Goalsetter Basketball Hoops | Captain vs. All-American

Of all of the Goalsetter Basketball Hoops Systems, only the Captain and All-American models overlap on size of backboard. What is the difference?

Goalsetter manufactures many different inground basketball systems ranging in backboard size of 72" all the way down to 48". Of all of the Goalsetter basketball systems, only the Goalsetter All-American and Goalsetter Captain models compete for the same backboard size. At first look this might be confusing, but a closer examination will show some important differences. I will show only the differences below, as the similarities are not they key factors in making a buying decision.

Goalsetter Basketball Hoops All-American:

• Pole size is 5 x 5 inches.


• Backoard to pole clearance is 3 ft.

Goalsetter Basketball Systems | Captain

• Pole size is 6 x 6 inches.


• Backboard to pole clearance is 4 ft.

Product Comparison Summary:
When comparing these two models, do not let the similarities fool you; these are different products. For the Goalsetter Captain model, they followed the same general structure and features as the full size 72 in. MVP model, in that both the Captain and MVP models have 6 x 6 inch. pole and a 4 ft. backboard clearance. Because of this, you can expect to pay at least a couple hundred dollars more for the Captain than the All-American. Goalsetter designed the All-American to offer a fairly large system - 60 inch glass backboard - to a larger crowd by shrinking the size of the pole and lowering the overhang of the backboard. These changes do not effect the stability of the unit so much as the playability. In most cases 3 ft. of clearance is fine, but when players become older and more advanced, they will likely need more space to play around the hoop. Good luck shopping!

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Goalsetter Basketball Systems | Mammoth Basketball Hoops.
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Basketball Backboards | Types of Materials Used

What material is best for your Basketball Backboards' system?

Basketball Backboards Overview:

I have previously posted on this information concerning basketball backboards' materials used on basketball systems. In this post I will try to go beyond what I had previously said and go into brand names and manufacturers.

Basketball backboards in the market currently have just about the exact same materials between manufacturers. These are mainly glass, acrylic, polycarbonate, and plastic. under each of these headings are several patented names, but not much real difference in construction.

Glass Basketball Backboards:

Glass is glass no matter who you go to for your basketball system. The only real things to be aware of when you are shopping for a your basketball hoop are: how thick is the glass, and how thick is the frame.

Thickness of the glass is important for many reasons, which I will not elaborate on too much here, but not for the rebound of the ball. Thicker glass typically only gets better strength in the event something were to collide with the backboard; i.e. a rock. Many salesmen will try to sell you on better rebound with more thickness, but this is not neccessarily the case. The bigger determining factor is actually the thickness of the frame. Typically, if you are getting a glass basketball backboard you ought to be getting one that has at least a 2 inch thick frame. This will assure you the most optimal rebound. Anything less than this will possibly cause a wiggle in the backboard throwing off your shot.

Acrylic Basketball Backboards:

Acrylic is considered to have the next best rebound, though the difference betwen arylic and polycarbonate rebounds is minimal. Acrylic backboards were more prevalent a few years back, but many manufacturers have moved away from their production in hopes of increasing the strength of the backboard using other materials. Just like glass, acrylic is acrylic except for this time there are some brand differences in the market. Whenever you see the word "fusion" in the name of a Lifetime basketball system, this always refers to acrylic. Spalding and Goalsetter each only use acrylic in the names, so there should not be any confusion with what are getting through these 2 suppliers.

Polycarbonate Backboards:

Polycarbonate was designed into basketball systems for its increased strength. Polycarbonate is said to be 30x stronger than comparable acrylic models. Acrylic, over time, has been known to crack when exposed to UV radiation after many years, thus losing its strength. Polycarbonate is supposed to eliminate this, creating a longer last basketball system. Polycarbonate is the same material used in the production of bullet proof glass, though none of the basketball systems, which use this material, would be considered bullet proof. Polycarbonate is mostly used by Lifetime Products and Spalding in some of their lower end systems. Polycarbonate is polycarbonate, but with Lifetime the patented name is Makrolon and Lexan. Spalding just refers to it as polycarbonate.

Plastic Backboards:

Plastic has the most diversity in available types, i.e. plastic is not the same plastic between suppliers. Lifetime Products uses what is called polyethylene plastic, which is a polymer of the alkene, ethylene. Spalding uses what they call eco-composite, which essentially is recycled plastics. Because of the source of the plastic used by Spalding is not really well known, it is hard to determine what is the plastic's chemical makeup. Both manufacturer's use this material to make a quick, cheap basketball backboard for their lowest end models. With this material you get the cheapest of options and a beginner system, but you also get a potentially very long life. As evidence of this, consider Lifetime Products claim of their plastic (HDPE), which they state ,"... will not fade, crack, or peel when exposed to the sunlight." Plastic would have what is considered the worst rebound of the choices already listed.

Hopefully this gets you a good feel of the materials available on basketball backboards. Please leave any comments if you have any questions or any other helpful differences you know of between these options.

