LIFETIME Height Adjustable Portable Basketball System, 44 Inch Backboard

It’s built strong. Setup took a bit of time but the instructions were straightforward.

We bought this for our grandson a year ago and he is still enjoying it daily practically a year later, so we are happy with our purchase! We filled the base with sand and that was quite a chore, but after seeing that it held up, it was worth it! (finding dry sand was a challenge too).

I put this entire thing together by myself. It's pretty simple and the instructions were not confusing. The quality of the product is great. I've moved it in and out of the garage more than a dozen times and the base is still holding water without any leaks. I've had this for 3.5 months. It's in the garage for the winter and it's too soon to comment on handling the elements with regard to rusting or fading. Update --- November 26, 2017 --- it's been one year and it looks and functions as good as new. No bend in the hoop, no color fading on the backboard, no loose bolts, no leaks in the base, and no rust on the stand. Over the past year, it's been garage kept when not in use. However, I've kept it out on the weekends this past summer as long as no rain was expected. This Fall, I've left it out all day and night (plenty of sun and rain). It gets used almost daily. It has held up well to the elements. I'm very happy with the purchase and the price is fair compared to the competition. Update.... Two years old and no issues, absolutely no sign of fading or deteriorating. It's been left out for months at a time and other times brought into the garage. Update....... 3.5 years and still solid. Left it out all Summer and Fall. I checked all the bolts and nuts but nothing is loose or rusted. I used some WD-40 and a wire brush on on small spot on the back of the pole that appeared to be developing rust. Otherwise, still great. Update.... 4 years. It's been out since February this year (it's July/2020). No rust, no fading, nothing is loose, no leaking from the base. This thing is solid. I paid $100 four years ago. Still as good as new. Update with photographs at 4.5 years.... No issues, no fading, no cracks, no leaks, but I did find rust on the inside of the pole. All of the photos are after 4.5 years of use and wear in the elements. This basketball hoop has stood up pretty well and looks almost new. Update… 5 years (July 2021). It’s been outside since the Spring and it’s now July. No change in appearance or functionality. No leaks. Even the net is in perfect condition. Update…. 5 years, 10 months (April 2022). Left it outside since last Spring. Absolutely no issues with it. Snow, rain, sun, sleet, heavy wind, … it’s been tested and has passed. Looks just as new as when purchased almost 6 years ago. Update….. purchased in July 2016 and here we are December 2022. 6.5 years and still perfectly fine. I have kept it outside all year long and it’s got no rust, no cracks, even the netting is fine (which is surprising). Update…… 8 years later and it is still rock solid. Same original netting. I’ve had it out in the elements, day and night, since the Spring and I’m writing this update as we approach Fall. No cracks, no rust, no fading, ….. nothing. If this review was helpful, please click the helpful button.

