Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
83 of 84 people found the following review helpful.
By trebe
This basketball goal and base by Lifetime is economical, relatively simple to put together, and pretty sturdy. The instructions are easy to follow, and no drilling or special tools are required. Because of possible liability concerns, safety is stressed. Although at a couple of steps, it states that two adults are required to complete the task, one adult with moderate strength and weight, exercising care, can safety get the job done. I put it together by myself, however if another person is available, it would certainly be advisable to follow the manufacturer's recommendations.
The hollow plastic base can be filled with either water or sand to provide the required counterweight to support the pole and rim. It will cost more, but I recommend using sand rather than water, especially if you live in a cold weather area. The instructions state that 319 pounds of sand are required. Not sure about that, but it probably takes between 3 and 4 cubic feet of sand to fill the base.
The base has a pair of small plastic wheels that help you to move or position it. Once in place, you fill up the base to about half capacity, raise the goal upright, and then fill the base to capacity. Unless you are capable of moving a football blocking sled, don't' plan on moving the system very far, after it is filled. The pole and backboard will bend back and wobble during normal play. This is to be expected, as the system will not be as rigid as a regulation goal. The plastic backboard is smaller than regulation, so your angles for bank shots are tighter, but at least it is rectangular rather than rounded at the top. If you can dunk, take it easy or you could take the hoop down. The rim is black rather than orange. The net is low quality, and does not slow the ball down after a goal.
Although the system is pretty sturdy, long term life is an open question. There are exposed bolts and metallic parts, and the top of the pole is open, so if exposed to rain, corrosion is inevitable. The rim height is adjustable in six inch increments from 7.5 to 10 feet. Once you set the rim height, painting any unfinished metal parts might be a good idea.
Overall, this is a very good product for the price, especially if you get it on sale with Super Saver shipping. Hopefully it will hold up well under the elements. So far, I am loving it! My shot is improving, and I am also saving gas because I don't have to drive to the neighborhood park.
72 of 74 people found the following review helpful.
By riesy
First off, the picture that is associated with this product is not correct. After looking at plenty of these systems to purchase and reviewing the picture supplied with this item I thought this system was going to have an adjustable height mechanism which could be done by a handle on the backside of the backboard. If you look behind the backboard in the picture that's the kind of height adjustment mechanism shown BUT that's not the one you will receive. The mechanism to adjust height on the model I received is more tedious. You must remove a bolt, lower the unit to where you want and reinstall the bolt. I know, not that big of a deal but I do think the picture supplied for the product should be accurate and in this case it is not.
With all that said... for the sale price I got on it including shipping ($130) it's not a bad unit. My kids are 11, 8 and 5 and I didn't want to buy an expensive unit to find out they could care less about it. They have enjoyed it so far (1 month) and it's another sport we can all take part in so overall I'd say it was a good purchase.
23 of 23 people found the following review helpful.
By Sharon Hayes
This worked perfect for our needs-my son is 9 yrs old and will not be doing any dunking, etc yet. I didn't realize that the backboard did not come out from the pole until I realized that other people's basketball systems all had this extension pushing the backboard away from the pole and ours came right out of the pole-you would hit it as you dunked.
Still, he won't be dunking and the price was good for us-necessary to be able to afford it, so it still is good. You should just know there are differences.
Mom who doesn't play basketball
