Basketball Hoop Acrylic vs. Glass

What are the differences between Acrylic and Glass Basketball Hoop Backboards?

Consumer Basketball Hoop lines have increased in number and evolved a great deal over time. Materials for backboards have changed with it. Lifetime Products and Huffy / Spalding both have glass and acrylic systems and both tend to be very expensive. Which one is right for you? You can be the judge of that.

Professionally, in the NCAA, and in most High Schools glass is the backboard of choice. The reason being is the rebound of the ball of the backboard. The tempered glass used on these basketball hoops tends to not give as much and therefore provides a superior rebound when the ball hits it. This is great for agressive play and with more advanced players. A bank shot is much more effective on these units. The acrylic on the other hand tends to absorb more of the impact of the ball, making you have to train your shot to be a little bit harder than you normally would need.

Why go acrylic? Acrylic systems are typically cheaper in cost, making these basketball hoops great for family and home use. Unless you plan on training a future collegiate player, or always need the best money can buy, the acrylic hoops are suitable for most situations. Because most companies that ship basketball hoop orders do not have any way of setting the system up for you, the customer can have quite a daunting task ahead of them. Tempered glass weighs a great deal more then acrylic of comparable dimensions does. For instance, the 98865 60" acrylic basketball hoop from Lifetime Products weighs a little over 200 lbs. The 98862 Mammoth Basketball Hoop 60" glass backboard system weighs nearly 500 lbs!

If you have any other differences you know of between Glass and Acrylic Baksetball Hoop Backboard materials, please leave your comments here for other shoppers to view.

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