Customer Reviews

Banzai Double Drop Falls

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

While shopping one day at a major retail store, I found this product on sale. After a phone call to my wife and some research by her, we found that many of the reviews across the internet were not very good. I was going to rent a slide similar to this from a party supply rental (the rental was bigger of course) for my child's birthday party. However, the rental fee would have been the same as this slide, so I decided to buy it, thinking if it lasted the season I would be ahead.

The slide was for my child who is about to turn 4. Internet research indicated that these slides tend to dry rot along the seams after a season, they tear easily, or they just plain leak. As a matter of fact, while standing in the customer service line at the store where I purchased this item, an older gentleman was returning the Banzai Double Drop Raceway. He told me that the slide tore at the seams the first time his grandkids used it (and that model has a 400 pound weight limit).

The initial set-up of the slide took me about 30 minutes. Set-up of the slide can be very easy or very difficult, depending mainly on the kid factor. If you are an adult by themselves, taking your time, the slide would be a breeze. If you have kids screaming, yelling, and trying to help, setting up the slide the first time is about as fun as playing patty-cake with an octopus. After the first time the slide is set-up, it only takes a few minutes. The first time you set it up, it takes a little time to learn where to properly position the fan, to take the paper off the decals, to figure out how to Velcro the water hoses to the slide, and how to position the slide if your lawn isn't level.

When I unpackaged the slide, it wasn't as cheaply built as I expected. The slide seems to be built out of a canvas like material that seems pretty durable. I did notice some air bubbles coming through at the seams, but there are stickers on the slide that say this is normal. There is a port that you can control how fast the air exits the slide with a string. A little adjustment of this port (to make it larger) and the air bubbles stopped.

The first time I set it up, I did not use any of the stabilizers or stakes that came with the slide. Even without the safety equipment, the slide seemed very stable. I was able to tip the slide over if I put my whole 230 pounds into it. A small child at the top did not seem to affect its stability in the slightest.

The climb to the top of the slide is a little more than 6 feet. The ladder is made up of "holes" that the child can stick their feet into as well as handles. My 4 year old was able to climb the "ladder" with minimal (if any) assistance.

So far, I am pleased with my purchase. The slide seems to be of good quality and is quite stable and of good design. The paper used to protect the decals during shipping is very difficult to remove. After the first time, the set-up is quite easy. I will update this review as I (or if I ) encounter issues with the quality of the product.

Overall, this is definitely a product I would recommend for kids 3 and over.

Update #1: I used the slide today in light winds (under 10 MPH) without any of the restraints. It was quite a sight to see a 20 foot slide tumbling across the yard in the wind. I used the stakes and water weights provided. The slide didn't move anywhere, but it was still a little wobbly on top. I suggest connecting the water bags to the slide first and then fill the bags with water.

Update#2: My child's birthday party came and went. The slide survived a thrashing by 4 young children who couldn't get enough of it. All the children were under 6 years of age. The 6 year old child is very tall for their age. I noticed that for a tall 6 year old, the flat portion of the slide seemed too short and they would literally slide through the barrier at the end of the slide and onto the ground. They thought it was funny, but I could see that repeatedly hitting the end barrier over and over might cause a tear in the slide. I have yet to have anyone over 60 pounds on the slide, but I wonder if someone pushing the 200 pound weight limit would have a problem stopping before the end barrier on the slide (then again, the kid could be just being a kid and hitting the end on purpose). Like I said, the slide survived just fine and it looks like it will survive season #1.

Update #3: The slide survived season #2. At 230 pounds, I opted to go down the slide despite the 200 pound weight limit. The slide didn't break, but it had troubles staying inflated under my weight. The slide is still holding up well despite repeated beatings from small children. The only thing worth mentioning is that more water seems to be leaching into the inside of the slide this year, requiring the slide to be dried out for a day or two before putting it away. Overall, I am still pleased with the purchase.

This was a "little" purchase my hubby made when I left him home with the boys for a weekend in May 2007. The boys (8,6,4 & 2 at the time) LOVED IT!! Along with all their friends & cousins. The slide even made a trip to Pennsylvania for a visit with 3 more boys and up to NY for a family reunion/b-day party. So we certainly got plent of use out of it, but unfortunately by summers end there was no more life left in the slide. The seams had frayed and were as thin as pantyhose. It would still inflate, but the top where the water comes out were unable to stay upright and instead just slumped over. Patches would not have worked to repair it. We tried duct tape, but the frayed/thinned areas were just too large and too many. Prices have now gone up significantly and for some reason Banzai (or any other company for that matter) haven't figured out how to make one of these slides that will recycle the water, it is a HUGE waste of water! The storage bag is a joke and instead is used to hold the kids beach toys. There is NO WAY you could get the slide back into that bag. It does however fold nicely once all the air is out and it's dried - I was able to get it in the back of our Honda Odyssey and still get all our "gear" for 4 days away for 7 people in on top of it. I would consider buying again, but am still really torn by the waste of water. Guess I'm just becoming a little more "green" each year. Bottom line.... your kids will have an AWESOME time on this, they will not get bored playing on it, your water bill will skyrocket and it will most likely not last you more than one summer.

