Banzai Sidewinder Blast Bundle (Sidewinder Falls Slide with Bonus Fun Pack) Reviews

• Throwaway Slide/Non Existant Customer Support

  
  By A1RSC7LKAT8ASB on 2008-05-16
  This is a long review but stay with me on it since it could save you a bundle of wasted money and a lot of frustration. We purchased a Banzai Sidewinder Blast slide from Amazon at the beginning of summer last year (2007). Within a few weeks of using the slide, it developed a rip. Printed directly on the slide it says to contact the manufacturer with any issues, not the store where purchased and gives a phone number. The phone number is for a company called Toy Quest ([...]). They were not very friendly to deal with. After we established that the it was indeed a warranty issue, they directed us to cut out a specific piece of the slide and return it to them before they could ship out a replacement. Even with the tear, the slide was still usable but we followed their instructions under the assumption that we would receive a replacement shortly. Throughout the rest of the summer last year, we were promised time again that the replacement would ship "next week" until we ultimately received an e-mail telling us that production of the slides had shutdown until early 2008. In April of this year, I again sent them an e-mail asking as to the status of our replacement. We were again told that there were delays in production due to quality control issues. They did offer a replacement, but with a different model slide that had substantially less features than our original. Getting tired of this runaround, we decided to just ask for a refund, which the company has refused to provide. We were told that they expected our replacement to ship around the first of May (2008) but now that has been extended to sometime in June now. I have now doubts that in June we'll get another e-mail telling us of someother delay. Yet, here on Amazon and at other retailers (even local), we see their slides being sold. Buyer beware with this company! I can't speak to their quality overall, maybe ours is an exception to the rule, but if that's the case, why such difficulty in replacing our slide, unless the company is out for the quick buck, knowing full well that they are building up an army of angry customers, but for now there are plenty of new customers to be had.
  
  

• I AGREE - ZERO CUSTOMER SUPPORT

  
  By A1GNYV0RA0EQSS on 2008-05-02
  I agree with the previous poster! Their story is my story! The only difference is that we accepted their offer of a different slide just to cut our losses and be done waiting around. We knew we would never see a refund from them. I wanted a refund last year and even after involving the BBB, I could not get it resolved.
  Long story short, the "replacement" slide is nowhere near as cool and my son is disappointed. They sent "the slide only" so no accessories...glad to have saved a few things over the years to make it work. It now just sits in the garage. $[...] out the window.
  
  

• Great Fun!

  
  By A34VCCL1YO6D0I on 2008-06-11
  This is an extremely fun toy. I have a 2 year old, 5 year old and 6 year old. All three love the slide and so do the neighbors as well. My wife has also gotten on the slide and enjoyed the fun a few times. I weigh a bit more then her and have not dared get on the slide yet. If you look at the promotional pictures of the slide and the happy faces believe me that it is really that fun.
  
  Pros:
  1. Great fun.
  2. Seems pretty durable.
  3. Fills with air very quickly.
  4. Colorful.
  5. Comes with plenty of repair patches.
  6. Repair kit works!
  7. Moderate water usage. Not much more then a sprinkler head while the water is running.
  
  Cons:
  1. Difficult to assemble or put away as one adult. Needs two to handle easily.
  2. Does take a long time to dry.
  3. Bulky. It does not fold back into anything the size that could fit in the included bag.
  4. Customer support is non-existent. I emailed weeks ago with a question and no answer yet. Also I have called several times and the phone number has always been busy. Not good.
  5. Pool takes an eternity to fill up if only used with the sprayers.
  
  Another reviewer recommended storing in a plastic bucket. Not a bad idea. I use a 80 gallon Rubbermaid Seat and Store unit. This seems perfect.
  
  

• Slide don't jump and dry, dry, dry

  
  By A3U1JY4H415ABL on 2008-06-10
  I've read a few of these posts and I wanted to chime in. I've purchased 2 Banzai Falls slides in the past 4 years, the original slide in reality, but I am planning on picking up this model next year for my daughter and her friends. She is now 12 yo.
  
