Lifetime 3.5 Inch Round Basketball Ground Sleeve

by Lifetime

Product Features

• The Lifetime Ground Sleeve for 3.5 Inch Round Basketball Poles allows for easy installation and removal of 3.5 inch round poles
• Includes corner wedge to lock the pole into place and for added stability for the basketball hoop
• The ground sleeve is approximately 18 inches in length
• Compatible only with 3.5 inch round Lifetime poles
• Backboard, rim and pole sold separately

Product Description

The Lifetime 3.5 Inch Basketball Ground Sleeve safely anchors your in-ground basketball system.

Product Details

• Shipping Information: View shipping rates and policies
• ASIN: B0007XDB7Y
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,269 in Sports & Outdoors (See Top 100 in Sports & Outdoors)
  • #3 in Sports & Outdoors > Team Sports > Basketball > Court Accessories

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent product!, April 14, 2009

By 

Eric Gridley (Woods Cross, Utah United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lifetime 3.5 Inch Round Basketball Ground Sleeve (Misc.)

I decided to use the ground sleeve to make installation a bit easier. I am very glad that I did. It is time consuming, as you have to wait for the concrete to cure, but the pole is not wobbly at all. I now have the freedom of replacing the hoop down the road should I need to. I could also take out the basketball hoop temporarily if needs be. Well worth an additional $30.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Makes installation a bit more tricky, but at least you can remove it later, May 21, 2011

By 

Brian A. Roush (Cincinnati, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Lifetime 3.5 Inch Round Basketball Ground Sleeve (Misc.)

I decided to use this ground sleeve for installing my new basketball pole.

The good:
-Provides a less permanent installation
-Allows you to rotate the pole after installation to make it square with the court
-You can vary the depth/height of the pole at installation

The bad:
-There are gaps in the sleeve that will allow water into it.
-Will likely allow the pole and sleeve to rust together over time if not sealed
-Harder to get the pole plumb during installation

When installing, the instructions are a bit odd. It says to dig an 18" diameter hole, but only mount the front edge of the pole 4" from the court. Therefore, your pole won't be centered in the hole. I decided to make a square form out of 2x4's so that the concrete at the surface was square rather than round. This made it look better.

Additionally, the instructions say to make the top of the sleeve level with the court, but then say to slope the concrete down and away from it. Obviously, this would make the concrete at the court lower than the court itself. So I made it about 1/4" higher than the court and sloped the concrete from the court edge up 1/4" to the top of the sleeve. I found that when I set the completed pole into the sleeve, it actually sat about 1/4" lower than it was supposed to, so it worked out.

Following the instructions to a "t" I still ended up with the rim 1/2" too high. The good part is that when you use the sleeve, you pour concrete into the first section of the basketball pole. They give you a cap to keep the concrete in the pole, and that cap creates a rounded section of concrete that sticks out of the bottom of the pole. So, I could knock off 1/2" of that concrete and it would be a perfect 10'. Also, if your pole ends up a bit low, you could pour some sand into the sleeve to raise the pole up as needed. So in this regard, the pole sleeve allow you to fine-tune the installation if you really care that much.

The bad part is that you set the sleeve in concrete using only 1 pole section of the 3. This only gives you about 3 feet to work with in trying to get the pole perfectly straight. It's not too bad, but it's not perfect. For the kids, they'll never notice.

I ended up digging an 18" hole about 30" deep, and had an 18" square pad at the surface. I used about 7.5 80# bags of concrete. Plan accordingly and buy an extra bag - you don't want to be a bag short in the middle of pouring your concrete.

Using the sleeve increases installation time because you have to wait for the concrete to set around the sleeve before assembling the rest of the pole and hoop. It says to wait 72 hours after pouring the concrete before you assemble it. You can do most of the backboard assembly and put concrete in the bottom pole section during this time.

The last negative is that the whole point of the sleeve is to let you remove the pole. The sleeve has a small bump-out in the back of in which you install a metal tab and set-screw. This tab/screw is what keeps the pole from rotating in the sleeve. The problem is that this allows water into the sleeve, which can allow the pole and sleeve to rust together. I may end up caulking this closed.

I'm happy I used the sleeve, and would still do it again.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars As easy as everyone has said...., October 22, 2010

By 

Jeff P. - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Lifetime 3.5 Inch Round Basketball Ground Sleeve (Misc.)

Installing this sleeve was as easy, if not easier than all the other reviews have indicated. The only thing that threw me for a loop was the amount of concrete the directions said it needed - 6 90lb. bags if I remember correctly. Try fitting all that into a hole that is 18" x 24". I bought 8 80lb bags and end up returning 3 bags.

The guy at Home Depot also made a good recommendation. For about $5, you can buy a multidirectional level that temporarily attaches to the pole when setting the sleeve. Because the system has to be level in many directions (think of checking your Christmas tree from many angles), this made that process extremely easy.

Last, if you haven't worked with concrete before like me, be prepared for the normal stuff to have to set for several days. If you want instant gratification, consider the quick set stuff.

All in all, you can do it!