Customer Reviews

Spalding 72351 Portable Basketball System with 44-Inch Polycarbonate Backboard

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Pros: Portable, adjustable height, sturdy and strong, 3" steel pole, 44" x 30" clear backboard. Instructions are overall good (about 2 hours). Just add 2 gallons of RV antifreeze ($5 ea) if below freezing. Easy to lift and carry when empty (recommend water since it's easier to empty than sand).

Cons: Can't move once filled unless it's on a very hard surface because wheels are only 3.5 inches in diameter) and the approx 350 lb system creates a large pressure on those small wheels (300 lbs of water) and it digs into grass. The fill cap has no rubber seal, so water may leak when it is tilted, moved, or the base stepped on. One important problem with the instructions (read below) will only permit maximum height of 9.5 feet instead of 10 feet.

Instruction problems: This is relative to instructions dated 07/07 (ID M7221242). Page 21 shows bracket 27 and 34 attaching to the two lower holes and instead should be attached to the two higher holes. Using the two higher holes allows the 10 foot height to latch. Another minor problem is that page 24 shows lower elevator tube positioned backwards (that middle hole should be closer to the pole as it is correctly shown on pages 23 and 25). I notified Spalding of these two illustration problems.

so, i've had this for over a month (now that's its finally warm-ish out) and i love it.

i use it almost every day and since i live on a culdesac i have to utilize the portability aspect every time.

my one and only complaint? the directions are horrible. the pictures/figures contradict each other and due to that it took me 3 times as long to assemble it. there was no way for me to tell until it was almost done which drove me crazy.

however, i'd rather have that be the problem than anything else.

that being said, i highly recommend this product. just watch out during the assembly!

This system is very nice.My son loves it!!! It was tricky to put together. It took 4 competant adults. At least one to read the directions and guide the others. You need at least 3 to hold the pole and balance it. Once it was up, we filled the base w/water and added sand bags. Excellent.

This was a bit challenging for us to put together. It really does require "two competent adults" as it says in the instructions. But I'm sure all these portable hoops are, it's not a criticism of this one. But once we got it together we were very happy with it and my son loves it.

Lets just start with this, do not expect to start this and play an hour later. I feel I am very competent with putting things together, and this was a challenge. Many times I had to back track and do a step over again, instructions are very vague and pictures even worse.

That being said, the overall workmanship is great. Backboard looks like the ones the pros use. The ease of raising and lowering the hoop is very nice. Kids love it and I cant wait till its warm again so I can beat them at some Horse!

If you got some patience and are ok with assembling things then I highly recommend this hoop, if not you might want to pass.

This portable basketball backboard is superb. Outstanding quality and manufacturing. Far better than any of the others I see in my neighborhood. The clear backboard gives a very professional appearance. A note on assembly. After reading the reviews here, and on other web sites, regarding the challenges of assembly, I contracted with the installers from my local Sports Authority. They charged me $125 and it took two of their very experienced professionals over 2 hours to assemble this. I would have hated to attempt this on my own.

Our children love their new basketball hoop but to put it together was quite a struggle. It says on the instructions: 2 capable adults! But for us it was a family (4 persons) undertaking and everybody played a role in the assembly! We had "fun" when comparing the different languages in the assembly manual. I can guarantee that you assemble a different hoop depending on what language you follow. So much for globalization!
The stand is very solid, quality material and easy to adjust the height. It is not really portable since it is heavy (even without the water in the base).
Nevertheless, I would definitely recommend the Spalding system.

We ordered this for our son for Christmas. Needless to say it came with at least three missing parts... one was the wheel to the base which we had to request in the mail...the other two where bolts and screws which we were able to come up with ourselves. To top everything off there is a leak in the base so my husband is repairing it with mighty puddy. If it were up to me I would return the darn thing!!! Unfortunately, after all the work my husband put into getting it together he doesn't want to return it.

I do not concur with other reviews on this product regarding putting it together. While admittedly it does take a little bit of time to put the product together, it is not really as difficult as described by others. The descriptions in the manual are clear and straightforward. I have put it together in about 3 hours completely on my own, so needing for 2-4 adults is a bit far fetched at least in my case. If you have difficulties with this, you probably will also not be able to put together furniture from IKEA.
It looks neat and is fairly sturdy.

The system goes together easily despite the lack of picture instructions. I was able to assemble alone in 2 hours. The only downside, the base had a slow leak through the cap on the back side. I wrapped the thread with plumbers tape and added a 1/8th inch rubber seal ($3.50 at the hardware store) to stop the drip. The height adjustment is smooth and effortless. The kids love the new addition to the yard.