, not necessarily the day it changed — we publish what we can prove. Prices we later corrected are left out rather than shown as moves.
✓ Safety: no active recall — Winter cover — NOT a safety cover; the maker's own warranty sheet is headed 'AVOID DROWNING RISK — THIS IS NOT A SAFETY COVER'. No CPSC recall: saferproducts.gov RecallTitle 'pool cover' returns two records, both spring-anchored safety covers (Endless Pools, Anchor Industries); 'Robelle' returns none; control query 'heater' returned 174 records the same sitting (checked 2026-09-16).
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Data last verified: October 2026. Ratings are real, dated reads — never scraped or invented. Full methodology and monetization disclosure: how we test.