  The reality here is if you put the time into properly drying it out and ensuring it is clean and the most important aspect is not letting the kids jump off the top of the slide but rather doing what the name of the toy indicates - Water SLIDE - and ensuring the kids slide, the seams stay relatively intact and this will last you. I am on my 3rd year with the current original slide, all because I went through the process of ensuring to dry it. It doesn't take a few hours, I let this thing bake in the sun for 2-3 days before storing it, all lessons learned from the first slide I had issues with, but not because of the slide, because of my wrong assumptions.
  
  Granted, it is made of nylon and will give way over time. But to get 40+ uses out of this thing over 2 years averages out to about $10 or less per use. Not sure where you can get that type of return for your money to be honest.
  
  And the one thing here was mentioned time and again, the kids love it. I'm not going to complain about spending money on this as long as my child is happy with it and she is beyond that.
  
  The one thing I cannot speak too is the customer service as I never had to reach out to them.
  
  So to get alot of good usage out of this, no jumping (easier said then done, but it's KEY) and allow 2 days to fully dry. You do that the seams will hang on alot longer then you think.
  
  

• Fun untill A big hole apears on the seam. & super hard to clean and drain

  
  By A35MW1WTEZV40N on 2008-06-09
  We have had this slide for a few weeks now. The first time we put the silde up it was awesome. The kids love the slide. But when time to clean up you can not drain the pool and get the dirt out from the little feet. Because they put a drain hole on the front slide part. Where this part sticks up and dosent go donw unless you stand their for 2 hrs and you still cant get the dirt out.
  Then after all this Their is a big rip on the seam that I can not get repaired and I can not get ahold of the company to help me out. I would not tell anyone to purchase this slide at all.
  
  
• SOOOO Much Fun!!!!!!
  By A18R8W6HNDYBDQ on 2008-06-04
  Well, so far so good! We've put up the slide on three different occasions now and I have to say...so far, it's worth every penny!!! I'm sure my opinion would change if it got a huge rip in it tomorrow, but I'm thrilled with this purchase! (Oh, and my kids love it too, lol.)
  
  It was a tad tricky to set it up (according to the hubby) but once that got going, the rest is a breeze. Putting it away isn't nearly as hard as I pictured it to be. Yes, you have to dry it off, but letting it sit in the sun with the air on it for about 30 minutes does the trick. A couple of swipes with the towel and you're good to go. As everyone else said, don't even try to put it back in the bag it came in. I don't know what they're even thinking with that tiny thing. We use it to store the blower.
  
  This has got to be the best purchase I've made when it comes to summer fun toys. As long as this holds up, it's going to be a great summer!!! (and hopefully a few more after that.)
  
  Honestly, if I can get two summer's worth of fun out of this I would head straight out and buy another. When you think about it, the jumpy house type companies charge the same amount (or close to it) to rent a waterslide just for the DAY so really, there's not much to complain about even if it only makes it through one summer.
  
  JMO
  
  Edited after one week of use. ( to be fair, we have had it out EVERYDAY over the week.)
  As I was drying off the slide to put it away I noticed a tiny tear. It was not at the seam, so it should be easy to patch. About the size of a pea. This would not make me change my rating...as I said, we've had it up every day with 2-5 kids on it at all times (ranging from ages 2-9). I'm a tad sad that this happened so quickly, as I'm wanting it to at least make it through 1 summer and the summer has just begun.
  Just wanted to give an update on the progression of it all.
  
  Editing again on 8/23/08:
  STILL LOVE LOVE LOVE this slide! It has provided us with so much fun over the entire summer. We have a patch on it now, but only because of my stupidity. (I decided to go down the slide while riding on a blow up "kick board" and while holding onto it, my wedding ring put a big rip in it) Even with the patch -which btw works WONDERFULLY- we are still having loads of fun. The patches they send are in all the colors of the slide. We don't even notice it. We have used it probably 3-4 times per week the entire summer, including a 5 year old's birthday party w/8 kids. The most we've had on it at once is four 9 year olds, two 5 year olds and a toddler. It inflates and holds up just as good as the day we got it. I understand that there are a lot of people that have had problems with this slide, but not everyone has the same experience and I'm glad to say that this has been the greatest summer at our house, in large part due to our slide.
  
