This climbing frame simply clicks together, it's pretty much all plastic but it is very sturdy and I have had one in the back garden for a few years now and it's still standing. The bright green plastic tubes are hollow and flex slightly if they are under pressure (when older children are climbing on it) but I've never had any concerns over the strength of it, and it often has a few children on at once. The colour has faded only very slightly over the last three years which is very impressive when compared to other garden toys which have been seriously sun bleached.
The dismantle tool is basically used to depress the metal pegs which protrude in order to secure the tubes together, dismantling is no easy task however and so I wouldn't recommend it unless you really had to. The climbing frame is surprisingly light and can easily be dragged across the garden (when mowing the grass for example!).
My kids have had nearly 4 years out of this, at first they could just about climb a couple of rungs up and then cried for me to lift them down. They don't need daddy now though and they are hanging up-side-down from the top of it within seconds. This isn't just a climbing frame, they spend just as much time underneath it and it becomes a house, a school, or a castle to them.
In a nutshell: This isn't massive and so doesn't take up too much room in the garden. My eldest was 2 when I bought this, she's 6 now and still loves it - my little boy isn't even a year old yet but I know that he'll enjoy it when he's old enough and will get many years out of it. This is one of the best garden toys we've ever had, it's brought a lot of enjoyment!