We bought this set for the grandchildren 5 years ago and it's still like new. We even moved and brought it with us. I love that it doesn't need sanding, staining, or any maintenance. Even though it gets watered with the lawn, it can handle it and all they weather we get. The kids call our yard the playground. I love that they still enjoy it.

We have loved this playground. It's seemed very durable. However, it has blown over twice in the last couple months. Now there are cracks in the steel frame so it's useless now. I bought this metal play set thinking it would last for a long time. Now after only about two years it has to go to the dump and my kids are really sad about it. The instructions don't say anything about it needing to be anchored to the ground. So, if the wind blows at your house don't buy this set.

I had never entered a review. Looking at some of these, I had to wonder, why such bad reviews. We purchased this same set November 11, 2014. We have had NO problems with it until this year and yesterday I noticed that the rope ladder has started to fray and the bottom only has 3 of the ropes still attached. That is amazing considering how much playtime this playset has seen. We live in a neighborhood with a lot of children and most are at our house daily. My son, now 9, and ALL his friends LOVE to still get out and play on this. One of the best toy purchases we've made. I would recommend this to ANYONE with children. We even purchased more accessories for it, so we can change out what the kids play on, preventing them from getting bored.

As a fairly advanced DIYer I expected to put this together in no time at all, but I was mistaken - it's a pretty big project and will probably take 10-20 hours depending on your experience level. After building this I have some tips that may help: * Several parts look extremely similar but have slight differences, and it's not obvious which part is which (they're not labeled). The instructions include a Parts Identifier that makes it easier to distinguish each part, but for some reason that section is in the middle of the instructions after section 3. I wish Lifetime would just label the parts with their part numbers, but since they don't you should use the Parts Identifier to make sure you don't get the parts mixed up. * Use the BILT app, which gives 3D versions of each step. There were a few steps in the instructions that were not completely clear to me, but every time this happened the BILT app helped me figure out what to do. * The barrel nuts (part BTS) and their matching bolts are extremely prone to cross-threading. If you start putting these together and notice a lot of resistance, take the bolt out and start over. If you try to force it you can shear off the bolt inside the nut, and then you'll have to wait for spare parts before you can finish putting it together. Fortunately Lifetime customer service is great and shipped out the replacement parts to me at no cost, no questions asked. * There are several sections where you have to use self-drilling screws to make holes in metal. The instructions tell you to just do this with a screwdriver, which I guess is technically possible but it will take forever. I would highly recommend using a center punch and hammer to get this started, then a small drill bit (I used 1/8-inch) to make a pilot hole. Once you do that the self-drilling screws will go in MUCH more easily. * If you think you can do this alone you're mistaken. Several sections can be done alone, but unless you have four arms you absolutely need a helper for some of the other sections. * A ratcheting socket wrench will make your life a lot easier. A deep socket (not regular socket) that's 1/2-inch makes it much easier to attach the steering wheel. * There were a couple of sections where I found a right-angle drill adapter to be very helpful. I'm pretty sure you could get by without one, but it will make things easier. Overall I have no major complaints about this playset, I just wish that all of the parts would be labeled with their part numbers. Delivery was easy, assembly was time-consuming but not overly challenging, and my kids love it.

We've had our play set for 2+ yrs and the kids still love it. Our kids are 8,5,1 and still love to play on it. We love having the ability to change out the swings and the chalkboard. It's well built, and sturdy even with adults swinging. The plastic has stood up to heat and cold and is still bright and in good condition. A great play set!!

There is never a visit from the grandchildren when they don't go out and play on the swingset. They range in age from 6-14 years old and all still love to hang out in the backyard on the playset. It gets them outside and active. Can't ask for anything more.

I bought this playset four years ago; unfortunately, we had to recently sell it due to moving to a townhouse. We truly loved the playset and our kids and the neighborhood kids played countless hours on it; my 8 year old son even spent the night in the clubhouse. Looking back, the decision to purchase it was worth every penny. We are going to miss it. I am not the guy who loves to build things, but it was relatively simple to follow the instructions. It took me two days to build by myself with some occassional help from my wife to hold things in place as it was coming together. The third day was spent attaching some ancillary items. The hardest part of the build was putting the rope netting in place. Another important detail is to make sure you are matching the picture to the instructions and the details of the drawing. Lastly, the bolts are designed to last a lifetime, so the way it goes together is really sturdy but time consuming making the build somewhat difficult.

We wanted something to tuck into the woods that we could install once and be done through our kids and hopefully grandkids. After hours of searching online and testing local Amish-built options, we landed on this set. Even though it required hours of assembly, my wife, 9-year-old son and I were able to get this together snugly with minimal sway even with "big kids" swinging. :-) 5 years later, all 3 of our kids and their many cousins can still enjoy this set. Easy to clean, too.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] We purchased the Double Slide Deluxe Playset and we absolutely love it! It was really easy to assemble with 1.5 adults over a couple of days. It's very high quality and our kids are having a blast with it! We know we'll enjoy it for years to come!

We researched for a long time and finally decided on a Lifetime Swing Set. We initially tried to assemble ourselves but it proved too difficult given the scope of the project, a few mislabeled parts that customer service helped to identify, and our lack of time. But now that it is up, we love it. It is well made, includes plenty of options for play, and has already become a neighborhood favorite. With a 3 yr old, I do have concerns with all the open area surrounding the deck, in particular the climbing wall side, but we put up a few bungees to create a barrier on that side to lessen the open space. All in all, we love it and look forward to years of backyard fun.