  
• LOTS OF FUN BUT NOT DURABLE
  By A3OPTCOI96E2HH on 2008-06-04
  This is our 3rd slide thats right 3 my kids and the neighborhood kids love it and have spent hours on it but all three has had the same issues I put it away like they say and we store it for winter just like we were told and bam there goes the splitsa The first one the store took back it was less than 90 days the second one it split and it was to late to take back the third one was to be bigger and better built and of course 700.00 but hey it kept the kids happy we used it maybe 7 times. I called the number talked to a lady which said email what you just told me and I will forward this to the manufacture and they will contact you well Im still waiting. But one thing I learned the third time isn't always the charm. BUYERS BEWARE.
  
  
• Fun Fun Fun
  By A2EQ6DXH6BKCIP on 2008-05-14
  All I can say is Wow!!! I purchased one of these for my kids. I could not think of a better use for my stimulus check! I can't keep my kids off of this thing. I was very impressed by how this item was put together. I look forward to many years of summer fun. It will take forever for my kids to outgrow this thing...it's huge! My son's birthday party is in 2 weeks and I am sure this will be the hit of the party...we are already the hit of the neighborhood! Pick one up...you will love it!
  
  
• MY GRANDCHILDREN LOVE IT!!
  By A66Z489TOMPZS on 2008-05-14
  This is our second Bonzai product. We love it. This one is especially fun with the curvy slide. We find that the Bonzai products are very durable. The only thing is you have to dry it and put it away until next time. We plan on ordering another one next summer. Our grandchildren call it "PaPa's Water Park".
  
  
• Fun for a litte while
  By A1SYW0FJVIDAYB on 2008-06-06
  This slide was a blast for one summer. We stored it as directed but when we got it out for the second summer of fun, there were numerous splits in the seams, which are very difficult if not impossible to repair. We have not yet begun the warranty battle and are thinking we shouldn't even bother. $550.00 worth of fun for one summer, would have at least liked to have had 2 summers.
  
  
• Lots of fun . Hopefully it will last.
  By A1X1F8X7XVNQK7 on 2008-05-27
  First time up...a lot of fun. Second time up (next day)...seam had come apart. Called company and rep was absolutely useless. Voided warranty and sewed seam with fishing line and so far so good. I absolutely take every precaution when putting it up. Have used 4 times now and the kids love it and have lots of fun. However, I think I'll invest in fishing line stock.
  
  
• fun slide, lousy water delivery system!
  By A1HBEC8C3BQKOB on 2008-06-16
  this is my second bansai purchase. the first slide fell apart at the seams and was not repairable. i noticed that the sidewinder has reinforced stitching and seems a bit more durable. the sidewinder offers more versatile enjoyment for a wider age range and the pool area at the bottom is a better reception than the other slide. despite the fact that this slide is big fun for the kids, the water delivery system is a complete FAILURE!! it simply does NOT work! not enough water pressure to deliver the water to the top of the slide and also to the water cannons (there is ONE continuous hose that wraps around to each of the areas). it's made to look like the water comes out of the cannons, however, it doesn't. we use the garden hose at the top of the slide to keep the slide slippery and the cannons are not used at all.
  
  
• This is no joke
  By APQ8IIYOGS1FT on 2008-07-13
  We did not even get to try the slide. We purchased this at a local toy store with an extended warranty to cover our bases after seeing the questionable reviews. After taking it home we opened it up and realized it had been used. The slide had stains on the bottom, was covered with dirt and debris and there was water in the plastic hoses. It gets worse though because there was nothing else in the box: no blower, no stakes, no carry case, no instructions, no weight bags, it was only the dirty slide. We were very grateful the store accepted our return since it was less than 2 hours after purchase and the product was clearly used and missing items. It must have been sent by the manufacturer this way since no returns are accepted once the box is open. We have taken this as our omen not to try another one.
  
