Dazadi Exclusive! Spalding NBA 68395 Portable Basketball Hoop with 54 Inch Polycarbonate Backboard

by Spalding

Product Features

• 54in Polycarbonate Backboard Basketball Backboard with Aluminum Frame
• Solid Steel Arena Slam Breakaway Rim with All-Weather Net
• 3-Piece, 4-Inch Square Pole
• Screw Jack Lift System Provides Infinite Height Adjustment from 7.5 feet to 10 feet
• 40-Gallon Base Fills with Sand or Water for Stability

Product Description

The Spalding(r) 68395R 54-in Polycarbonate Portable Basketball System features a heavy-duty, solid steel Arena Slam rim, an all-weather net, and an aluminum-framed polycarbonate backboard. It adjusts easily from 7.5 to 10-ft with a convenient Screw Jack lift system. The 40-gal base fills with water or sand for stability.

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 54.5 x 35 x 13 inches ; 45 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 45 pounds
• ASIN: B001DE1EG6
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #142,449 in Sports & Outdoors (See Top 100 in Sports & Outdoors)
  • #27 in Sports & Outdoors > Fan Shop > Sports Equipment > Basketball Equipment > Backboards
  • #36 in Sports & Outdoors > Team Sports > Basketball > Backboards > Portable Boards

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid hoop; a few minor issues, June 1, 2010

By 

palefire - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dazadi Exclusive! Spalding NBA 68395 Portable Basketball Hoop with 54 Inch Polycarbonate Backboard (Misc.)

This is a very solid, and heavy, system. A few notes: The 3-piece square pole assembly does require effort and patience to assemble, but it really does fit together tightly with a little persistance. I sprayed a little WD-40 around the edges, although I don't think that probably helped too much. You just have to slam the pieces together. The instructions say "bounce" it together on a block of wood, and that is essentially correct, although I think "repeatedly slam" is probably a better description. Once the first two sections are together, those combined sections are quite heavy to "bounce" repeatedly onto the remaining third section. At this point I put the pole assembly on the ground and hammered the last section into the first two sections using a block of wood and a heavy hammer just to get it started (and that wasn't particularly easy, either). Then, once I got it just started, I picked the whole assembly up and did the "bounce" action as described in the instructions and let gravity help in getting the pieces to butt together fully.

I assembled this system by myself, but if I had to do it again I'd recruit an adult to assist. It'll go much easier. I found the instructions to be entirely satisfactory, overall. I took it slow, and was able to get it all together quite easily, and I'm not the world's greatest mechanical wizard. However, it was challenging, particularly for one person. It's heavy and awkward, and that's probably the most difficult part of the assembly.

I would never try to move this hoop with the base filled. I think you'd damage the unit. Instead, move to your desired location and then fill it up (having another person to hold it until it's steady enough that you can continue on your own.) If you need to move it again, you should probably empty it before attempting to roll it anywhere. It's really not that "portable." Also, when you go to stand the unit upright for the first time, have a second person nearby to help. I nearly lost control of it as it was very top-heavy and took a suprising effort to get upright. If this thing ever does fall over, heaven help the person under it. Make sure you have the base weighted down securely and full of water or sand.

The best part of this hoop for me is the cranking height adjustment. Even my 6-year-old can do it, which is great as he can lower it down to shoot all by himself.

The biggest disappointment is probably the rigidity of the backboard. It looks great from a distance, but upon close inspection it's just a very thin (1/8 inch at most) sheet of not very rigid polycarbonate, and it seems to make a lot of noise when the ball hits it. The backboard reinforcing/mounting brackets on the back side are rather close to the center of the backboard, so anything that hits outside of that small central area above the rim will cause a quite a lot of vibration/noise. I was very surprised to see how thin the backboard was. Naturally you can't expect tempered glass quality at this price point, but I think there are thicker acrylic backboards on similar systems that are much more rigid and would provide a more satisfying bounce. And for what it's worth: there's a lot of conflicting information out there about polycarbonate vs. acrylic. My understanding, and I think I'm correct, is that polycarbonate is "stronger" than acrylic in that it resists shattering or cracking. However, acrylic--although in theory more fragile--is more rigid and provides a better bounce when you throw a basketball at it (all else being equal, such as the bracing and support posts, etc.). I've heard that some people have put foam behind the backboard on this model to reduce the noise and vibration, but I'm not sure exactly how you would do that. And I don't mean to make too big of deal about the noise. It's still a very fun hoop to use, and I've used cheaper hoops that reverberate even more.

And an odd note: the NBA sticker was placed on my backboard upside down. No big deal, but still, it be nice to have the NBA logo right side up. The rim is very high quality, too.

For me, the cranking height adjuster is awesome, and it's something of a beast for a portable unit. If the backboard were just a little thicker and more rigid I'd give this 5 stars, but it's still so much fun that I'm very pleased with it and give it 4 stars without reservation.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars nightmare, February 8, 2008

By 

Michelle Sims (Wellington, FL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This product shouldn't be sold. Step 1 in the assembly there were problems with the weel attachment. I had to rig something up to make it work. Ok and hour later...step 2 after wondering why the bolt instructed to use in the assemble didn't work, I quit. Then, I was talking about this problem with some parents and one said they had the same hoop and encountered the same problems. The problems didn't end with the instructions having a misprint with the bold. They continued to the supporting bars (the main support that held up the net). They don't fit together....it seems like the engineer for this system forgot to calculate for the paint on the "tight fit" of the support and paint stripper must be used to remove the paint in order for the parts to fit. What a nightmare! I have yet to finish assembling mine. My friend finished the project in 7 hours. I don't have 7 hours to remanufacture this disaster. I tried a jillion times to call tech. support with spalding. Conviently, no matter what hour you call, nobody answers. I'm going to see if I can return this to the store I purchased at.
Don't waste you money and toture yourself.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great value for the price, June 15, 2009

By 

CT Dan (Southwest CT) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dazadi Exclusive! Spalding NBA 68395 Portable Basketball Hoop with 54 Inch Polycarbonate Backboard (Misc.)

I do not know why there are so many complaints about the setup. I have to agree with E.E Naya, this was not that hard to put together and the instructions although not great, were good enough for a person with basic reading comprehension skills. I agree that it may be a bit odd to "bounce" the sections of the pole together but if you follow the instructions it was actually very effective. In my opinion the most difficult part was lining up the top/middle/bottom sections the right way, because if you mess that up and need to pull them apart I could see that being next to impossible. All you need to do is align the stickers that are labeled Top/Medium/Bottom on the same side and you are good to go...the instructions could have been a little bit more detailed on this part but all I did was look ahead a few steps and see where the holes were used in the following steps and then it was clear as day. Once the 3 pole sections were aligned and "bounced" together the rest was a walk in the park.

It should take 2 able bodied, sober adults no longer then 3 hours to go from box to pick-up game. AFA the unit itself, the base is a little cheap, but the rest was higher quality then I expected for $339. The backboard has good bounce on it and the break away rim was much higher quality then I expected. Can easily withstand me dunking on it (at 7.5 feet of course) with not ill effects. Great first hoop for my 6 and 8 year olds and the occasional pick-up game in the driveway. I would highly recommend this hoop for the money.