The Lifetime 1221 Pro Court basketball system is a reasonable choice for the budget conscious family. It is a free-standing basketball hoop that is great for light, family oriented play. Given the price, I think you will get more than you expected and your kids will be more than satisfied with the new source of summer fun. But remember, this is not a professional set up. The backboard is made out of molded plastic. This is somewhat softer than plexiglass or wood and dampens the characteristic bounce that you might get with a harder surface. The fact that the base is weighted, rather than fixed to the ground, also increases the give on the backboard. Even so, the backboard perfroms competently. So unless your kids are budding NBA stars, the effect on play is minimal and the backboard is more than adequate. You can fill the base with water or sand. Water has the advantage of being easier to remove whereas sand weighs more and would make the base more stable. However, even with water the hoop is far more stable than I would have imagined. It stays firmly planted even when the ball is thrown at the backboard with force. Although portable, the structure is not easily collapsible. The hoop only reduces down easily to a minimum of 7 1/2 feet. So if you want to store it for the winter you will need to have enough room to store such a long structure, actually disassemble the hoop, or simply let it stay outside and brave the elements. It is not difficult to raise and lower the height in six inch increments, but this requires removing a screw and extending the pole assembly. Not too difficult, but more challenging than lever operated systems. The whole assembly is much lighter than you would expect, given the hollow, metal construction and molded plastic backboard, so it is actually easy to move around. Even with the base full of water, my 13 year old can tip the assembly back on its wheels and move the hoop easily on a blacktop surface. In terms of assembly, things weren't too bad. Minimum equipment is required--a hex ratchet set and Phillip's head screwdriver are all you really need. The skill level needed is minimal (hey, I was able to put this together). Set aside an hour or so to put the thing together and make sure you have another adult (or large child) to help with the last steps. The directions are about average for this kind of do-it-yourself variety of product. The steps are multilingual, but really the most important aspect of them is the pictures. The drawings are clear enough to distinguish like pieces from each other, but certainly could have been clearer. On the bright side, Lifetime included life-size pictures of the hardware used for each step at the top of the page, so there is little ambiguity as to which screw or nut should be used. If you can put together the more simple Ikea furniture, you can certainly put this thing together without a problem. The major difficulty in the design here is the hoop-backboard assembly. This is the part that requires two adults. 4 screws attach the hoop through the backboard to the pole in the last steps of the assembly. The pairs are, of course, going in opposite directions and it requires two adults and a lot of balance to hold the three parts in place while the nuts are being secured. The position of the bottom two screws is also somewhat awkward as there is barely enough room to fit the hex wrench around the head of the screw. Lifetime could simply have placed a groove on the end of the hex screw allowing you to use a screwdriver instead of a hex wrench.) Apart from this step, however, the assembly is simple and straight forward. Lifetime could have made it a tad simpler if all their hex nuts and screws were the same size, but this is a minor issue. Given the price of this no-frills item, I think you definitely get your money's worth on this one. Once again, this is not a hoop made to withstand high levels of punishment, but it is a great choice for a backyard one-on-one with your elementary or high school aged child.

We recently purchased a portable basketball hoop for my 7 year old son. We are happy with the fast shipping; Using a free two days shipping from Amazon Prime, the hoop was shipped to my house two days after I ordered it . Even the assembly instructions were very helpful, and it took my husband only a couple hours to assemble it. In addition, putting it together wasn’t that complicated. The hoop looks exactly like the picture. It is made of high quality material , which means that the hoop will last for a long time. Also, it’s blue color was exactly what we were expecting. Adjusting the height is simple, and moving the hoop from one place to another was easy; even I can move it from our garage to our driveway and back without any difficulties - and I'm only 5’2”!! We have a lot of fun playing with it on weekends and after school—it’s our new family tradition. Now, my son spend hours playing basketball in our drive way. He really likes it, and he also liked its color. I would totally recommend it for the price. No need to spend $150 to $200 on a starter hoop for kids around the age of my son. This will last them a great while, and it's been fun for the whole family. This hoop is great overall in term of the price, the quality and the shipping, we’re very happy with this purchase, and I recommend it to anyone looking for a hoop that it is good enough for their kids in early age to play and enjoy at a very good price.

Great quality and easy to assemble! The only time consuming part was filling the base with sand. I tried using a funnel but it would just stick in the funnel. It'd be nice if the hole was a little bigger to allow a bigger funnel and for the sand to flow through.

Very well made. A little difficult to get the sand into the base but my grandson is loving his birthday present so far as is his little friends. It will last him a long time. It took my son and daughter awhile to put together but instructions were fine.

Very please with the quality of the product. It took me and my son about one hour to put it together. The instructions were easy to follow. Great deal.

Decent net. Kids love it. But it came with defective wheel. I sent an email asking for replacement. Hopefully I will get it. P.s. if you're going to use sand to fill the base... do not use play sand. Make sure its dry sand. It's very difficult and time consuming to fill it with playsand as it is wet. Doable but very hard and time consuming.

Was very easy to put together, and looks great, kids play with it daily and we’ve had no issues. Very stable as well, filled the base with water and it’s able to me moved around the drive way with ease but has never fallen over