Smyths Outdoor Toys
Offers
Reviews
Smyths Outdoor Toy Reviews
 |
Smyths 9ft Double Wavy Slide
by broxi3781 A couple of years ago we were in need of a new slide. My son had wanted this one, having seen it in Smyths, and I did know it was well a made slide as a neighbour had one for many years in her garden, with plenty of children using it. They were out of stock though, and I made the mistake of talking my sons into taking the Toys R Us ... version instead as I had always placed high faith in Toys R Us items. It turned out it was mistake, less than 2 years after purchase, the couplings on the slide broke twice, then the plastic split, cutting my son. Toys R Us said this was are fault as we had kept the slide outdoors! After our experience with Toys R Us, there was no way I was buying another slide ( or anything else) from this store, so we ended up looking at this slide again. Argos seems to have a very similar model, and the same price range, but we hoped to save delivery charges by picking the slide up directly in store. We do have a medium sized car, a Ford Fusion, and with no one but my husband in the car though we could get this in, but the packaging is simply too large so we had to have it delivered anyway. I am not certain the exact charge but I believe it was right about £10. I do think this will be an issue with most cars, so unless you have a van or exceptionally large vehicle, I would count on paying for delivery. The girl in the shop didn't know anything about delivery dates, but the security guard assured my husband it would be reasonable and in fact the item was delivered 2 days later. Smyth's did assure me that this slide was intended for outdoor use as well, and the fellow who sold them said that in all the years he had been selling these he had never had one come back damaged. The assembly should have been pretty easy. The only problem is that the instructions are rubbish. It did look as if two of the bars were missing, so my husband nipped back over to the shop to pick up a new set. The fellow in the shop opened one box after another and it appeared the bars were missing from every one. A quick call to the company left everyone red faced. The bars were there, they were just slid up inside the other bars - so do look carefully before panicking with this slide. A few other mix ups, items left behind at the shop and my husband driving back and forth like a yo yo and he was finally able to begin. As mentioned, the instructions were poor, but it was easy enough to figure out just by looking at it, and total assembly time was about 45 minutes with two young children helping. I expect you could do it in half the time without help. Once up, the boys were both delighted by this slide. It sits slightly higher than their old one, and they definitely fly down it a bit quicker. In all honesty, I don't see the point of the bumps, but the children think they are grand. They do insist this slide is much more fun than the old one, and the other neighbourhood children also seem to love this. The steps are wide and textured so that they do not get slippery even when soaking wet. There is a 10" gap between each step, which is reasonable for the recommended age range of 3+, but I believe it would be possible for a very small child to slip through the gap, and would recommend close supervision if this is used by a child under age 2. There is of course the danger of falling from the top as well, but this minimised by high hand rails, and a good depth to the plastic part of the slide, making slipping off once actually on the slide very unlikely. I have allowed my children to use slides like this well below the recommended age - but supervision is the key in my opinion. The length on this slide is obviously 9ft. The manufacturer lists the height at 169 centimeters. or roughly 5 1/2'. This measurement is to the top of the safety rail though. The actual height of the slide is only about 4' 4" by my measurements. It does look much bigger to me. This slide is predominantly blue plastic, as you can see from the picture, but another plus when deciding to buy this is the fact that the green metal support rods are a few feet off the ground. Some of the slides we looked at had the support bar running along at ground level. I do feel a bar laying in contact with dirt will rust sooner, but the biggest issue was that we like to put the end of the slide in a pool. We run a hose from the top and the children splash into the pool below, making this a great water slide for the few sunny days we have had. A double rail fives the steps additional support as well - and this does not have any plastic coupling joints to snap apart like the old slide did. The biggest downside to this slide so far is that the bottom does seem to dig into the grass a bit. I feel it gouges into the lawn more than the other slides we have had, and coupled with the fact that the children go down faster, and everyone seems to want to go on this, the area at