Product:
Once assembled this basketball hoop is the best driveway hoop I have played on. The glass backboard is makes all the difference and is vastly superior to acrylic and poly carbonate boards. The bounce off the board is solid with very little rebound loss and the sound is sweet when compare to the booming you get on plastic boards. This system is very heavy and well built. The 4 inch square pole adds to the solid feel and altogether the basketball system is very stable and rigid. The plastic base comes with a metal support frame that you attach to the struts supporting the pole. I filled mine with water and used the ropes included to tied it down. The result makes the hoop firmly grounded. During play you do not have to worry about the base moving at all, and I don't think it will ever tip over. Overall I am very happy with this purchase and my kids love it.
Packaging:
The hoop is delivered by a freight company called CEVA in a very large and heavy box. CEVA will make an appointment with you and they will bring the box to your garage. The items are packed very well so the glass and metal parts arrived safely without any damage. All the hardware (ie bolts and nuts) are packaged in separate plastic pouches that are well organized. This makes finding the parts easy when you do the assembly. The heaviest piece is the glass backboard. I would guess it is around 40-50 pounds and one person could certainly lift it by himself. On some reviews I read, they mentioned that the directions were confusing because the spacers for the rim and the backboard were pre-installed which the directions did not mention. In the shipment I received, the directions have been updated so this is not an issue.
Assembly:
I read every review and I was concern about assembling this by myself since many reviewers rate the assembly as very difficult. I thought about hiring someone to assemble it, but after looking at the different parts in the box and reading the instructions I decided to give it a try. I got all the tools (mostly pair of socket wrench with 1/2 and 3/4 sockets) and followed the directions carefully. The assembly went smoothly for the most part, except the step to attach the board to the elevators. For me this took the most time. I lifted the board and use some milk boxes to support it. Then I tilted the pole on the saw horse so the holes were close to lining up. I temporarily inserted the bolts to hold the backboard to the elevators. Then I did each bolt one at a time. The difficult part is that there is a plastic spacer between the board and the elevator and this took a very long time to line up the bolt through the holes and spacer holes. After I did one, I would take out a bolt that I had temporarily inserted and add the spacers to do it right. The four holes took me an hour and a half and it was by far the most difficult. After I attached the board, I filled up the base with water and asked my wife to help me move and upright the system. This is very heavy and you would need someone to help you. After it was uprighted, I finished by installing the rim and the foam panels on the under side of the board. From start to finish, it took about 4 hours.
Tips:
1. Before banging the poles together line them up so the clearance for each corner is about same. You don't one one corner very tight and the other corner very loose. Also spray WD-40 before drop banging the poles together.
2. When attaching the pole to the base, push the bolt through the holes on the plastic base before threading them through the pole. You need someone to hold the pole for you at this step.
3. Use some plastic milk boxes or other support when trying to attach board to elevators. Having two people to hold the board while you attach the bolt through the spacers would make things go alot easier. If you don't have extra help, then slide the bolts without spacers as a temporary step to hold the board to the elevator, and then go back and do one bolt at a time with the spacer. This step was hard for me because I had to push very hard to get the spacer in between and to line up the holes.
4. Before uprighting, push the base to the desire location. You will need someone to help when uprighting, it is very heavy.
| Brand | Spalding |
|---|---|
| Material | Glass |
| Item Weight | 190 Pounds |
| Indoor/Outdoor Usage | Outdoor |
| Special Feature | adjustable |
| Target Audience | Unisex Kid |
| Minimum Height | 7.5 Feet |
| Style | 2021 Version |
| Assembly Required | Yes |
| Maximum Height Recommendation | 10 Feet |
| Item Package Dimensions L x W x H | 58 x 36 x 19.5 inches |
| Package Weight | 88.9 Kilograms |
| Item Dimensions LxWxH | 54 x 35 x 19 inches |
| Brand Name | Spalding |
| Number of Items | 1 |
| Manufacturer | Spalding |
| Part Number | 68454 |
| Size | 54" |
| Sport Type | Basketball |
