Outdoor Playset Buying Guide
Ready to give your kids the gift of active, imaginative outdoor play? Buying a playset is a big decision — especially with so many different options on the market. Before you start shopping, there are a lot of important factors to consider, including:
•Safety features
•Material and durability
•Space and location
•Age appropriateness
•Features and play elements
•Ease of assembly and maintenance
•Budget and warranty
Looking into each of these factors can guide your shopping journey, shaping how you view your options and pointing you toward the best solution for your family. Explore the details below.
Safety Features
For kids, it’s all about fun. But, as a concerned parent, you’ll want to ensure your kids are safe as they jump, climb, run and play. Although you can never eliminate the risk of kids getting bumps and bruises as they play, you can choose a playset built with safety in mind.
Safe, Thoughtful Designs
A good playset has a lot of safety elements that you may not even think about. Since kids aren’t always cognizant of safety, especially when they’re excited, playsets need to have safe design elements built into them. This can protect children from pinches, scrapes and other potential injuries as they play.
Important safety designs include rounded corners, recessed (and capped) hardware, thoughtfully designed structural gaps with no pinch points, and properly spaced railings — with vertical spindles to prevent climbing.
Sturdy Construction and Stability
A safe playset needs to be sturdy and stable, as well. Quality construction and strong building materials make it possible for playsets to withstand a significant amount of stress — from both rowdy children and harsh elements from Mother Nature.
For instance, Rainbow playsets are made with durable cedar and commercial-grade hardware, giving them an impressive 2,000-pound weight capacity — and the durability to last for decades, if properly maintained.
Other Safety Considerations
It’s important not to overlook the design of smaller elements, either — like playset accessories. While it may seem like accessories such as swings and ladders are all pretty similar, this isn’t necessarily the case. Rainbow Play coats swing and ladder chains, creating a grippy surface for little hands to hang onto — that’s also pinch-free and insulated from heat and cold.
For younger children, there are special accommodations to consider, like safety slides with high, protective sides and swings with half or full bucket seats, ensuring that children stay safe and secure whether they’re sliding or swinging.
If this is all too much to consider at once, a great shortcut is to see if playsets meet ASTM and CPSC safety standards.
The ASTM, or American Society for Testing and Materials, sets standards for the structural integrity, materials and finishes, entrapment hazards, edges and protrusions, and fall protection and ground surfacing of playsets. The CPSC, or Consumer Product Safety Commission, is a U.S. government agency that works closely with the ASTM, creating detailed recommendations for playset design, installation and maintenance.
Material and Durability
Wood, Metal or Plastic?
Playsets and swing sets are often made from one of three materials: wood, metal or plastic. This goes a long way in determining how the structure will perform and hold up over time.
Wood playsets are natural-looking and aesthetically pleasing, with a high weight capacity and great durability. Although wooden playsets often have the highest upfront cost, they can be custom-built to capture the imagination of your children for many years. Rainbow Play even specializes in playsets that can grow alongside your kids, allowing you to swap out accessories or create add-ons to meet changing interests.
A high-quality playset will use wood that’s resistant to rot, decay and splintering, such as the cedar used in all Rainbow playsets.
Metal playsets are usually not complete play structures, but rather swing sets. They most often lack the creative design elements of wood or plastic playsets — such as platforms, clubhouses, slides, climbing walls and more. But these metal swing sets can still be a great addition to your backyard.
However, you might be surprised to know that most residential metal swing sets aren’t suitable for older kids. Made with thin, tubular frames for easier transportation, many of these models aren’t meant to hold more than 250 pounds. More heavyweight models certainly do exist, so be sure to find the right weight capacity before buying.
Plastic playsets are generally designed for younger children, and aren’t as safe for older, heavier or more energetic kids. These playsets are lightweight, affordable and easy to transport and set up — but they aren’t as sturdy as wood or even metal options. They can also crack, warp or sunfade in extreme weather conditions, and need to be placed over completely flat ground.
But, for a quick and easy solution for small kids, a plastic playset might be the right choice for you.
Space and Location
Before you get too far along in your buying process, be sure to figure out where you want to install your playset. There are several factors to consider before you start assembling, especially considering it may be hard to move your playset once it’s put together.
Available Yard Space
Have a spot in the yard you’re considering? Be sure to measure it first! Sometimes giant stores or showrooms can make a playset look a little smaller than it really is. Plus, you’ll want to make sure you have plenty of clearance — at least 6 feet — around your playset and all its elements, including slides, climbing walls and more. This gives enough of a buffer for children to play without crashing into trees, fences or other obstacles.
Ground Surface and Leveling
For a lot of playsets, it’s important to have a nice, even backyard. Sloped ground could potentially lead to tipping or damage over time. However, high-end models may be able to overcome these challenges with clever designs and custom installation.
Rainbow Play’s Castle Swing Sets, for example, are made with adjustable leg and support features to accommodate nearly any backyard — from large, open play areas to small, sloped surfaces.
Sun and Shade Considerations
Children love to play outdoors, but long exposure to direct sunlight can lead to sun burns, dehydration or overheating. Before selecting a location, check the sun patterns throughout the day. Choose a site with some natural shade or create your own shaded area using trees or awnings. This will help ensure that children stay cool while playing.
Other Space and Location Considerations
If you’re in an area with a high water table or poor drainage, pick a dry section of your yard. Resting water will not only cause muddy feet and slippery conditions, but could start rotting for rusting the base of your playset. Another important consideration? Check to see how visible the playset is from your house, so you can easily supervise your children while they play.
Age Appropriateness
Different age groups have different interests and developmental needs. Whether you have toddlers, young children or older children, selecting the right playset will help them get the most out of their outdoor play experience.
Toddlers (Ages 1-4)
Age-appropriate playsets for toddlers are smaller in size, with gentle slides, low platforms and easy-to-grip climbing features. For this age group, plastic playsets are most popular, although bigger playsets with safe and accessible features on the lower level — such as playhouses and sandboxes — may work out well.
Young Children (Ages 4-7)
For young children, playsets should be a little more complex and challenging, though safety should always be a consideration. Look for features like slightly taller slides, physically engaging ladders and climbing walls, and regular sling swings instead of bucket swings. These features will help to build skills, potentially improving strength and coordination.
Older Children (Ages 7-12)
Older children need more advanced challenges to keep them engaged, and to support their physical and social development. Shop for larger and even multi-platform structures, with exciting features like tall slides, tire swings, monkey bars, knotted ropes and more. These things will ensure that kids won’t ‘outgrow’ their playset as they become more physically capable.
Consider an All-in-One Solution
Have children that span across multiple age groups, or want just one playset to cover the needs of an entire childhood? You’re not alone!
Some playset manufacturers, like Rainbow Play, offer adjustable designs made to grow with your child. These playsets can be expanded over time, connected to another playset via a crawl tunnel or have accessories swapped out to match growing interests.
Features and Play Elements
Outdoor playsets often come with swings and slides, but there are so many other options to add extra excitement to your backyard.
Slides
Slides come in a variety of shapes and sizes for any play structure or age group. Scoop slides are long and straight, allowing older kids to gain thrilling speed as they race back down to earth. Spiral slides are fully enclosed, creating a safe, speed-controlled twisty adventure that turns 270 or a full 360 degrees. Some manufacturers even offer a wave slide with several little dips to keep sliders on their toes.
Swings
Sling, or belt, swings are the classic option, but manufacturers offer a variety of other styles — from full and half bucket swings for younger kids to tire swings, hammock swings and more! Rainbow Play offers several extraordinary swing options, from the two-person Rainbow Premium Glider and Ship Swing to the acrobatic Trapeze Combo.
Climbing Elements
Climbing features like rock walls, rope ladders, monkey bars and chin-up bars are excellent for improving strength and coordination. Depending on the age group, you can opt for smaller, easier-to-handle climbing structures or more advanced options for kids who want to be challenged athletically.
Other Feature and Play Element Considerations
Incorporate interactive, imaginative play features like playhouses, theaters or general stores, or fun accessories like ship’s wheels, telescopes, binoculars, tic-tac-toe panels, bubble panels, crow’s nests and so much more!
Check out all the fantastic playset accessory options from Rainbow Play to get an idea of what you could incorporate into your playset.
Ease of Assembly and Maintenance
Assembly and maintenance requirements can vary greatly depending on the material and complexity of the playset.
Metal and plastic play structures usually require very basic assembly — and sometimes none at all. These options need periodic cleaning and inspection, making sure that no plastic parts are cracked or broken, no metal is rusting and no joints are coming undone.
Wooden playsets usually need to be built on-site, which could take a two-person crew one or more days to complete. This process is physical and sometimes meticulous, but not highly technical — so it should be doable without special knowledge or advanced tools. If you’re not interested in undergoing the assembly process yourself, Rainbow Play offers professional delivery and installation nationwide.
As far as maintenance, wood playsets require staining and sealing every few years to maintain their appearance and durability. However, this routine care will help the structure last for many years, if not decades.
Budget and Warranty
There’s a playset for almost any budget, starting from just a few hundred dollars ranging to over $10,000 dollars.
Basic playsets, often small plastic structures for toddlers or modest swing sets for younger children, can range from $200-$1,000. The typical warranty for basic playsets is around 1-3 years.
Mid-range playsets, relatively basic structures that include features like swings and slides, cost around $1,000-$3,500. These models are often covered under warranty from 3-5 years.
High-end playsets, featuring the highest quality materials and more extensive play features, can cost anywhere from $3,500-$10,000+. As you might expect, the warranty is also more extensive, ranging from 5-10 years. Rainbow Play, however, has an industry exclusive lifetime warranty for all its playsets.
Get Started With Rainbow Play!
Ready to start looking at the funnest, safest and highest-quality playsets on the market? Check out Rainbow Play’s selection of Castle Swing Sets, Clubhouse Playsets and even the extraordinary Pirate Ship Playset!