the bottom of the slide is getting quite bare. We will be buying mats for this soon. I have only had this slide for two months now, so I can not comment on how long it will last. However, it was easy to assemble once we figured out where the bars were, appears sturdy and well made, and is one of the largest garden slides available. I paid £99 for this, having just missed a sale at £79 thanks to delays from Toys R Us. As luck would have it, it went back on sale at £79.99 recently so I just missed it. That said, although I hate paying full price on an item to see it cheaper afterwards, I am still happy enough with this slide. Even at £99, it is a good bargain in my opinion and my children's opinion has earned this the full 5 stars. Both of my sons in agreement about this slide, saying: Read the complete review |
 |
Hippo Sandbox
by jo1976 Like many family gardens, we have a sandpit permanently in place, ready to entertain my three boys whenever weather permits. Our sandpit is this rather friendly looking green plastic hippo, originally purchased from Toys R Us at least five years ago. This fun sandpit is very similar in style to the more popular (and more ... expensive) Little Tykes Turtle sandpit. Instead of the turtle, this design has a cute hippo's head attached to the circular 'body', complete with four chunky feet around the edge. This style of pit is designed to enable the kids to climb and play inside, which always seems more fun than the smaller 'table' variety raised on legs, although this design is much less portable. The fact that this pit has survived for so long in our garden is testament to its build quality and durability. It is a pretty heavy pit but has certainly proven to be robust, particularly given the rough treatment that my kids' outdoor toys experience. It is slightly weatherbeaten and the once bright green exterior has faded considerably over the years but it is still functional and safe for the boys to play with. The Smyths Toys website, where this is currently in stock for £24.99, lists the dimensions of the hippo pit as 116Lx83Wx31H (cm). In real terms, this equates to a space large enough to easily accommodate one or two young children, both sitting inside the pit, if they wish. The height is deep enough to contain a fair depth of sand, whilst still allowing youngsters to climb in and out easily. There is a handy ledge inside which makes a perfect seat for a child, handy if the sand is slightly damp and they don't want to get too messy, or for younger toddlers who are a little wary about the whole experience (as my youngest was last Summer at just a year old). I've found that there is less squabbling and bickering if only one of the boys climbs inside the pit and the other(s) play from the outside edge but there is actually room for two of them to climb in together and play. I tend to fill the pit with at least two 15kg bags of play sand. This provides an even coverage across the base and enough depth to allow the boys to dig and burrow as they wish, with plenty of room for all of the spades, buckets and moulds to make the whole experience as much fun as possible. The pit could easily accommodate twice as many bags of sand, if not more, but I find that overfilling leads to some of the sand escaping, despite the rounded edges that help to keep most of the contents inside. I end up having to replace the sand fairly frequently anyway, as it inevitably gets soaked and too dirty for hygienic play so I keep a fairly miserly amount in there. The pit does come supplied with a plastic lid, which is essential to keep out rainwater or local cats looking for a new litter tray and helps to contain all of the sand play equipment. The lid is not quite as sturdy as the extremely thick base, although it does need to be much lighter to ensure that it can be lifted on and off easily, even by a child. Our lid has withstood all manner of play over the years- including being jumped up and down on like a trampoline and used to create various dens- but I think it was being utilised as a makeshift sledge during the snow this Winter that was the final straw. The lid is now slightly worse for wear - sporting a small crack in the middle. The lid does fit securely into position after use and is water tight when the boys remember to put it back on. The main disadvantage, however, is that the lid can be blown off the base incredibly easily, meaning that the contents are exposed to the elements anyway. In theory, this should be fairly easy to clean out after use, as it has smooth, glossy sides and base and no annoying grooves or ridges for sand and dirt to collect. The reality is that cleaning the pit is a pretty long-winded and tedious job and one that I hate doing, particularly when the sand has become waterlogged and infested with insects! There is no easy way to drain or empty the pit as there is no hole or drainage facility at all, so all of the dirty, wet sand needs to be scooped out manually. The hippo is so