Wall height is the spec buyers get wrong most often. Diameter is easy to picture, so it gets all the attention. Wall height quietly decides how deep the water actually gets, how much the filled pool weighs, and whether the product lands in the family market or the commercial one.
In the current AfterSea drop stitch range, wall height steps up through 80 cm, 100 cm, 120 cm, 130 cm, and 150 cm. The three figures in the title are the ones buyers ask about most, and they are not three sizes of the same pool. An 80 cm pool and a 150 cm pool serve different customers, carry different weight, and meet different safety expectations. This guide breaks down what changes as the wall goes up.
If you are still choosing a diameter, our drop stitch pool size guide covers that decision. This piece is about depth.
These two numbers get used as if they were the same thing. They are not.
Wall height is the structural height of the pool wall. Water depth is how deep the water actually sits once the pool is filled to its working level. Nobody fills a pool to the top of the wall, because the water would spill at the first splash and the wall would take load it was never meant to hold.
AfterSea publishes capacity for each model at roughly 75 to 80 percent of wall height, which is the same working level used across the industry. That gap is where most buyer confusion lives, so here is the real picture for the current range.
| Model | Diameter | Wall height | Working water depth | Capacity | Filled water weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DWF-R-20080 | 200 cm (6.6 ft) | 80 cm | ~60 cm | 500 gal (1,893 L) | ~1.9 t |
| DWF-R-300100 | 300 cm (10 ft) | 100 cm | ~80 cm | 1,500 gal (5,678 L) | ~5.7 t |
| DWF-R-400120 | 400 cm (13.1 ft) | 120 cm | ~90 cm | 3,000 gal (11,356 L) | ~11.4 t |
| DWF-R-500130 | 500 cm (16.4 ft) | 130 cm | ~102 cm | 5,300 gal (20,063 L) | ~20.1 t |
| DWF-R-600150 | 600 cm (20 ft) | 150 cm | ~115 cm | 8,600 gal (32,553 L) | ~32.6 t |
Read the last column twice. One litre of water weighs one kilogram, so the filled weight is the capacity in litres. A 6 m pool at 150 cm holds more than 32 tonnes of water. That single number reshapes everything about how the pool gets sold and installed, and it comes back later in this guide.
The 80 cm wall sits on the smallest body in the range, the 200 cm diameter model. Working depth lands near 60 cm, which is knee to waist height for an adult and chest height for a small child. Capacity is 500 gallons, about 1,900 litres.
This is the pool for family backyards, toddler and pet use, and small rental properties that want a rigid pool without a heavy water load. At under two tonnes filled, it sits comfortably on a patio, deck, or paved courtyard. Fill and drain times are short, which matters for anyone running short bookings or storing the pool between uses. What it will not do is give an adult a swimming depth. This is a sit-and-soak and splash-play pool.
Two more heights sit inside the range without a dedicated headline. The 100 cm wall carries the 300 cm diameter model, giving an 80 cm working depth. It is the step where a pool stops being splash play and starts being usable for shallow swimming, while keeping the water load at a manageable 5.7 tonnes.
The 130 cm wall pairs with the 500 cm diameter. Its 102 cm working depth keeps the proportion sensible on a wide body, so a big-footprint pool does not turn into a shallow pan. Buyers who want a large pool for adult use without going all the way to commercial volume tend to land here.
The 120 cm wall comes on the 400 cm diameter model, with a working depth around 90 cm and a capacity of 3,000 gallons. That depth reaches the waist to chest zone on most adults, which is where a pool becomes genuinely usable for swimming rather than soaking.
This is the most requested height for residential buyers who want to actually swim, and it works for training, light therapy use, and mid-range rental fleets. At 11.4 tonnes filled, ground preparation stops being optional. A flat, hard, well-drained surface is the baseline, and a soft lawn will not hold this pool without settling.
The 150 cm wall is the top of the range and it sits on the 600 cm diameter model. Working depth approaches 115 cm, close to what people expect from a permanent above-ground pool, and capacity is 8,600 gallons.
At this depth an adult stands chest to neck deep. That makes the 150 cm pool the right product for resorts, water parks, pool clubs, luxury rentals, and recovery or cold-plunge setups where adults need real depth. It is also the point where a pool stops being a shelf product and becomes a project. Water weight reaches 32.6 tonnes, so ground load, drainage, and water supply all need checking before the order is placed, not after.
