Looking at buying one of the monkey bar play sets from Growplay.
Has anybody got any experience with those?
Just looking to confirm if the quality of the product is as stated.
Kid's Backyard Play Equipment - Growplay
cheekymonkey on 05/11/2023 - 13:54
Comments
A monkey misses its jungle
I have recommend this style of product to several people and they've all been thrilled with it.
The pipework is rock solid as it's basically Tubeclamp ( https://www.tubeclamp.com.au/ ) and standard gal pipe, so it's pretty hard to go wrong. You can find this system in some bespoke public playgrounds and it essentially doesn't fail even when in constant, heavy use. Indeed, I built a huge custom climbing frame with Tubeclamp and gal pipe at my kid's primary school about 4 years ago and it's still going strong. It may be cheaper to buy direct https://www.tubeclamp.com.au/pages/sports-equipment
These are all essentially the same product:
https://www.funkymonkeybars.com/products/the-original-adjust…
https://www.lifespankids.com.au/collections/monkey-bars
https://playgroundfun.com.au/product-category/climbing-frame…
And several more…I wouldn't hesitate to buy any of the solid tube and bracket stuff, however I'd personally stay away from any rope, like netting, which is just cheap arse nylon and will fray very quickly with any moderate amount of use.
I can't comment on the moving stuff, like the track glide component, but it looks residential quality to me and therefore I'd be surprised if the bearings hold up over time - not to mention that residential playground components are not bound by any standards other than the usual toy standards (eg no lead in the paint), and with this kind of moving equipment there are a number of potential risks with finger entrapment and the like that personally I wouldn't be comfortable with.
The swing and roman ring stuff though looks reasonable to me. Not public playground quality, but fairly hard to get wrong - it'll just be the same stuff you find in the playground section of Bunnings.
One advantage of the tubeclamp system is that monkey bars and chin up bars can be raised over time as the kids get older, so it might be worth getting extended posts and T clamps instead of L corner pieces so that you can increase the height as the kids get older and their feet start dragging on the ground.
Note that all of these are shown with railing base flanges which are designed to bolt handrail uprights to a concrete footpath. Personally, however, I'd be getting extended length poles and concreting at least the corner poles into the ground for stability. In any case, you do not want to install one of these systems on a flat concrete slab as there would be a risk of serious brain injury from falls.
Personally, I do not consider any of these systems to be structurally sound enough to simply assemble and to just plonk into the middle of the backyard. There is far too much weight in them once the kids get a bit older and start swinging vigorously.
Appreciate those insights. Thanks
Nice, got any pictures of the one you made, and approximate cost to make it?
Heh. Mine was quite a bit more elaborate than the ones we're talking about. I've sent you a PM with some images.
Thanks, very nice work 👍
For anyone interested in a BYO example that anyone could do, this is a public playground next to a skate park https://maps.app.goo.gl/3DSPENshCYY851wU7
The monkey bars are all tubeclamp, not the more flimsier screw-through rungs used on Growplay and other sites. Use 270-300mm centres on the monkey bar rungs if you're making one yourself.
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