large and bulky that it's difficult to move around, particularly when full of wet sand, and is certainly too heavy to be picked up and tipped out in one go, so the whole process takes a long time to complete. The pit can even be used for water play or as a paddling pool although the difficulty draining it puts me off using it for that purpose, as well as the fact that ours is now a little too grimy to be used as a pool. For the current price of £24.99, this is an excellent value purchase, particularly in comparison with the Little Tykes version which sells for around £40 or more. Ours has certainly proven to offer excellent value for money and should still have plenty more opportunities to entertain my family, weather permitting. Read the complete review |
 |
Smyths 3 Stages Swing
by broxi3781 When my oldest was a baby we had a single swing with a baby seat, but as outgrew that, I bought a second hand swing set for the front garden. Finally thinking we would not end up having a second child, I got rid of the old baby swing and several other baby items. About 2 weeks later I fell pregnant again - I always say getting rid of ... your baby stuff is the best way to have another child! So when the youngest was about 7 months old and the weather was warming up, I sent my husband to buy a baby swing for him. Of course the swing pictures above looks completely inappropriate for a baby, but that is because it is shown after being converted for an older child. We ended up with two of these, because it was a much nicer swing then our old ones and my husband did not want to buy for one child and not the other. This swing is meant to be converted into 3 stages. Stage 1 You use the supplied high orange plastic back rest and removable yellow T - bar which goes across the front. This basically makes the swing very similar to the baby swings in most parks, except for having a higher back rest. According to Smyths website this is suitable for ages 6 - 36 months, but my son only used the full set for ages 7 months - about 20 months. The front piece attaches very easily with one large yellow plastic nut. It can be removed with one hand if needed, but I usually just left it on, and was able to take the child in and out with little difficulty. Stage 2 You remove the front piece, but leave the back rest on. My son wanted the front bit off very young so he could climb on and off himself. However the back was still useful for a bit as it kept him from falling over backwards - which he did a few times on his brother swing. By about 24 months though, he wanted the back off most of the time too , so now both swings are used in stage 3. While he was in the in between stages though - I found the back could be removed or replaced in seconds so he could switch it back and forth as often as he liked. Stage 3 This stage is as shown just the plastic seat which says it is for 5 years and older. In fact I could still sit on this, although I think I look very silly. Both children usually use the swing in this position now, but we still have the other bits for the odd time the youngest wants to put them back on. It takes less then a minute to convert this back to stage 1. It is wider then most plastic swing seats and provides a nice comfortable seat. I also like the plastic over the ropes which the child can hang onto. Both of my boys have always loved these swings, as do all the neighbour children who come over and play. We have had a few children over who will go to any extreme to destroy things, but so far these have proven unbreakable. They have faded a bit, as plastic toys usually do when left out , but the swings themselves are in excellent condition. I do have one problem with these though. For all that the swing itself very well made and looks set to last a lifetime - the ropes are not. The first swing we bought did not come with the small metal clips which attach the rope to the metal clips on the swing set frame. My husband just put the ropes directly on the frame - resulting in the rope wearing through within days. Smyths did replace the swing, and thankfully I noticed the rope wearing so the child was not hurt. Both swing have been set up correctly now, but there is very definite wear to the rope anyway, which does not seem the best quality. I expect we will have to buy new rope at some point and thread it back through, which will be a nightmare. For this reason I am knocking off one star. However my sons love these and all the children say they are the most comfortable swings ever. Read the complete review |
Smyths Outdoor Toy |
||
|---|---|---|
|
2 reviews Manufacturer: Smyths / Outdoor Toy / Type: Outdoor Play Equipment / Size: 8ft |
|
|
1 review Manufacturer: Smyths / Outdoor Toy / Type: Outdoor Play Equipment |
|
|
1 review Brand: Smyths / Outdoor Toy / Type: Hippo Sandbox |
|
|
1 review Brand: Smyths / Outdoor Toy / Type: Convertable plastic swing |
|
| Smyths Outdoor Toy Recommendations 1 | ||
| dooyoo Results 1 - 4 of 4 | ||