  
• Great entertainment for the kids!
  By A3F4OJIKPXLWDI on 2008-07-06
  I purchased this product in June for my two girls, ages 4 and 7. So far, we have used it several times with other neighbors and friends and it has held up great.
  It was a little difficult to get together the first time, but once it was set up it is easy to re-assemble for the next uses. It has a tube that goes around the whole slide and this tube is a little difficult to work with. We leave the tubes on before putting it away, making it easier everytime we put it back up. You just have to re-adjust the tubes because the water gets stuck in them.
  This product is very heavy, but even Mom can manage to pull it out onto the lawn and set it up. As for putting it away, the other reviews are written correctly. It will NEVER get back in the bag that is given with the product, or even the box for that matter. We manage to slide it from the grass onto our patio, and that is about it for the summer until we put it away entirely for the winter time.
  The drying process is fairly easy. If you deflate it, most of the water will drain out on it's own and then with a few quick swifts you can get the remainder of the water out. Re-inflate and let dry for about 1/2 hr in the sun.
  I am amazed at how well the product has held up as my 7 yr old can be fairly rough. If it holds up for the remainder of this summer, I feel I have gotten my monies worth from this slide. The kids love and ask to use it all of the time. They will play on it for a minimum of two hours everytime we use it!
  I would recommend highly for hours of fun for kids at any age. I have had children from age 3 up to 11 on this and they all love it.
  
  
  
  
• Highly Recommended
  By ARQS7R63UATK2 on 2008-05-14
  I am very happy with my purchase. My children really love this product. It is a great value for how large it is. Highly recommended. Lot's of fun.
  
  
• sidewinder slide
  By A2M0I69UMEAVMC on 2008-06-16
  If you are looking at this purchase as a fun toy for your children to enjoy for several years, then it's simply a great toy! Vinyl doesn't last forever so I don't have a lot of aspirations for the slide after several years, but for what my kids are getting out of it right now, I have no complaints. You better have a big back or front yard because this thing is HUGE and your kid will instantly be a hit in the neighborhood with this monster out front!
  
  
• LOVE IT!
  By A2S8LZ272EWQNU on 2008-06-19
  We have had our slide for a month now. My son LOVES it and mom & dad have a great time watching & playing in the pool area. I was slightly apprehensive about this product after reading a few of the reviews, but decided that the good reviews outweighed the bad. I am really happy I made the right decision. I'm looking forward to seeing the joy on my son's face throughout the summer and hopefully many summers to follow! Set up of the product is easy, it is durable, and easy to relocate should you need to. The neighborhood kids LOVE to play at our house.
  
  
• Extremely pleased
  By AQUVER5I4H5UD on 2008-07-01
  Though this review is somewhat long, it will hopefully answer your questions. We are very pleased with this slide. We've now had it for a full month and have used it almost every day (there were maybe three or four days this last month that we didn't inflate it.) We've had no problems at all. It has been through two birthday parties one with about six, 6 year olds and another with about nine 10 year olds. Around the parties our kids have used it virtually every day and some days the neighborhood kids join them. I'd consider that pretty heavy use. The slide had held up just fine and I believe - and hope - that it continues to do so.
  
  Important - make sure all kids follow the rules - not only to make sure the slide lasts - but for their own safety, it is a just a toy and not a commercial unit after all. No more than one child at the top of the slide at a time and make sure children move away from the bottom of the slide as soon as they come down to be out of the way of the next child.
  
  Initial set up takes maybe a half hour while you make sure you do everything properly. Every set up after the first takes about 4 minutes - 2 minutes to spread out and plug in the blower and two minutes to inflate. That's it.
  
