We plan to buy our sons a playset for Hanukkah / Birthday. We would like to buy one now since most of them are on sale. We are not sure what is important when it comes to safety, weathering and the elements and fun. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
I would have to say Rainbow Play Systems were the best quality playset we could find. We got ours last year and the kids play on it pretty much everyday that weather permits. We will definitely get our money's worth out of it. Our second favorite was the Costco one and then the Sam's.
Rainbow has a dealer in Olathe and you can go see all of the playsets set up. Take the boys they will be in heaven my kids were.
do your research. you can go to littletykes.com, and other websites similar. research before you buy, as much as you can. you can also look on craigslist.com for some great deals. good luck!
You might check out Consumer Reports website. They may have some information for you there.
Well there is a Rainbow dealer in Witchita I believe and there is another dealer out by Worlds of Fun called Bergfeld Recreation. Bergfeld has some really nice stuff and like Rainbow they have a lifetime warranty and will deliver and assemble if you so wish it. Both have been offering end of the season clearances so I would check with both of them.
I would also keep checking Ebay or Craigslist...these things will resale but not for as much as you would think...most people will want you to disassemble and move though. I will tell you that I have been looking in the KC area for the past year and finding one locally (even withing a 350 mile radius) has been challenging...I had one and they were willing to deliver but some schmuck wasn't paying attention outside of Platte City and rearended 6 cars...one of which was the truck and trailer carrying our new used Rainbow set...real bummer...but that was a $1600 resale on ebay that would have gone for probably over $5500 new.
Having researched these things quite a bit...if you are looking for the really good quality then you are going to pay the bucks for it...the stuff you find at Sam's, Walmart, ToysRUs (all the woodend ones) are not the sturdiest and tend to fall apart pretty easy... Any wooden one will require you to pressure spray it and stain it every year to 2. I have seen a couple of the fiberglass ones on ebay and they look SWEET but one was in CA and the other came from an Amish farm in PA. You might want to check for local Amish farms if there are any communities that build these...they will have the sturdiness that you are looking for w/o the probable big bucks that go with the name brands...
Another idea...Step2 has an extreme roller coaster that is totally awesome and is what is on our "BUY" list come spring for my 5 yr olds birthday... they will hold up to liek 150 lbs and I've seen reports where kids in pre-teen are still riding it...very sturdy and fun. Just another idea.
A wooden playset is expensive, but your boys will be able to play on it for years! Our boys loved helping us build our fort!
Check into the type of wood used or buy your own. If you buy your own you may need to seal it every year or so.
Last I heard pressure treated wood had arsnec (spelling???) that could leach into your child's skin when they touch it / play on it & make them very sick.
Personally I love the plastic play sets, but your boys may grow out of them quickly, unless you get one of the really big sets!
God Bless!
