Hi Nicole Just wanted to add that I think you are one of the most competent pb teachers/coaches online. I’ve coached various sports for more than 50 years so I have met a number of talented coaches/teachers and you are right up there with them.
Sorry for the late reply I have been dealing with an injury and a big move across the country. Thank you so much for your kind words! It means a lot coming from someone who has been teaching sports for more than 50 years :)
Nicole, I want to thank you for being my coach. Your teaching style and comprehensive review of all the shots, aides and methods is excellent and I really learn a huge amount from you. Fantastic and really appreciated.
I looked at the slinger bag at first because of the price but once I realized you couldn't replicate a point by programming different shots in sequence, I looked at the spinshot. I'd love to see you review that machine with this level of detail. Great video and please keep it up!
I also have the Slingerbag . It is very easy to carry around. And I love the tube too. Can you please add some videos on drills ? I would love to see the settings on cross court dinking, speed ups and drives Truly appreciate your videos Thank you
Bought the machine based on your advice and some research of my own. Easy to set up and use. Overall a good product. A few little things. The ball tube retriever was very tight and required extra force to pick up the balls. Maybe they sent me the wrong tube. The slinger team has been responsive and promised to get back too me after I sent them a picture. Since I already have a standard pickleball tube its not an issue for me. The recommendation to remove the battery to charge it to prevent overheating the battery is inconvenient and strange. I have many devices that require battery charging from trickle charge car batteries to routine household appliances and tools. Seems like a poor design if there really is a potential overheating issue. Love your videos keep it up
Your videos are great and very informative. I recently purchased a Slinger machine and am very happy with it so far. I would like to see your training sessions with the Slinger machine in the future with the settings described. You are the first professional instructor I have seen who has reviewed the Slinger machine and I am happy you gave it your endorsement.
Yes. Her review is spot on. I received and have practiced with mine. I wish the remote had longer range so I could start the machine from across the court rather than at the machine. It does have a delay allowing time to get to your position, though. And I'll be looking forward to further videos on how to best drill with it.
Nicole, your review was very comprehensive. I also sent Slinger emails asking during the release wait like two years ago. I've had a first model Tutor for 6 years. If it ever gives up on me, the Slinger would be its replacement. I'm curious how it delivers a "flat ball" (no arc) to simulate firefights at the net. I put my Tutor up on a table net high at the NVZ line and crank up the speed. The ball has arc no matter how I set it up. Not a big deal, but it serves my purpose for fast hand drills. The throw wheels are different than my Tutor. Slinger wheels have the curve face that grabs the ball. Looks like each shot comes out relatively the same, so maybe that's why. Enjoy your channel, so keep em coming for the newbies.
Hi! Glad you have yourself a ball machine and are using it... no matter which one. I have not gotten around to elevating it yet though I have plans to test that. I'll probably drop a video when I do. I suspect it will still have some arc but we'll see. All machines, including the Slinger don't seem to me to have a great setting/solution for practicing blocks and resets that at least come in straight (not from below), as you say.
Not sure but there may be something in the works. Honestly, I love that the bells and whistles are kept to a minimum. It gets the job done for all shots and that's enough for me.
The Slinger Bag looked good to me, so I ordered one. The website said to allow up to three weeks for shipping. At the three week point I inquired as to my ship date. The best answer I got was that additional units were expected in about two weeks. Customer service couldn't say when my unit would ship. Things might have gone better if Slinger had sent an email out as soon as the shipping problem was known. On the plus side, the cancellation and refund process was quick and painless.
Yes, it does seem like the communication there could have been better. I'm happy to hear that cancellation and refund went smoothly. That's definitely nice to know for prospective buyers. Thanks for the comment.
I have a Lobster machine and would really appreciate a series of videos on good ways to train, regardless of brand. Thanks for all of your excellent videos.
Glad you have a machine! They can all do a lot. Training videos for ball machines seems to be a really popular request. I've started to work on it. Glad you enjoy the videos :)
I had a Tutor Plus last year, sold it as I had a chance to use a Playmate machine all Winter. Plan to buy a new machine in May, leaning toward the ERNE, it's over the air software upgrades plus programmability make for a very functional machine, which of course has a higher price tag. My friend just got a Slinger, so will def be trying it out. Thanks for the review.