  Take down couldn't be easier. Unplug the blower and untie the vent on the opposite side. Completely
  
  
• bought 5 I think I finally found that will last read me
  By AZDS06Y3J1V69 on 2008-07-08
  Hello fello waterslide buyers..I have bought one or exchanged a water slide every year for the last 4 years..finally tired decided to order one on amazon. I will have to say this one I think will finally be my last buy. I have every kid in the neighborhood from 5-13 playing on this everyday. ONLY 2 days new though alot could happen. But I believe this is gonna be the one to last a few seasons. The kids really love it and I love sitting in the pool area with them and directing traffic. Grap a kid and play together. I will keep everyone updated throughout the year to let them if it last keep looking for me. Lizzle
  
  August 8th 2008
  Told everyone I would update...Still in awesome condition. seems extremely durable. I have every kid in the neighborhood over everday at least 5 times a day..Highly recommended this slide. lots of fun and laughs. lizzle
  
  
• DO NOT PURCHASE IF YOU WANT QUALITY & CUSTOMER SERVICE
  By A3CM76AE29BYTK on 2008-07-23
  We paid over $500 for this slide June 2007, within two weeks the slide had tears. Our children are small, the oldest being 6 and not weighing much. It took OVER A YEAR to get a new slide and no new blower. Too expensive and terrible customer service. Would not buy any product from this manufacturer. Great idea for fun, but a bummer for the kids having no slide for so long.... :( Unacceptable....
  
  
• Great fun for kids of all ages
  By A2U9DZOQKE0GS2 on 2008-06-10
  I think this slide is awesome. We had a smaller one last year and unfortunately when we tried to use it this summer, it blew up a huge hole in it. So we decided to get another one. What I really like about this one is the pool at the bottom, this way it doesn't flood the yard. I don't see why people say it's hard to clean I have no problem with cleaning mine. I deflated it a bit and take the water out of the pool with a large broom..All the kids are very happy.
  I think that one of the thing that must be done is after using it, if you don't want to put it away, then put a tarp on it. We are doint this, this year so that it won't get too dry with the sun on it all the time.
  But it is a great slide and the kids don't have enough of it.
  
  
• Great Summer Fun
  By A3NK5WRXMYRSQN on 2008-06-26
  We bought this for a birthday party with a whole bunch of three year olds. Even though the water was freezing, we couldn't keep the kids off of it. The fabric seems quite durable, however, we've only used it a couple of times so far.
  
  I don't know if it is our water pressure, or the design of the water tubes, but we don't have the kind of pressure that it shows on the picture. By the time the water gets to the very highest point, it's really more of a trickle than a spray, but it was enough to keep the slide wet enough to slide down. Overall, we're very pleased with it, and it should provide an entire summer of fun.
  
  
• a little Splashtown waterpark at home!!!
  By A3JSS1OK97TDSV on 2008-06-27
  This has been the best toy we have bought for our girls. The whole family enjoys a little splash at home. Now there is no need to go out and spend a fortune to go to a waterpark. It is really fun and entertaining!!
  
  
• Could be better
  By A3JD6C24HQFTS1 on 2008-06-30
  We like the water slide a lot; however, because we the only way to get water while playing is connecting to a garden hose, the water is always very cold. I wish the slide came with a recycled water system.
  
  One hose is connected to the slide, and then the water is distributed to several places, so the spraying water on the top is not powerful. Make sure there is a lot of water ruuning on the big slide when you slide; otherwise, you might have burned your arm or elbow skin as some kids and I did.
  
  
• This is cool!
  By A11N0QRMJBT9E2 on 2008-07-03
  This appears to be very durable, and of the same material as the high dollar fun jumps. I set it up for a birthday party and over a dozen kids broke it in, and then some. It stood up well to the abuse of hours of swimming by the kids. My only critisim of the product is that once you turn it off you loose all the water that you put into over the course of the use for that day. So be prepared to have a higher water bill due to that. So if your in an area with drought restrictions you could get into trouble using this product because of the constant use of water from the hose. It would have been better to have a permanently blown up lower section to retain the water and a recirculation pump to supply water to the slide and the water cannons. It doesn't though, and you have to run it off the hose each time. Other than that the kids love it, and have used it just about every day since purchasing it.
  
