Do you ever go hiking up a trail and suddenly get a hankering to play a game of basketball? No? Do you ever go to the beach, see a bunch of people playing volleyball, and suddenly have an uncontrollable desire to shoot hoops? Still no? Well, just in case you’re one of the few who actually do, the Swish Portable Basketball Hoop is here to the rescue.
As the name implies, it’s a basketball hoop that’s designed to be taken on the road, allowing you to set up for a basketball game anywhere you are. Whether on the beach, the street corner, or the backyard at your uncle’s house during a barbecue, this thing lets you set up a functional backboard and ring for a quick pick-up game with family and friends.
The Swish Portable Basketball Hoop consists of a board and a ring that can collapse flat, witkeh the ring folding parallel to the backboard, making it easy to throw into the boot of a car. Two straps on the back of the board allow you to carry it like a backpack, so you can just hoist it on your back as you walk towards your destination, with those two straps also serving as mounting straps when it’s time to set up the hoop. To install, simply find a post, tree trunk, or any similarly tall structure, then tie the straps around it and secure using the integrated alligator clip system. Once that’s done, just grab yourself a ball and find some people to play with.
We’re not sure if the ring is hinged to the backboard (looks like it), but it’s able to fold and unfold at will, so we’re guessing it is. When unfolded, strong magnets keep the rim from folding back in, so you won’t have to waste your time having to unfold the ring every couple of plays. We mean, that would just be annoying.
The Swish Portable Basketball Hoop has a regulation-sized rim (18 inches), so you can use it most any standard basketball you already have at home. In case you don’t have one, each hoop set actually comes with a regulation-sized basketball, along with a hand pump, so you can fill it up with air any time it requires just a little more bounce. The net under the rim, by the way, is attached using hooks that can be removed at any time, in case you’d rather not have anything dangling on the hoop while you carry it behind your back.
Does this play as good as a standard hoop? We have no idea. Based on the photos and the general design, however, it does seem like a sound concept. Maybe just avoid hanging on the rim whenever you hit a two-handed dunk to keep anything undesirable from happening? Aside from those cases, it really seems like you can use it like any basketball hoop, albeit one with the ability to mount on posts, fences, and other random objects.
The Swish Portable Basketball Hoop is available now.
- Full size hoop and full size basketball!