Yeah Playmates are a work horse of a solid machine. Worth it for a club to purchase as they can store it nearby and it will get heavy use. I hear good things about the ERNE. Would love to hear your thoughts on ERNE vs Slinger when you've had a chance to try both. Erne definitely has some really nice bells and whistles if you're ok with the higher price tag.
Hey Nicole, thanks for the personal reply.I'll provide some feedback once I get on the ERNE. I enjoy your channel, has great content, better then some of the "big" names. Thanks again.@@primetimepickleball
I bought one and now 3 people i play with bought one. Its the best machine for the price by far. The only down side is, that itnmay take 2 weeks or 2 months to get it. They are not great as far as returning emails
It’s a solid machine for sure and at a reasonable price. They are getting through a backlog of orders right now. Should be sorted by end of the month per what they have told me.
Thank you Nicole. I have a question for you does this machine work with tennis balls as well as i have kids learning tennis and would love to use it for both sports?
Hi Nicole, my mixed doubles partner has one and he was kind enough to bring it today for our drills. it was awesome and definitely provided us with a great practice secession. I was curious on getting something for myself and started looking at different machines for me when I couldn't find someone to drill with. I seem to be leaning towards the Tutor Mini with the oscillator. I was curious on your thoughts about the two of them comparatively.
Most machines fire the ball pretty well. The challenge comes with getting it on and off court. Anyone I’ve seen with a tutor also needs a cart with wheels in which to transport the machine, balls, pick up tube and anything else. That’s why I prefer slingerbag. It shines in the overlooked yet very important area of transport. Also it comes with remote. Often that’s an extra.
Awesome! I think you'll really like it. Here is a link to a Slinger Bag Drill playlist I have. Every time I create a new video for Slinger I add it to the list. ---ua-cam.com/play/PLf5SOZbiy_ZgdxeFYjoYW-hoLUAc6v52T.html
Hey can you please do a video on how to combat against players who are basically hitting hand battles and speed ups right at your chest or neck area? A lot of aggressive players around here are doing that and it's so hard to defend, you also usually give them a weak deflection and they kill that shot.
Hi! Yes, I have a video on that. Here it is: ua-cam.com/video/HmA6bTBJgHc/v-deo.html. It comes down to improving your blocking volleys and this is how you will do it.
I think it can hold 120 but I usually have about 80 in there while in use to be sure the ball loader can rotate freely. You could probably have a few more in there but I'll probably stick with 80 or so.
Great review. Unfortunately already ordered one a couple of weeks ago. Would like to have supported you. Looking forward to your drill videos. Thanks for all you do.
Hi, I spent $900 on the Slinger last month (Mar 2024, including tax) and am having a go round with Slinger support. Could you confirm during your review that when you charge the Slinger, that there is/is not a light displayed on the panel indicating that it is charging or did you solely rely on the charger's light? Much appreciated.
Oscillation is a must if you want more realistic drills. All digital with setting adjusted with an app is far more convenient and the direction for high end machines.
I am definitely looking into a ball machine and I will keep this one on my list. I am concerned about the durability. It would be nice if you would do a follow up on your machine in a couple of months.
Did you ever put together any other video's on how to set up the Slinger for different kinds of drills? I looked for more video's but I didn't see any new ones. :-)
Sorry for the late reply. I have been dealing with an injury and a move across the country. Here is a link to a YT playlist I have in regards to all the videos I have created specifically with the Slinger Bag. I hope you find this useful. ua-cam.com/play/PLf5SOZbiy_ZgdxeFYjoYW-hoLUAc6v52T.html
hi Helen, great question. I appreciate you supporting me in this way. I'm not sure and I've just emailed them to ask if I have an affiliate link that will work for Canada. I'll get back to you as soon as I hear back.
I also have a Slinger pickleball machine. I do think it is great especially for working on block/punch shots and roll shots. And you are correct the space in the bag for all the items that you may need is awesome. I would be interested in drills that you do with the bag and the exact settings that you focused on for speed, height, bag position, and spin. I agree that having the oscillator together would have been better but it hasn't been a problem apart. The transport is very easy -- they certainly did their homework on that part of the design along with the space accommodations. The only negative I have is that I wish the speed would go up to 55 MPH to help me work on my hand speed. Oh another negative, is that I need to be very close to the machine/bag for the remote to work. If I am on the other side of the court it will not turn on/off. But that is very minor. Overall this bag/machine is really good. Thank you for doing this review and look forward to how to take advantage with doing drills with it.
