Lobster Sports Elite 2 Portable Tennis Ball Machine (21x14x 20- Inch)
- Designed for maximum durability, its 44-pound ergonomic design and oversized-wheels allow for easy transport, even with a full hopper of 150 balls. A 4- to 8-hour battery helps ensure plenty of court time between recharges.
- While almost all machines sweep randomly left to right, the Elite Model 2 simulates match play with left, right, short, and deep shots in a random pattern.
- Oscillation: Random, Horizontal, Vertical, Horizontal & Vertical Speed: 20 to 80 mph Ball capacity: 150 Feed rate: 2-10 secconds Power: battery Court time: 4-8 hours
- Includes Basic Battery Charger
- Optional Accessories Available: 2-Function Wireless Remote Control 1-Amp Fast Charger 3-Amp Premium Fast Charger Storage Cover External Battery Pack
Equipped with all of the standard Elite One battery-operated features, the Elite Two’s advanced triple oscillation takes match play to the next level at a minimal cost increase over the Elite One. While almost all machines sweep randomly left to right horizontally, the Elite Two also oscillates vertically, giving you short and deep shots in a random pattern to provide a better physical workout. Or choose your shot placement vertically only and horizontally only. Want more action? Simulate match play by combining both vertical and horizontal oscillation functions to throw balls throughout the entire court-left, right, short, and deep. This tennis ball machine will challenge all of your strokes, not just your forehand and backhand. You’ll als
Great Tennis ball machine,
Have never had another ball machine to compare to, but is one of the most compact visually when compared to other machines. I have just received and started using it. So far very impressive design. Hardest thing is getting it in and out of the car as the handles for the device are on the very bottom of the machine and along the greatest length of the machine. You end up, lifting the machine with your back, rather than your legs. 44 lbs is not too bad, but its awkward lift arrangement makes it feel heavier than it should be. However the machine easily rolls where ever you need it. Also, I am able to easily balance two boxes of Gamma balls on top of the machine, resting on the handle in the tipped position. So I can get my balls, machine, and tennis bag to the court in one trip.
The machine does require some fiddling of the adjustments to achieve the type of balls you want to hit and still keep it in the court and over the net. I assume you get better at this with time, but I usually waste about 10 balls fiddling with adjustments until I get it right. Once I get it right, I usually power down the machine and restart it so I can get the 25 second delay to get across the court. I wish they had a delay button you can push once you get it right, but not really that important, as the power button works pretty well at creating this delay.
I was surprised that I would be using much of the top ranges of the speed of the balls, ie 50 to 70 mph. I think this is b/c that when you put in top spin or bottom spin, you actually slow down the ball somewhat. I was also surprised that I tended to use the lower range of the feed rate, ie around 10 to 12 seconds, but I really think the feed rate is much faster than what is on the dial. If you have the vertical and horizontal controls to on, you are really running around the court and I find it hard to get back to center unless you have the rate turned fairly low…..I guess really making it feel that you are in a fast paced match. Full out vertical and horizontal controls will keep you worn out.
I found it reasonably consistent at reproducing a single shot, but you can tell that even with using the same type of balls (gamma balls), you had some significant enough variation, that you were needing to make some adjustments of where you were going to hit that ball. To some extent I liked that variation, as it forced me to rethink my footwork and swing on the fly with each shot to make the subtle changes necessary, while still practicing a similar shot over and over.
The one think that I find particularly irritating, is that on a machine of this expense, that their is no automatic shutoff for recharging, so you can damage the device by overcharging it. I think on one of the upgrades, you can have that fixed, but they do charge you a small fortune for that feature. I decided to just buy a countdown timer electrical outlet device to limit charge time. Much cheaper than the upgrades for the charger.
I really believe that this device helps improve consistency and confidence with certain shots and in particular power serves that seem some what overwhelming can be somewhat reproduced by this device. If they just created better handles for the device, it would be a 5 star device.
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