Basketball is one of the best sports for pick-up games. You can just grab a ball and shoot some hoops with friends or even strangers. The one piece of equipment that you can’t carry with you, however, is the hoop — until now, that is, thanks to the innovative new Uball portable basketball hoop. This project, which has been in development for over a year, just went live on Kickstarter. If you back it now, you can score a Uball kit for as much as $100 off.
It’s hard to imagine carrying a full-sized basketball rim, backboard, and pole on your back. The Uball makes basketball portable by scaling everything down a bit, including the balls themselves. The pole stands at 8.5 feet tall when fully extended, and can be shortened in 3-inch increments down to 5.5 feet to allow anyone, even kids, to play. The pole’s base screws securely into the ground (like a beach umbrella, but is sturdy enough to withstand dunking) and the rim and backboard are both reinforced with steel for long-lasting durability. The Uball kit — pole included — breaks down for carry via the backboard’s shoulder straps. The whole set weighing in at around 30 pounds.
You can use your Uball setup to play the traditional basketball game that we all know and love, of course, but the minds behind this innovative project have also created their own new games around the Uball hoop. A couple of these basketball variants incorporate rules from other games like hockey or lacrosse, while others simply allow for smaller groups to play so you can ball no matter how many people are present.
Uball portable basketball hoop is live on Kickstarter with some Early Bird specials that let early backers grab a set for a nice discount: The first Early Bird tier starts at $149 and gets you a Uball hoop (including the rim, backboard, and pole) along with two basketballs, saving you $100 off of its launch price. Note that, as with other Kickstarter crowdfunding projects, these Early Bird offers are limited to a certain number of people before they’re gone. The Uball hoops are expected to ship in May 2020.
We always encourage caution when participating in a crowdfunding venture. There are potential risks, including lack of funding and fulfillment. Our brother site, Digital Trends, has some neat tips on the matter.