One point we make to every commercial buyer: with 115 cm of water, supervision and safety features are not optional extras. Non-swimmers cannot use this depth alone. Depending on your market, a pool at this depth may need fencing, a fixed access ladder, depth markings, or a written supervision policy to satisfy local rules. Confirm those requirements before you commit to the size, because they affect installation cost as much as the pool does.
In our standard range, wall height and diameter are paired rather than sold as free combinations. The pairing is deliberate.
A wide pool with a low wall looks impressive in a photo and disappoints in use. When diameter grows and height stays flat, working depth becomes a smaller share of the footprint, and the pool feels like a large shallow tray. Pairing a taller wall with a wider body keeps the depth proportionate to the space the pool occupies.
There is a structural side too. A wider wall spans a longer unsupported run and carries a larger total water load, so it needs more material and reinforcement to stay vertical. Our walls use 0.7 to 0.9 mm PVC-coated mesh over a dense drop stitch core, with heat-welded seams rather than glued joints, and the build is tuned to the wall height it has to hold. A drop stitch wall reaches full rigidity at a working pressure of 8 to 10 PSI, and the thread grid is what keeps the wall standing vertical at 80 cm, 120 cm, or 150 cm instead of ballooning outward.
Custom heights are possible through OEM work, and the market commonly offers 0.5 m to 1.5 m and above. The higher the wall, the more the material spec and reinforcement have to step up, so height changes are quoted against the drawing rather than pulled off a price list.
A taller wall raises the unit price, and it also raises five other costs that buyers often miss when they compare models on the spec sheet alone.
None of this makes a tall wall a bad choice. It makes it a different category of purchase, with a different buyer. If you are importing for retail shelves, an 80 cm or 120 cm pool is what turns. If you are quoting commercial projects, the 150 cm pool is where the margin and the order size are, provided you can support the installation requirements.
Use the end buyer to pick the height, not the other way around.
| End market | Wall height | Model | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Families with young children, pet owners, small patios | 80 cm | DWF-R-20080 | 60 cm depth is safe to supervise, light water load, fast fill and drain |
| Family backyards that want real swimming | 120 cm | DWF-R-400120 | 90 cm depth is usable for adults and older children, proven retail size |
| Rental fleets, training, light therapy | 120 to 130 cm | DWF-R-400120 / 500130 | Swimmable depth with enough footprint for multiple users |
| Resorts, water parks, pool clubs, cold plunge | 150 cm | DWF-R-600150 | 115 cm depth for adult use, commercial volume, project-scale installation |
One practical note for buyers building a range rather than a single order: carry two heights, not five. An 80 cm model covers the family and pet end, and a 120 cm model covers swimmers. The 150 cm pool sells to a different customer who needs support and consultation, and it is usually sold as a project rather than shipped from stock.
Send us the heights you are considering, along with your target market, and we will come back with capacities, filled weights, pump recommendations, and a container plan for the mix. Start from the DWF drop stitch pool range for the full size matrix, or the 6.6 to 20 ft drop stitch series for the commercial end of the line. Both ship with a high-pressure pump, a repair kit, and a storage bag.
Wall height is the structural height of the wall. Water depth is the working level the pool is filled to, which runs at roughly 75 to 80 percent of wall height. An 80 cm wall gives about 60 cm of water; a 150 cm wall gives about 115 cm.
At 115 cm of working depth, an adult stands chest to neck deep. That is enough for treading, soaking, therapy, and shallow swimming, but it is not a full stroke-swimming depth. Buyers who want lap swimming usually combine a long footprint with the 150 cm wall rather than expecting depth alone to solve it.
The 80 cm wall with roughly 60 cm of water is the safest standard choice, because a supervised child can stand in it and the water load is light. Once you move to 120 cm and above, supervision becomes a hard requirement rather than a preference.
No. Every drop stitch pool in the range inflates to the same 8 to 10 PSI working pressure. What changes is air volume, so larger pools benefit from a higher-power electric pump to cut inflation time, while the pressure requirement stays the same.
Yes, through OEM or ODM orders. Custom heights are quoted against your specification, since a taller wall needs a heavier material spec and additional reinforcement. Send your dimensions and target market and we will confirm what is feasible.
It equals the capacity in litres, because one litre of water weighs one kilogram. That is about 1.9 tonnes for the 80 cm model and 32.6 tonnes for the 150 cm model. Filled weight is the number to check against your ground before ordering.
