“Whether tis nobler” Okay, I’ll get back to my day job- basketball hoop product reviews. This is the question I probably get asked the most and it has a two-part answer.
#1.
How serious are the players that are using the hoop? If they’re not serious I recommend going with an acrylic backboard. If they’re serious I recommend going with a tempered-glass backboard. Allow me to explain.
Acrylic backboards-
Many people get a driveway basketball hoop for their families purely for the purpose of pleasure and to help their kids play outside more. If this is you then an acrylic backboard will suit you just fine. As a 40-year-old male, I grew up playing on hoops of far less quality than today’s acrylic backboards. I never knew the difference and your family, if they’re not serious players, probably won’t either. You’re just looking to have some fun in the comfort and safety of your home and an acrylic backboard will suit you just fine.
Tempered-glass backboards-
If you are serious players then a tempered-glass backboard is your best option as it does have a better and more realistic play to it. If it didn’t, schools and the NBA wouldn’t use them.
#2.
How important is budgeting to you? I’m very careful with customers on this one as I know times are tough and as I like to say, “I don’t want to spend your money.” However, if a few hundred dollars is not going to break your bank then it makes sense to go with a tempered-glass backboard. The basketball hoops I sell, First Team Basketball Hoops, are made of high-quality construction-grade steel and will last 30 or more years. Again, I know money is important to some but the difference in price between an acrylic and tempered-glass backboard is as little as $100-200 dollars. When you factor $100-200 over the course of 30 years the price difference becomes somewhat negligible.
#3.
The other questions I get asked a great deal are one of the following: Which backboard will last longer? Will acrylic backboards get a chalky look? Will tempered-glass backboards crack?
Each option will last just as long as the next. It’s true that acrylic backboards, after 15-years or so, can get a chalky look to them but the quality of current acrylic technology is far superior to acrylic technology of the past so I don’t see lack of longevity as a deterrent to getting an acrylic backboard.
As for tempered-glass backboards cracking, they will only crack if hit with a sharp object. They’re made from the same technology as car windshields and, as we all know, car windshields only crack when hit by a rock and even then it has to be a big rock. In my time of installing hoops, the only thing that has ever damaged a tempered-glass backboard are contractors with large ladder racks backing into them.
I hope this helps and if you have questions or concerns about a backboard for your home feel free to reach out to me and I’d be happy to give you all the advice I can.
