| | |  | Sports & Outdoors | Home » » Spalding Portable Basketball System - 48" Polycarbonate Backboard | | | | | | | Description: | | Enjoy years of recreational basketball fun in your backyard with the Spalding residential portable basketball system (model 72354), which features a 37-gallon base that fills with water or sand for stability | | | Features: | |
• 48-inch polycarbonate backboard w/board pad
• Solid steel slam jam breakaway rim w/white all-weather net
• Pro glide lift provides height adjustment from 7.5' - 10' in 6-inch increments
• 37 gallon base fills with water or sand for stability
• Five-year limited warranty
| | | Product Details: | | | Product Length:
| 48.0 inches | | Product Width:
| 34.5 inches | | Product Height:
| 9.5 inches | | Product Weight:
| 95.0 pounds | | Package Length:
| 50.1 inches | | Package Width:
| 33.8 inches | | Package Height:
| 9.1 inches | | Package Weight:
| 97.0 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 66 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 66 customer reviews )
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
38 of 39 found the following review helpful:
 Great systemJan 09, 2008
By Mike
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.
36 of 37 found the following review helpful:
 Flimsey BaseAug 26, 2010
By J. Cahill
We purchased this for our son two Christmas's ago or 20 months. The backboard is thin, but worked fine for our 11 year old. He also had no trouble adjusting the height which was great. Moving it around was fairly easy when needed but it pretty much sat in the same place in the backyard. I remember it taking a couple hours to put together. We have enjoyed this basketball hoop....but...
The base of the basketball hoop started to crack about 5 months ago...not a problem then but when the ball would hit the base in the right spot, the base would crack a little more. Now it is cracked all around and doesn't hold water. We called the company and asked if we could purchase a new one last month. They sold us a new one for a little less than $50 but it is backlogged till November. We must not be the only ones with this problem. Our friends have the same hoop and they are getting cracks in it now, but not as bad as ours yet.
I love reading reviews and appreciate feedback when making a decision on a purchase. This was a good product for the price and we have got much enjoyment out of it. Maybe we just got a bad base and they had a bad mix of plastics. It should have lasted longer than it did and wanted to share that with others.
23 of 23 found the following review helpful:
 Outstanding Engineering, Poor MachiningNov 29, 2010
By John Keitz
"Islesfan"
This is an engineering masterpiece. The design is borderline artistic. For something that could, in many circumstances, be an eyesore in front of a home, this system is very nice and professional looking. The backboard is tough polycarbonate and at 50", it is similar to what the pros use. It has the NBA look in its markings and logo. The unit is designed to lean away from the base, which allows for lay-ups without landing on the base or ramming into the pole. Safety wise, the 300 lb base is more than sufficient to hold the whole system upright even when dunking or when the winds wind up. Also, at 300 pounds, it isn't easy to steal!
The rim design is amazing. The spring system keeps movement in the rim to prevent backboard damage, but the ball doesn't come springing off the rim unnaturally. Rebounding is like it should be. Also, while the rim and backboard do move a little on a missed shot, they don't sway around for a few seconds like many portable systems do. On the other hand, the backboard and rim aren't so rigid like in-ground systems which can result in overly active rebounds. All in all, this is perfect, once you set it up.
The only loss of a star comes from the assembly. The instructions are second to none and it should assemble in about 6 hours with two adults. Unfortunately, as well designed as this is, it was machined in China, and most of the holes don't even come close to lining up! Among the tools you'll need that aren't listed are a drill, metal file, duct tape, several replacement bolts, clamps, and lots of bandages! It took two competent adults over 21 hours to assemble this thing! We spent most of that time trying to force together pieces that didn't fit. We spent four hours on the rebounder alone. After sufficiently damaging one of the included bolts trying to ram it through the holes that didn't line up, we had to discard it and replace it with a smaller bolt. After replacing three of the bolts, we were finally able to get the rebounder on the pole. The top cap on the pole is way too small, and will pop out in the slightest wind (or when you try to adjust the rim height, since the bar doesn't clear the pole). We wrapped that in duct tape to make it fit better. At around the 8 ½ foot adjustment, the bar doesn't clear the pole. You have to really force it to get it by the pole, and I wouldn't advise doing it too often as I think the bar likely won't take that kind of punishment on a regular basis. Fortunately, most people will leave the rim at 8' and then move it up to 10' when the kids are old enough. If you think you'll be adjusting the rim height often, you might consider another model. As with everything else, the design is great, and the heavy backboard moves easily up and down due to ingenious use of springs, but it gets stuck at the 8 ½ foot mark every time, and that's just the poor machining.
So, excellent product, but severely flawed machining. It is great once you finally get it assembled.
20 of 20 found the following review helpful:
Good starter hoopDec 26, 2007
By nobodyishere
"nobodyishere"
I was a little disappointed, the backboard is pretty thin and the support bars that go from the pole to the plastic base and the screw-holes in the base themselves seem like they could easily break with time. I only paid $179 through Amazon directly, with no shipping charge . . . so for that price, I feel it was a good enough deal. If my son continues to play bball, I will upgrade to a much more study setup.
As for the directions, they were slightly confusing. It took me longer than most to put together, I did it all myself with no help (as a single mom), EXCEPT for when I attached the backboard, THAT step does take two people!
14 of 14 found the following review helpful:
Awesome hoop...but directions???May 08, 2007
By chris
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!
See all 66 customer reviews on Amazon.com
| | |
|
