Monday 3 October 2016

Wickey Flip Sandpit - Review

We've been looking for a new sandpit for a while now, our old plastic one had definitely seen better days and was sadly a bit broken so instead of refilling it with sand when we moved we'd just kind of shoved it behind the decking and ignored the pleas from Alfie to get it out and fill it with sand.

When I was approached by the company Wickey to see if wanted to work with them and review one of their sandpits I could hardly say no and it came round at a perfect time! When it arrived a month ago the weather was fab, it was an ideal time to arrive.

When it was delivered by courier, it was huge and heavy....really heavy, it ended up staying in our hall for a good few days before I nagged gently persuaded hubs to move it and make it. I took no pictures as I forgot, but to be honest it was just a cardboard box with planks of wood in it, not so interesting. 

So the sandpit was a bit a DIY job, but that's ok - hubs loves a bit of DIY! The trouble is he has to be in the right frame of mind to do it so I did have to encourage a little bit for him to start, plus Alfie was starting to be a bit of a pain and wanting Daddy to make it so eventually he did........


The instructions it came with were fairly good, the only thing that took alot of time was having to drill guide holes which was a bit of a nuisance. It's a shame that the wood supplied does not have them pre-drilled as this would make things so much quicker. Once the guide holes were drilled then the actual construction of the sandpit didn't take long at all, I would say around 90 minutes. It is manageable to do by yourself but Adi did have a hand from my father in law which did speed up the process a bit. 


The sandpit is constructed of thick wooden boards that forms a box with a lid but this lid (which is hinged) cleverly transforms into 2 benches either side of the pit, I have to say that it looks fantastic and the seats are an absolutely brilliant idea, as you can see from the pictures below the kids love it. The wood is hard wearing and is composed of green KDI treated wood so additional coats of paint or varnish are not required. The wood feels good quality and it is smooth, so no ragged edges to injure yourself on.


To keep the sand in a tough liner is provided which is of good quality, this sits in the bottom of the pit to contain the sand. We opted to move the sandpit half under a tree so that it gets the sun but is also shaded. The size of the sandpit is 110 x 125cm so a really good size to enable maximum playing space. I initially filled the pit with 5 x 15kg bags of sand but this really wasn't enough so I added a further 3 more to get a good base of sand to be played with. Considering that bags of sand are around £2.99 I think it's fairly reasonable in cost to fill it. The wickey sandpit flip is usually £82.95 but is currently retailing for a great price of £62.25.




What do we love about it?

  • It looks fab, it doesn't look out of place in our garden and actually is really quite discreet.
  • The hinged benches, these are my favourite part of it, I love that you can sit on them (and yes I have been in it and played too), it's a fab addition for the kids. They can sit on the benches rather than having a bum in sand!
  • Having a lid means that we can prevent it being used as a litter tray for the cats that are around and also prevents leaves and what not getting into the sand.
  • It's sturdy and weatherproof and excellent quality.



What are we not so keen on?

  • To be honest we love it there isn't much we aren't keen on, I guess if I was being picky it does take alot of sand to fill it.
  • It's heavy to  move, once it's in a position you're not going to be wanting to shift it anywhere else.
  • If it rains the sand will get wet as there are holes in between the slats.



I would say that if you are looking for a new sandpit to check the Wickey range out, I am really impressed with ours and have a feeling it will be a very well used garden toy!

* Please note I was kindly sent the item free of charge in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. All thoughts, opinions and images are my own.

21 comments:

  1. Ahh the sand pit. We don't have a proper yard, just a patio, so after the majority of our sandpit made it onto the cobblestone ground of our patio (impossible to sweet sand out of the cracks in the cobblestones), it was then trekked into our house for about 4 months. So our sand table is now full of pebbles. If we had the space though that looks like a very nice pit. I like the seats because my 18 month old climbs into our sand/rock table which is high off the ground so he can sit in it. Probably not safe. #BestandWorst

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  2. Looks a fab sandpit well done on making it from scratch excellent job thanks for hosting #bestandworst

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  3. That looks a really nice sandpit and not all bright plastic! I like how the lid folds back to a seat. Elarna looks very content there!! #bestandworst

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  4. Always wanted one like this. The Husband is not quite the DIY kinda bloke, so could be a struggle. #bestandworst

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  5. What a brilliant idea, my eldest love plating in the sandpit. I love the little benches on the side.

    #BestandWorst

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  6. Good job hubby. Looks great. Do you have a tarp or something that you use to cover it? #bestandworst

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  7. Lids are a must with sandpits, no one wants to find any surprises in the morning! #BestandWorst

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  8. This looks fab! I'm looking for Farmer Nick to build us a new sandpit for Coombe Mill, I might just show him this one #BestWorst

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  9. I love the bench idea, I could sit and watch L play and enjoy a glass of wine whilst pretending I'm on a beach somewhere exotic. I fear I may have completely missed the point though!! #Bestandworst

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  10. Oh it does look like a great, sturdy sandpit but I know my OH would not be able to put it together - he refuses to own a drill and DIY is not his strong point!!
    Thanks for hosting #BestandWorst
    xx

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  11. We've not really ventured into the sandpit arena yer as I'm not keen on the plastic ones, but I must admit that this looks really sturdy and great quality! #best and worst xx

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  12. That looks like fun! Sadly we don't have any outside space though... thanks so much for featuring my post this week!x #bestandworst

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  13. It is very sweet, I love the benches to sit on and it looks really lovely. So far though we do like using a sand table and tuff slot combo which can be easily tidied up and put away in the colder months xx

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  14. Oh my Ethan would totally love this. What a great idea having the benches, although he'd probably end up sitting in it most of the time!! What a great addition to the garden. Not a bad price in all fairness either. #bestandworst

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  15. My eldest's experience with sand didn't go well this year so I'm not sure she'd like this. #bestandworst

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  16. I think that is a great sand pit and hats off to you all for putting it together! Looks like good fun.
    Mainy
    #bestandworst

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  17. What a fab little sandpit. I love the benches which really do make a difference. I dont think I've seen one like this anywhere else so its a great little find. I bet the little ones cant wait till next summer already to use it all the time ;-) Thanks for sharing this on #MarvMondays. Emily

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  18. I love this! Being able to get right into a sandpit is a joy!! (and being able to close it all off again!)
    Thanks for sharing your review on #TriedTested this week x

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  19. This looks great! Love the lid/seats! I'm going to be looking for a sandpit, must remember this. #bestandworst

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  20. Wow this is a super sandpit! I love it, especially the seats :) #bestandworst

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  21. These look cool. My kids would love one in our garden
    #bathingbunniescomp

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