Thanks for your thorough and thoughtful comment. I'm glad you're making use of the oscillator. I'm definitely more sensitive right now to carrying extra things due to injury so possibly once that subsides I'll bust it out and see how we go. I'll start getting to work on drills/setting video(s). Seems like there's a lot of interest in that. I see your point about the 55 mph... would be nice. Yes, it really shines in transport/portability which is huge because the harder it is to get out on the court the less likely folks are to pull it out which defeats the whole purpose.
I have a slinger bag on order, but they are having so many logistical problems getting stock and filling orders that I’m nervous about them as a company. The machine looks great, but what if it breaks and they can’t get parts? The other thing that concerns me is the address they give on their website is a house. Do they even have a business address? I really want their Slingerbag, and I’m sure they are great people, but I’m worried that the company is not established enough to be dependable.
I think these are legitimate concerns. They are a relatively new company. 4 years or so. They process 100s of orders per day which to me indicates they're doing pretty well and will be around but, of course, there's no guarantees. Their tennis bag has been popular and now so is their pickleball bag. Yes, they've had logistical issues and have made improvements and are in the process of restocking and adjusting their inventory to account for the surge in demand. I've been pleasantly surprised with how transparent they've been with me about their issues. I had zero issues with my order. If I recall correctly, I got it within a week. And, it was a retail order, they were not aware I'm a coach and that I have an online presence in pickleball.
@@primetimepickleball That’s reassuring, thank you, Nicole! I am hanging in there with my order because I really want the product, and hoping they’re able to ship this week.
I just took a quick look at Yahoo Finance. The company is actually a public company (CNXA). But here's the bad news - its stock has gone from a high of $252 per share in 2021 to $0.22 per share. That's really, really problematic.
The blue one is for tennis and the orange one is for pickleball. You can NOT use the tennis one for pickleball or vice versa. The balls are different which requires a different machine for each.
So true - no one wants to drill with me! I would love to have this ball machine - wonder if I can convince my husband this would make a great xmas gift! Still expensive though for me.
I like that you showed what the different settings will do even if it shoots the ball into the net or into the fence. I wonder if at the highest speed setting it would have worked better to move the machine back. Also wondered how easy it is to fill the ball hopper since it looks like a flap from the bag covers it?
It probably still would have gone over if I pulled it back some. I could pull it back and drop the incline and that would help. It’s very easy to fill the ball compartment from the tube. You just pull the flap back a little.
Thanks for your blog and comments on this machine, both are very beneficial and useful. Review was thorough however, I'm always leary of mail order purchases especially evaluating service and warranty quality and responsiveness to problems after the sale. Is the 3 year warranty include full replace and exchange during the warranty period or is it pro-rated depending upon when problems occur? Who pays for the shipping etc. Recommend you address these issues in your next update. Also, mention where to you go for service and repair when problems occur? Another suggestion, suggest doing a comparison between the Erne machine and Slinger. Food for thought? Keep up the good work.
I ordered one after looking at what was on the market. At first I was in awe of the App driven machines. But in reality I think it would be difficult to see my phone on a bright day and by the time I pull out my phone to stop a machine it would have probably sent eight or more balls sailing. I think the on and off remote for the Slinger is a great idea. There was one machine that had a remote which would be more helpful than an app driven machine but it cost 2k and has no storage. The Slinger bag looks awesome in the area of convenience. It holds all your balls, paddles, phone, keys, etc. The Titan has storage too but is way more expensive and bulky. Pickleball Studio also gave it a great review as have you. Thanks!
That's definitely a personal choice. Different brands of balls, bounce and feel differently. If you can get a very similar ball that's a much better value then I'd say go for it otherwise, get the same ball.
Just curious on the price ,you mentioned under a thousand which is nice . Looks like a machine I’m interested in .Thanks for the review,well appreciated .
Please check the price at the link in the description. I'm not totally sure what it is after shipping but it is still under $1000 with shipping. Also look for a discount code in the description.
I'm curious about a few things not reviewed... Are all the controls available on the remote or only on/off? Also can you speak to battery life and charging time? Overall nice review.
Only on/off for the ball feed and on/off for oscillator on the remote. I worked with it for two hours and it was still going strong. That’s as much as I’ve pushed it so far. Charging time is relatively painless. A couple hours I think. I haven’t paid that close attention to be honest.