Basketball Backboards Related Links:

Baskeball Hoop | Acrylic vs. Glass.
Portable Basketball Hoops.
Goalsetter | Mammoth Basketball Hoops.
98865 Basketball Backboards | Mammoth Style System.

Goalsetter Basketball Systems | Mammoth Basketball Hoops

How do Goalsetter Basketball Systems compare to Mammoth Basketball Systems?

This will just be a quick point counter point post to illustrate that gains and losses of either system.

Goalsetter Basketball Systems: Reasons to buy:

• Goalsetter warranty also covers dunking in the breakage clause (as of the time of this post).


• The offset pole design used on their basketball hoops features a more durable design and better weight distribution for heavier models like the SS MVP and SS All-American.


• Greater selection of high-end glass backboard models with many variations - there are more than 5 different basic models to choose from, and several options on each of those models to customize the system.


• Different options are avialable on the lift mechanism providing you opportunities to either save money, or have a more convenient way to change the height of the backboard.

Mammoth Basketball Systems: Reasons to buy:

• Lifetime Products includes their rim in their Limited Lifetime Warranty whereas the Goalsetter rim warranty is graded based on the quality of rim.


• A Mammoth Basketball Hoop is about $400-$800 cheaper on average than comparable Goalsetter models.


• These have a lock mechanism the prevents tampering on the height adjustment mechanism.


• Lift mechanism on the Mammoth Systems are easier to use, just squeeze the handle on the back of the unit and push it up or pull it down. The Goalseeter adjustment mechanism is a crank and can be somewhat cumbersome to adjust.

There are many other point and counterpoints that could be mentioned here, so please feel free to comment if you know of other relevant comparisons.

Related Posts:
Portable Basketball Hoops.
Mammoth Basketball Hoop.
Lifetime Basketball vs. Spalding Comparison.

Basketball Hoop

Here is a helpful Basketball Hoop Selection Guide.

This will be a comparison guide for portable, inground, and backboard / rim combo kits for basketball systems. Hopefully this will guide you in finding the right basketball hoop system for you.

To start out with let's get a feel of what system specs are used professionally, in college, and in most high schools. Regulation hoops are fixed at 10 ft. above ground. The rim has a fixed diameter large enought to fit a basketball measureing 29.5 inches in circumfrence. The backboard is made of glass and measures 72 inches across and about 42 inches high. The backboard thickness is about 2 inches.

With that understanding lets talk about different basketball hoop setups. The most common for residential use is an inground basketball hoop. Please check your system's instructions for installation specifics, but in general the pole is about 18 or so inches in the ground for most systems. There are 2 different types of poles to look for for inground systems. The poles are either square or round. The round ones are typically cheaper than square posts. The round poles typically come standard 3 inches or 3.5 inches. The difference you will notice between a round pole and a square post is that the square post basketball hoop will have less "wobble" when in use than a round pole. The square posts come in 4", 5", or 6" sides. The square posts are usually found on systems with larger backboards and backboards made out of glass. With these systems, for the right price, you can achieve a system very close to what is used in the NBA, collegiate level, and in most high schools.

By portable basketball hoop, it is meant that the system is mobile because the pole does not go into the ground, although some of these systems allow you to bolt the portable base to concrete if you so desire. Basketball hoop selection for portable systems is a little more tricky. Things to consider for portable basketball hoops is who will be using it, how will they be using it, and how often will they be using it. If you have older, heavier kids playing on these hoops you must consider that these hoops are able to tip over if someone were to hang on the rim. These hoops are adjustable like the inground basketball hoop. If players of any age plan to just shoot on the hoop and won't be aggressively attacking the rim, then the portable system would suit most situations. Portable systems have more movable parts and therefore can wear out quicker. This worry is offset slightly in that most manufacturers offer at least a 5 year warranty on their systems. These systems rarely have a backboard over 54" wide and so you are unlikely to ever achieve the professional specs mentioned above. Also, there aren't any that come with glass backboards.

With the backboard and rim combos, you must understand that you are giving up specs for flexibility. The backboard and rim combos can be attached to a wall, roof, or existing pole. To accomplish this you must also purchase matching mounting kits and brackets. With these basktaball hoops, you cannot get a glass backboard; it's just too heavy. You also can't get one over 54" because of the weight factor once again. Please also be aware that these systems must be matched up with the mounting kits from the same manufacturer otherwise you are likely to have compatibility issues. The other tricky thing about these systems is getting the right height placement to achieve the 10 ft regulation height. Great attention must be paid to the instructions, and realize ahead of time that you might not be able to get it exact.

View our Basketball Hoop Glass vs. Acrylic comparison for additional information.

View our Inground Basketball Hoop listings for specific products.

View our Portable Basketball Hoop listings for specific products.

View our Backboard and Rim Combo listings for specific products.

Related Basketball Hoop Posts:

Lifetime Basketball | Product Comparison.
Lifetime Basketball.
Goalsetter Basketball Systems | Productd Comparison.
Goalsetter Basketball Systems | Mammoth Basketball Hoops.