We bought this yesterday and used it all day. We had 6 kids on it for hours. It was a huge hit. It is so much bigger than I thought it would be. It seems to be very durable and the weight limited is 200 pounds so most adults can enjoy it as well. So far I am very pleased with the purchase.

we bought this product for the low price of $[...] dollars at walmart last friday and have been pleased with it. this has been a hit in our family. our only problem was that the landing area is too small. kids fly right off of it, but we set up the slip n' slide at the end for safe landing. it is also very durable and inflates in less than two minutes. even the adults joined the fun. i would recommend that anyone looking into buying a water slide for a low price get this one.

I have read so many reviews for these slides and was very skeptical to purchase one.Finally when I saw it on sale I decided to give it a try.The slide is far from perfect but keeps my child busy and she has a lot of fun,I am glad I bought it.

I have had this slide for 2 months.It has held up pretty well,I have noticed a few seams where the stitching has come loose but so far it still holds air and kids!I do follow the recommended directions which say to completely dry and then store so that it wont rot.I have just been storing mine by the back door.When rolled up it is about the size of a large beanbag chair and I have room so that is not an issue.I just threw the bag that comes with it away.like others have said No way will it fit back in it.

Set up and take down isn't terribly timely.It takes me about 20 minutes to haul everything out and take back down.The longest task being driving the stakes and removing them.They are VERY secure,I have to use a hammer and tap them from side to side to loosen them so they can be removed.

I wasn't sure what to expect for size but it is a good size for kids.The weight limit is 180 lbs so even an adult can use it but as far as size goes I think anyone over 12 yrs. would be disappointed.

I feel like this slide will last this summer and maybe into next summer.That's how most of the summer stuff we buy is though(slipping slides,pools etc.)so not a surprise for me there.

Since I bought mine on sale I think it was a good investment.If you have 3 parties that you can use it at just renting one you will pay half what the slide costs and then your kids will have this slide the rest of the summer,that was my justification anyway.

I feel the slide was worth buying and when this slide has reached the end of it's life I will probably be buying another.

**UPDATE**

So far the slide is still holding up. I have had to replace the stakes as the heads broke off of two of them.I just bought some tent stakes at the sporting goods store and they work fine.Also the piece that connects to the water hose came unglued so it was blowing off when the water pressure was on.To fix that I got a small clamp that fit the hose and put it on and all is well.

A tip I also wanted to add on drying.It does take a few days to dry out and it is mostly because water gets inside the slide.I lay ours over a trampoline and all the water runs to the ends hanging over the edge of the trampoline and drips out.Much faster than laying flat.

I have a small Banzia slide and bought a bigger one this summer for my kids over 100 lb. It's holding up well (as is the smaller one which is on summer 2) and is getting a lot of use. My only complaint on this one is that the slide is not long enough so if the kids are going fast - they slide right off the end. To purchase again - I would buy the slide that has the bigger pool on the end so they have a better landing. It looks a lot longer in the photo - but it's really quite short. Even my 17 yo son likes to go on it.

I got this slide for my son last summer after being dissappointed by the splash pool slide. (I sold the other one on ebay because it was so small)

I opened the slide this weekend and it blew right up. I have read reviews of other slides not blowing up after being stored uring the winter. But I did not have that problem. It still works great and is in near perfect condition.

One of the side seems has come undone but it just makes one side look puffier than the other. At the end of last summer the host part came undone and would not let water go in to keep a good water flow. BUT I used Goriila glue to glue the tube back onto the orange part and let it sit for a few hours. Then I put some more glue on the outside of it to seal it, and the next morning my son was playing on it again like nothing had happened.

My best peice of advice would be to buy a little tikes wheeled storage bag for $[...] to store the slide it. The bag it comes with is so small and the slide will never fit in it again. The slide fits easily in the little tikes bag.

Slide was well worth it and my son absolutely loves it. He talked about it all winter!!

This slide was fun while it lasted. I am a mom to 3 kids. At the time we got to use this my kids were 1, 3 and 7 years old. We bought this waterslide last summer. We stored it really good for the winter. It is now June (second summer that we would get to use it) took the waterslide back out a couple of weeks ago. There is rips all over the seems. So now the slide cannot inflate enough to even let the kids slide on it. There is air seaping out of it everywhere! Way to much air to even patch it. The white hose part shoots off of the orange piece it goes on. So I had to rig that to stay on. That broke a couple of months after we had it. The second tunnel you go under does not stay up at all! It just falls forward. This slide is alot of fun for the kids. But beware because it is very pricey to last just 1 summer.

We looked online for a lot of different slides. We chose this one because it fit our back yard (long and narrow). We just used it this weekend with 4 kids (5, 4, 3, and 3) and had a blast. It seems to be well made and I found it easy to put up. One issue with kids that young is you definitely need two adults (one at back and one in front) to supervise.

I think this will be a back yard hit for the summer!!

My daughter loves this slide. We've had it 2 years - we go to put it up this year and it will not inflate. Evidently has some issues INSIDE under the cover that cannot be repaired. We spent $[...] on this product only to be able to use it for 2 summers. The manufactor basically said it only offers a 60 day warranty. Not much of a deal for $[...] !! I do NOT recommend this product.