I've been looking at some machines and noticed high-priced ones like ERNE just seem more user friendly as far as preset drilling options go. Any chance you plan on putting together a "brochure/guide" type of settings and machine court placement that replicate certain shots? I think the $1000 cost difference between the slinger and ERNE would be ok if there was something to diminish the learning curve for setup. Although the ERNE app looks to offer a ton of setups/drills
I am planning on some drills videos with settings included. Not sure if they will come with an accompanying brochure or guide but they may. Thanks for the comment and suggestion.
I think it can technically hold 120 in the compartment but I'd have less in there during use to allow for the ball loader to spin freely. I had about 80 in there at time.
Add me to the list of looking forward to you videos on drill settings. Seems like you need to do a decent amount of tweaking. Just bought one today 9/20, $806 shipped. Said free shipping (No such thing. Someone pays for it. Used to be a small biz owner.) , $100 off sale, $50 off code PATTY.
As someone who has never used a pickleball machine, but have in tennis, please stick to enclosed courts. So irritating having to knock multiple balls back to their court.
Hi Nicole
Just wanted to add that I think you are one of the most competent pb teachers/coaches online. I’ve coached various sports for more than 50 years so I have met a number of talented coaches/teachers and you are right up there with them.
Sorry for the late reply I have been dealing with an injury and a big move across the country. Thank you so much for your kind words! It means a lot coming from someone who has been teaching sports for more than 50 years :)
Nicole, I want to thank you for being my coach. Your teaching style and comprehensive review of all the shots, aides and methods is excellent and I really learn a huge amount from you. Fantastic and really appreciated.
Wow, thank you! This is exactly what I hope I am doing. Thank you so much for the comment to let me know.
I looked at the slinger bag at first because of the price but once I realized you couldn't replicate a point by programming different shots in sequence, I looked at the spinshot. I'd love to see you review that machine with this level of detail. Great video and please keep it up!
Glad you enjoyed the video and thanks for the suggestion and comment.
For the price, you can't beat it. The functions on slinger would cost several hundred more with any others
Thanks!
Thanks!
Thank you so much Mark! 😁
I also have the Slingerbag .
It is very easy to carry around. And I love the tube too.
Can you please add some videos on drills ? I would love to see the settings on cross court dinking, speed ups and drives
Truly appreciate your videos
Thank you
Glad you have the Slinger and thanks for watching the videos. Glad you enjoy them! I'm working on the first Slinger drilling video now.
Thank you for the video
I ordered slinger bag via your link back in Feb
It arrived yesterday. Cant wait to check it out
Awesome! Enjoy.
Thank you for this very useful introduction to the Slinger Bag.
Hi Rebecca! Thanks, glad it was helpful!
Hi Nicole! I just got my slinger bag and I love it! Seems like a quality piece of equipment and works perfectly!
Awesome! Glad to hear it. I have a video in edit right now on drill for forehands, backhands and returns. Coming soon…
@@primetimepickleball great! I’ll watch for it.
Hey Nicole!! Checking back for newest vids on Slinger bag.
Mine arrived this week!
Bought the machine based on your advice and some research of my own. Easy to set up and use. Overall a good product. A few little things. The ball tube retriever was very tight and required extra force to pick up the balls. Maybe they sent me the wrong tube. The slinger team has been responsive and promised to get back too me after I sent them a picture. Since I already have a standard pickleball tube its not an issue for me. The recommendation to remove the battery to charge it to prevent overheating the battery is inconvenient and strange. I have many devices that require battery charging from trickle charge car batteries to routine household appliances and tools. Seems like a poor design if there really is a potential overheating issue. Love your videos keep it up
Thanks for the feedback on this Michael. You make some good points. I'm glad you like my videos!
Excellent job young lady….very nice. No frills….just the facts. Enjoyed it very much especially given the other time wasting junk info out there.
Thank you so much!
Your videos are great and very informative. I recently purchased a Slinger machine and am very happy with it so far. I would like to see your training sessions with the Slinger machine in the future with the settings described. You are the first professional instructor I have seen who has reviewed the Slinger machine and I am happy you gave it your endorsement.
Awesome! Yes, I will get on those videos as there seems to be a lot of interest in that. Glad you have the Slinger already and like it!
