Rukket Barricade Barrier System Review

Every kid practicing lacrosse in there yard has lost a bunch of lacrosse balls, had balls they couldn’t find turn into greasers, broken a window of something, irritated their neighbors, annoyed their parents and more importantly to them, wasted a lot of time searching for balls that missed the net.  Rukket Sports makes a Barricade system that solves these issues.

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The Rukket Barricade system consists of two 12x9ft portions and a 4ft connector piece.  The individual 12 foot Barricade’s could also be used on their own.  They each consist of bendable metal poles, with a stable metal base and a thick netting.

The setup of the Barricade system is very easy.  I did it on my own and it only took me about 10 minutes to do both sections.  Putting in the the connector piece was a bit difficult on my own since you need to connect the top part which is 9 feet high, so its tough to hold both sides down long enough to attach the middle. This would be much easier with two people setting it up.  It also needs two people to move each part just since they’re so long.

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The Barricade system works very well.  Since a lacrosse goal is only 4 feet for box, if I miss a shot over the net, there’s a big problem (no, I haven’t missed that badly), although with a 6 ft. field goal it might be a bit easier when shooting top shelf.  What’s cool about the Barricade system is that when a shot hits it, the entire thing bends back a tiny absorbing the impact and just letting the ball roll down. The only issue I’ve had with it are if I crank a shot off the cross bar the ball might bounce a bit over the net but any barrier would have this issue.  Also, the ball usually goes pretty high up when this happens and not far, so it won’t hit the house behind mine.  I’ve also had a few balls roll through the bottom near the connector since that part has some gaps, but since they’re on the ground at that point theres not much damage the ball could cause.

A few of my friends had soft pitch batting practice on this thing (they’re not cool enough to play lacrosse) and the Barricade had no issues with it taking the impact of hard baseballs getting swung fast just a few feet away from it.  That gives the Barricade even more use for families that have kids that play multiple sports.

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The Barricade system is very durable and weather resistant. I have it staked into the ground and even in high winds and heavy rain I have had zero issues with it moving whatsoever.  The wind just goes right through the holes in the net and doesn’t effect it at all.  The netting hasn’t ripped at all and I’ve had it set up for a couple months now. It also hasn’t discolored from the sun. I plan on keeping a section of it in my backyard during the snow this winter to use for a possible backyard ice hockey rink (and maybe some lax shooting if possible, so we’ll see how it holds up through the lousy Buffalo winter.

Overall, I love the Barricade system.  The hefty price tag for the entire system may deter some people from getting it, although it is cheaper than many other comparable systems.  I’d recommend at least one section, which is quite cheap for anyone. An additional benefit is if there are kids that play several sports in a family, this could be used by all of them. The Barricade system could also be a good addition to many lacrosse programs.  The benefits of it far outweigh the frustrations of not having a backstop and the system was an awesome addition to my daily practice setup.

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