Football Net, 7×4 FT, Black, Polyester, Rectangular, Football Practice Kicking Net, Ultra Portable, Easy to Assemble

My neighbor and I often build an improvised hockey rink in his backyard during the winter, so I got this net a couple of months back to surprise him, replacing last year’s very-non-regulation cardboard box “goal.” Until now, winter hasn’t cooperated with that plan, so I only finally had a reason to unbox the net yesterday.Since our rink is still in the process of solidifying, we haven’t actually had a chance to shoot into it yet, but my first impressions of this practice net are positive overall. The directions are confusing at best, since they don’t give much detail about which pieces to connect. I found them most useful simply as a rough visual guide to assembly. As a plus, no tools are required, which is awesome, since it makes the net easier to take up and down quickly.The main base of the frame is sturdy black-coated metal pipes about an inch wide, that aren’t going to bend easily, and add some heft to the base. For the upper part of the frame, more flexible fiberglass rods are supplied, presumably providing more “give” when something impacts the net. My one minor complaint about these is that they interlock, but don’t really snap together firmly, so the whole upper structure is pretty wobbly until you have the net completely attached. Having an extra person to help with assembly would probably make this aspect easier.Even though I knew the dimensions, the whole structure was even taller than I had expected, which is awesome—more room for flying pucks and zooming soccer balls! If you’re only 5’6″ like I am, though, you may want to have a step stool on hand for easiest assembly of the top parts of the net, whether or not you have a helper.Looking forward to using this once our rink freezes up, and reporting on how it works with hockey pucks!