Yes. Her review is spot on. I received and have practiced with mine. I wish the remote had longer range so I could start the machine from across the court rather than at the machine. It does have a delay allowing time to get to your position, though. And I'll be looking forward to further videos on how to best drill with it.
Nicole, your review was very comprehensive. I also sent Slinger emails asking during the release wait like two years ago. I've had a first model Tutor for 6 years. If it ever gives up on me, the Slinger would be its replacement. I'm curious how it delivers a "flat ball" (no arc) to simulate firefights at the net. I put my Tutor up on a table net high at the NVZ line and crank up the speed. The ball has arc no matter how I set it up. Not a big deal, but it serves my purpose for fast hand drills.
The throw wheels are different than my Tutor. Slinger wheels have the curve face that grabs the ball. Looks like each shot comes out relatively the same, so maybe that's why.
Enjoy your channel, so keep em coming for the newbies.
Hi! Glad you have yourself a ball machine and are using it... no matter which one. I have not gotten around to elevating it yet though I have plans to test that. I'll probably drop a video when I do. I suspect it will still have some arc but we'll see. All machines, including the Slinger don't seem to me to have a great setting/solution for practicing blocks and resets that at least come in straight (not from below), as you say.
Love the concept of soft fabric and storage. If this guy had an app it would be a no brainer.
Not sure but there may be something in the works. Honestly, I love that the bells and whistles are kept to a minimum. It gets the job done for all shots and that's enough for me.
The Slinger Bag looked good to me, so I ordered one. The website said to allow up to three weeks for shipping. At the three week point I inquired as to my ship date. The best answer I got was that additional units were expected in about two weeks. Customer service couldn't say when my unit would ship. Things might have gone better if Slinger had sent an email out as soon as the shipping problem was known. On the plus side, the cancellation and refund process was quick and painless.
Yes, it does seem like the communication there could have been better. I'm happy to hear that cancellation and refund went smoothly. That's definitely nice to know for prospective buyers. Thanks for the comment.
I have a Lobster machine and would really appreciate a series of videos on good ways to train, regardless of brand. Thanks for all of your excellent videos.
Glad you have a machine! They can all do a lot. Training videos for ball machines seems to be a really popular request. I've started to work on it. Glad you enjoy the videos :)
Looking forward to using your drills series using the ball machine
Awesome! Will work on that.
I had a Tutor Plus last year, sold it as I had a chance to use a Playmate machine all Winter. Plan to buy a new machine in May, leaning toward the ERNE, it's over the air software upgrades plus programmability make for a very functional machine, which of course has a higher price tag. My friend just got a Slinger, so will def be trying it out. Thanks for the review.
Yeah Playmates are a work horse of a solid machine. Worth it for a club to purchase as they can store it nearby and it will get heavy use. I hear good things about the ERNE. Would love to hear your thoughts on ERNE vs Slinger when you've had a chance to try both. Erne definitely has some really nice bells and whistles if you're ok with the higher price tag.
Hey Nicole, thanks for the personal reply.I'll provide some feedback once I get on the ERNE. I enjoy your channel, has great content, better then some of the "big" names. Thanks again.@@primetimepickleball
I bought one and now 3 people i play with bought one. Its the best machine for the price by far. The only down side is, that itnmay take 2 weeks or 2 months to get it. They are not great as far as returning emails
It’s a solid machine for sure and at a reasonable price. They are getting through a backlog of orders right now. Should be sorted by end of the month per what they have told me.
Thank you Nicole. I have a question for you does this machine work with tennis balls as well as i have kids learning tennis and would love to use it for both sports?
It does not. Their is a separate slingerbag for tennis. It's the blue one.
Hi Nicole, my mixed doubles partner has one and he was kind enough to bring it today for our drills. it was awesome and definitely provided us with a great practice secession. I was curious on getting something for myself and started looking at different machines for me when I couldn't find someone to drill with. I seem to be leaning towards the Tutor Mini with the oscillator. I was curious on your thoughts about the two of them comparatively.
Most machines fire the ball pretty well. The challenge comes with getting it on and off court. Anyone I’ve seen with a tutor also needs a cart with wheels in which to transport the machine, balls, pick up tube and anything else. That’s why I prefer slingerbag. It shines in the overlooked yet very important area of transport. Also it comes with remote. