Monster Volleyball Set

With summer here, my family spends more time outside. But we noticed back in April that we found ourselves just sitting around the back porch with nothing to do. We needed something to make ourselves active, our minds were still set in winter mode, where sitting around was considered okay. But now it was time to get out, move around, and loose some of that extra winter baggage.

My cousin and I were in a local Target, and we initially were looking for a badminton set. While in the outdoor sporting section though, we came across sets that were extra large, called MONSTER. They had Monster soccer, Monster baseball, monster badminton, and a few others. We grabbed both Monster badminton, and Monster volleyball.

However, as of now, I will only be discussing Monster volleyball. These sets are still being sold at Target, but they are not being sold at Target.com. Our set was $19.99, but I have seen them go on sale for only $9.99.

The set comes with a 16″ diameter cloth volleyball that you must blow up, and a 16 foot net that adjusts up to 72″, stakes to keep the net sturdy, and instructions on how to put the net together.

It all seemed easy on the box, and even when we got home, the instructions all seemed easy as well. However we hit a bump while trying to put the net together. Then the bump got bigger. You see the net that came included is a piece of crap, and the plastic wobbly poles also sucked, and didn’t make things any easier.
First we put the poles together, which were easy and simply clicked in. However once we tried applying the actual net into the poles, things got difficult. The instructions called for running of the side of the net through these grooves which were in the side of the pole. When we tried doing that, it ripped the plastic on the net, causing a jam in the groove. We had no choice but to tie the net to the poles. As a result the cheap neat looked trashy, and most likely wouldn’t last a season of use.

Once we had the netting all crudely tied to the poles, we then had to place them in the ground. This proved to be a major pain in the butt seeing how the plastic is cheap and not very sturdy to begin with.
I began pounding it into the ground with the weight of my body, but it only went so far, and toppled over. So I got a hammer. I figured I’d blast this SOB into the ground, and it wouldn’t go anywhere.

‘Tap, tap, tap, tappity tapping away…dammit…’

Things seemed to be going smoothly until…I tapped a bit to hard. One of the poles cracked. I cursed, and went into the house for some duct tape. Damn this thing was starting to look ghetto. I duct taped the pole, and moved on to pole number 2. This one went into the ground without breaking.

I stood back, and looked at my masterpiece. A really crappy looking net. I then looked next door, they had a nice ‘professional net’, and a pool. I spit in their general direction, and went away to blow up my Monster volleyball.

The ball blew up without an issue, but it was sort of cheap, and I knew if I didn’t keep a close eye on it, one of our dogs was bound to pop it.

Next we gathered our family up, cousins, uncles, and all, and we began playing. Once we started the game, with this giant ball, the crappy net wasn’t even an issue, until Uncle Lenny slammed the ball down on it, and it all came clacking down like a hurricane had just swooped through.

So the net was down, but we kept playing, until someone picked it back up again during a break.

We began a round 2, and within 10 minutes the crap a** net was back on the ground. We continued playing either way. What’s good about Monster volleyball is that the ball is so soft that if you get pelted in the head, you barely even feel it. There is some weight to the ball, but not enough to where it is going to give you a bloody nose, or black and blue.

In my opinion Monster Volleyball is fun, but for $19.99 I feel that all we paid for was a good large sized ball. I could have gotten one of those $3 giant bouncy balls at a supermarket, and done the same thing. So honestly the whole thing is a giant rip-off, even though it was fun. If they would have just added a better net, things would of been well worth the money.

You can take a look at this Monster Volleyball set at http://www.amazon.com/Monster-Volleyball-Set/dp/B0002VYQXE/ref=pd_lpo_k2_err_k2a_3_txt/104-0646366-0855168. However even at the lowest price I found it on the net, it’s still not worth it.

If you want a Monster Volleyball set, go buy a large kids bouncing ball at the supermarket, and buy a net. You’ll save a bundle.