Lifetime Geometric Dome Climber Play Center - Kids Outdoor Jungle Gym for Backyard, Park, and Playground - Encourages Active Play and Physical Development

My kids were so excited when they found out we ordered a climbing dome like our neighbors have in their yard. The neighbors told me it was a beast to move (they put theirs together in the garage and then had to haul it to the backyard upon completion), so I made sure to assemble in the backyard where we plan to use it. I assembled it solo since my husband was out of town for work. (Note: I am a 5’6” fit, but not super strong woman.)Putting it together on my own had its challenges, but I managed. It took me several hours, but imagine it might go more quickly with another adult and without the “help” of two young children. ;)HOWEVER, as other reviewers have mentioned, beware of faulty hardware!! As I was connecting two sections of the structure together per the instructions, one of the screws sheared in half while tightening and the two sections it was connecting fell over as the pieces of the screw went flying!! The kids and I had to look around the yard for a few minutes to find the two pieces of the screw.Thankfully, my kids who were “helping” me weren’t close when it spontaneously self-destructed, but the sudden sound and subsequent collapse scared us all pretty badly and gave me a gnarly blood blister and bruise on the palm of my hand where I’d been holding the screw in place while I tightened. As I was writing this review, it suddenly occurred to me why the instructions recommend using safety goggles while assembling!! Who knew you should beware of shrapnel when putting together a child’s play structure!!Anyway, at that point, I was seriously questioning whether to continue building and if the structure was as sound as it seemed…After mulling it over a few minutes and assessing the damage to my hand as relatively minor all things considered…and since I was invested in the project, with parts all over the yard and kiddos anxious to climb, I decided to press on using the extra screw provided.Upon completion, I climbed on the structure to make sure it was solid before I let my kids try it out.Overall, it seems like a good buy, but I am most definitely wary and will be inspecting it more regularly than I likely would have otherwise.If you are getting 1 thing for your kids to play on in the backyard it should be this! Let them climb all over, build a fort with it (get a cheap tarp to drape over and they'll love you for it) etc. They'll have fun while getting great exercise!When building, make sure you pay attention to the instructions not on the order of each bar, they make it easy if you pay attention to how the bars stack before a bolt goes through. Took 2 hours to build.We added to this dome from Amazon, the green slide using zip ties, and the disc/rope swing to the middle. Both are great. The slide is slightly steep. For smaller children for slide safety we are making a platform at top of slide so no falls off top of slide. No maintenance unlike wooden play sets. Everyone can climb the dome; very sturdy. We just drag it aside when mowing.I definitely recommend assembling on an even surface, like garage or driveway. Assembly for my husband took about 2 hours with only a little help from me holding the rods while he tightened the handles/rocks.So far so good. Kids are very excited to upgrade their climbing dome. Super duper sturdy, but time will tell. Put it together within an hour which seemed like good time. I used a drill and an allen bit to tighten which made it a bit quicker than using a manual allen wrench.Assembly was easier then expected! Two pieces of advice. 1) Read the instructions and 2) watch the video in assembly. Between the two and if you take it step by step it’s easy to assemble. It took three of us about two hours. Only one trip to the hardware store to get a tool.it took 2 people and a tree to put this thing together. we used the tree to stand it. the app video that comes with it is super helpful. you might have to tighten and untighten just to get it to not flop everywhere. dunno how people did it alone. it took forever. i added a 30inch swing to it. my child is autistic 4yr..doesn't know how to climb it yet, but neat product. keeps her in the yard.The item is great the directions that came with the dome totally suck. Go to you tube those directions are perfect!!!I don’t see how any single adult could possibly assemble this on their own. At certain points you have to hold 5 different bars out in different directions while balancing the rest of the assembly AND screwing the bolt in. It took me and my husband and our preteen son 2 hours to put this thing together. So far the quality seems good but a few pieces were chipped and I’m concerned about rusting later on.I absolutely love this climbing frame. It’s strong and sturdy like the one I used to have in my playground as a kid. It was easy to put up, it took a couple of hours. Bought for my grandchildren but the adults have had a go too. I hang my washing on it when not on use so dual purpose ?This item arrived on time, was straightforward to assemble and the kids love it.The reason for the low score is because within the first two weeks two of the bolts have totally snapped. One while we were assembling (meaning we needed to use the one spare provided) and the second during use by a very small 6 year old.It now has one jagged and sharp bolt sticking out of it meaning it’s unsafe and unusable until we can get replacement bolts.Hoping to get replacements from the manufacturers but haven't managed to get in touch with them yet. Will update the review if and when it gets sorted.Updated 2022.We never got replacement bolts from the manufacturers… however we picked up suitable replacements quite cheaply from screwfix and these have held solid since. The frame does get a lot of use now it’s been fixed, just a shame we had a bumpy start with it.My almost 3 year old grandson is constantly climbing our Indian bean tree, jumping around in it like a little monkey, falling out, crying then getting straight back up it again. I therefore thought it might be an idea to get him some sort of climbing frame. I like this one because it does not need to be pegged down or anchored in concrete, yet it can be lifted by two people to move it. I just have it on grass. I also find it is quite aesthetically pleasing, compared to a lot of children’s play equipment. With the brown and green colour scheme it blends in well with the garden and looks almost like a garden sculpture.It is relatively easy to put together though it does take a few hours, but I would strongly advise that the person or people who assemble it are the type who are happy to read instructions, are meticulous and take it slowly and carefully. There are two types of brown strut and two types of green strut. There are different bolts and nuts and the joints should be put together with the struts in the correct order. Don’t let someone loose on it who isn’t prepared to read and follow the instructions.It took about a month to get to Ireland and I had to find a delivery service that would bring it in (parcel motel) but got it yesterday delivered to the house. Took me about 2hrs to assemble mostly by myself. Read the directions carefully to avoid disassembly. Kids love it (5, 4), loads of room to run underneath and not too tall (at least not taller than the apple tree they regularly climb) but tall enough. Takes 2 to move but its steady and is going to be worth every penny!!Its so Easy to put together. Just sort out the nuts and bolts and poles and follow the instruction manual. Its took 2 of us just over 2 hours to put together.The only thing we had to borrow from a neighbour was the socket wrench to attach the climbing holds.Our garden is on a slope so i researched a lot on the best climbing frame for us. Im so very happy with my choice. Because of its structure the weight is evenly distributed and it sits firmly on the ground without anchors. We stole the idea from another reviewer on here and added a disc swing in the middle, and the kids LOVE it. We have also attached an 8ft slide (with stong climbing rope) to the top horizontal bar. This works for us as our garden is on a slope and the slide faces up the slope which adds a bit more stability to it, so its possible but you do it at your own risk. Our kids are 6 and 8 and i can see this getting years more use.The climbing frame is fantastic, versatile and very well made. Plus its a reasonable price for the years of fun youll get from it. Id recommend it to anyone. Im happy and the kids happy. ???