  
• Good slide, lots of fun, customer service TBD
  By AQGOOO8FLHQFK on 2008-07-04
  We bought this slide in early June and have had it out quite a few times since then, to the great enjoyment of my daughter and her friends. We were a little hesitant based on the reviews, but we're glad we went ahead with it now. We had one minor problem the first time we had the slide out, which was that a piece (about 2 inches) of a side seam wasn't sewn together properly when it was put together. However, we were able to easily sew that up with a needle and a piece of dental floss (something that was strong and wouldn't easily deteriorate).
  We think the key to keeping this slide in good shape is to dry it thoroughly after every use. It takes some time for sure, but it's worth it to make it last. After playing with it for the day, we let the water out (there could be an easier way to do that) and then towel dry the pool, two slides, and ladder wall. We then let it air dry with the blower on for about an hour or so. We then tip it up on it's end (the tower end) for another two hours with the blower on to let any water that has seeped inside fall to the edges and to let the bottom dry. Depending on how dry it got, we'll then either put it waway or deflate it and let the sun bake it a little longer. I agree with one other reviewer that it takes at least a day or two to properly dry this thing.
  I would not recommend purchasing this slide and expecting it to last if you're not willing to work at it. Generally, you get out of something what you put into it and that is true here as well.
  
  
• just too much trouble, horrible workmanship
  By A3NOHW0SLWALZH on 2008-08-04
  Although this sidewinder falls is a lot of fun, it's almost guaranteed you will have a problem, I'm on my third in two years. The most recent came with a small tear, and the mfg will not help. Amazon.com did in fact help, but i have to ship it back. Getting this into the original box is impossible, but yet i still have to ship this junk back.
  
  It weighs 90lbs and is very difficult to handle. A lot of fun, but be prepared to go through hell to manage this thing properly.
  
  
• Sidewinder Blast Falls
  By A2F7PDLMMG5R0Z on 2008-08-05
  We are very happy with our new Sidewinder slide. We have a 7 year old and a 14 year old. Both enjoy it. The neighborhood kids are also having a good time on it. It is being used almost daily. We have is set up in the backyard and at night all we do is deflate and put a tarp over it so we do not have to pack it up each night and reset in the morning. (That was becoiming tiresome) I was skeptical that the cannons would really work, but they do spray far enough to get the kids coming down the slide. We have one child who comes to play who has special needs and phyisical limitations and he loves to spray the kids coming down the slide. He can not manage the tall slide, but uses the smaller one.
  
  
• Missing parts/Leaks Out of Box
  By A1PO2NL0DMHQBJ on 2008-08-07
  I was deeply upset when I unpacked and set-up our Banzai Blast waterslide yesterday. First, I saw that it was packaged with the wrong sprayer hose assembly so the inside tunnel slide has only 1 sprayer instead of the 2 it is supposed to have. Then, upon inflating, we saw that it was leaking at the seams along the climbing wall (you could see the bubbles. No problem we thought, the instructions clearly say on the front page to NOT return the item to or contact the retailer but to call customer service instead. So we called the 1-800 number only to get a busy signla all day and night. I finally gave up calling toyquest and sent them an e-mail instead. Now they tell me to contact Amazon because they cannot od anything. But as you know, amazon requires you to ship the entire item back (91 pounds) in its orginal packaging which is nearly impossible since this thing is packed so tight, you have to destory the packaging to take it out. I am absolutely disgusted with Banzai and Amazon. Buyer BEWARE!!!!!!!!
  
  
• Definitely worthwhile
  By A2QWZHRWPTLUOF on 2008-08-09
  This was a huge hit at my sons 7th birthday, I set it up for the first time an hour before the party was to start and it was ready to go by the time the first guest arrived! It supported several kids as well as my dad! They had so much fun and I am now receiving requests for it to be borrowed for other birthday parties. It does take a bit to set up and take down, but it is well worth it for a day of fun! The only complaint I have is that the water delivery system is a very narrow tub, understandably so to keep up water pressure, but made rather flimsy so it kinks rather easy. The trick is to use the Velcro attaching strips and make sure the tubing is pulled as taut as possible without risking it coming apart during play. It is definitely doable.
  
  

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