Any experience with Sklz Lightning Bolt pitching machine?

[bbrages]

Hi folks... it's birthday time again; my youngster is turning 9.

I'm thinking about getting him a Slkz Lightning Bolt pitching machine setup: http://www.sklz.com/baseball/pitching-machines . Here's the deal: we have a fairly small back yard, and no batting cage in it. So I'm looking for something that can be used over a pretty short distance -- 30 feet or so. I'm thinking he would hit the balls against the side of the garage.

So I want something:

1. that pitches soft enough that you can use it at less than a full pitching distance.
2. where the balls don't fly that far, so you're not chasing them into neighbor's yards all the time
3. where the balls are soft enough that they will "do no harm" to other people's property
4. that is fun enough that a 9-year-old would be amused by it.

How close do you think this machine is to satisfying those conditions?

Note: I am not looking for an Iron Mike. I understand this product may be somewhat toy-ish. I'm looking for something fun for a kid that can also be used to improve skills... similar to a pitch-back, which has been a huge success for us.

[bryan2137]

if you're going to go with this I'd most certainly go with the lightning strike rather than the lightning bolt. I bought the lightning bolt and I wouldnt say I dont like it, its fine and my 9 year old and all his friends love it and have fun with it. Now I think thats all that really matters, but as an adult i watch them play with it and the machine kind of moves around a little bit and the balls arent consistent where they're placed so if it was me hitting off it it would frustrate me, they kinda just shuffle their feet around and swing at the balls. That in its self isnt going to really help with any mechanical issues in a swing he's working on but as far as just "fun" they always have fun playing with it. Also it feels very cheap and plasticy imo, I know its not some huge investment so maybe you can almost think of it as disposable in a way. As far as safety goes, no issues at all, my 2 year old loves me to grab the machine and shoot balls at her in the house as she tries to dodge them, they bounce off the tv and everything else no harm no foul.

[dominik]

I recently got myself the lightning strike.

I like it so far. It does get a solid speed. you have to put it on something though to get a realistic ball flight.
You have to realize it's a toy though. you get what you pay for and of course you cannot compare it to a real pitching machine. but for the price I think it is OK.

for a 9yo I think it is definitely enough. In 2 years you can still get something better. If he likes baseball he will like hitting against it.

one negative point is that you have to use balls from them and they are really overpriced they cost almost more than a whole machine

[real green]

Maybe ask Grandpa to pitch in and step up to the Blue Flame Ultimate Pitching Machine.

[jbolt_2000]

I bought the first version with the bucket feeder on top instead of the tube. I found it too be descent indoors on flat ground, but as soon as I took it outside on grass the ball just flew everywhere. Could never get it go for a strike consistently.

In fact I tried to sell it at Play it Again sports a couple weeks ago but they wouldn't take it. Said it was not a common item and would be hard to sell so they didn't want it.

At this point, its good for the young ones who like to just goof around and have some fun. Not too be used as an actual training tool or replacement for pitching.

[rodnok1]

Maybe ask Grandpa to pitch in and step up to the Blue Flame Ultimate Pitching Machine.

That's what I would do...
I have one and it'll throw anything and slow or fast. Check craigslist as I found mine for 75 bucks a couple years ago. They hold their value also pretty well. I use mine a couple times a week. My 10yr old loves the thing plus it doesn't use power so when he leaves it outside overnight it doesn't get ruined by rain.

[bbrages]

Hmm, I guess I didn't make this clear:

I'm looking for something that's fun enough that he'll play with it by himself and with a limited flight on the balls so the balls stay in the yard. So the UPM is out, even if it is a great machine.

[Ursa Major]

I had good luck with the Personal Pitcher machine. But, because you're using what essentially are wiffle golf balls, they're not much good if your back yard is prone to get windy.

[dominik]

I bought the first version with the bucket feeder on top instead of the tube. I found it too be descent indoors on flat ground, but as soon as I took it outside on grass the ball just flew everywhere. Could never get it go for a strike consistently.

In fact I tried to sell it at Play it Again sports a couple weeks ago but they wouldn't take it. Said it was not a common item and would be hard to sell so they didn't want it.

At this point, its good for the young ones who like to just goof around and have some fun. Not too be used as an actual training tool or replacement for pitching.

the reason for this is that the balls need to be really dry. If they catch a little moisture they will become a little slippery and the machine will lose a lot of accuracy.

[tradosaurus]

Maybe ask Grandpa to pitch in and step up to the Blue Flame Ultimate Pitching Machine.

Are all grandpa's considered loaded? :flow:

[real green]

:crossfingers:Most seem to have more than their sons!

[JCincy]

What impact will the wind have on these balls? We started with an Atec Jet and any amount of wind really disrupted the flight of the balls.

[dominik]

update:

the lightning works with tennis balls too.

[bbrages]

What impact will the wind have on these balls? We started with an Atec Jet and any amount of wind really disrupted the flight of the balls.

I think that the shorter the range of the balls is, the more they will be impacted by wind...

[bbrages]

So I bought the Sklz Lightning Bolt... that's the one that shoots tiny balls.

Set it up on the patio shooting into the back yard and hit the balls back towards the house.

My take on it is that it was pretty fun. I think the balls are pretty "safe" to persons and property, but they can still fly far if you connect well. My son and I hit several over the house, some even over the front yard and over the street. Still, we were able to track down all the balls we hit.

My first time, I whiffed on almost every pitch, much to my kids' delight. Second time, I did a little better.

The whole thing would be better if it was more stable. When you reload the tube, you're bound to whack it out of alignment and throw a few wild ones. It would be a neat project to build a little weighted box for a base and put a 6V gel-cell battery in it...