My pool is also still open..so to say, although no one has been in for 2 weeks. I wish I closed it before all the leaves started coming down.
If you put the cover bubbles side down in the pool, the cover will heat that top layer of water. What I tyically do is put on my solar cover and let the sun warm the water then I circulate it down..again and again and I have been able to raise the pool temp several degrees in a day. The solar cover does insulate the pool surface on cold nights.
And it prevents evaportation and chemical loss. I always use a solar cover..but unless you have an effective method for removing the cover, it is a pain. There are rollers and such, but the set up of my pool prohibits using a roller so I lug the cover off and pile it up on my deck (we actually built a spot on the deck for the cover).
The solar cover will prevent leaves from blowing into the water, but then you have to figure out how to deal with the accumulation on the top of the cover. If you don't get them off pretty fast, you end up with algae growing on the top of the cover. and eventually it will end up in your pool when you remove the cover. :-/
My pool is round, so when it is time to put the cover on, I feed it onto the pool and let the filter circulation pull it around. So that part is pretty easy.
I would just say to think about the off and on aspect before you spend the money, Vinny. I am willing to deal with it because I have this strange obsession with solar heat
and my pool was usable this August when my neighbor's pool (with no solar cover) was in the 70's.
I invested this year in the 16 mil. clear cover. I have tried the silver backed ones and the dark ones. It is heavy and thick but I am sure it will last a long time. Durability will also be a factor when you decide how you are going to take it off and put it on. I am sure using a roller is much easier on a cover than dragging it on to a deck like I do.
As far as who to buy from, you will find that like many internet businesses, one company sells under many different names. So one if you have had good luck with a particular one..stick with it.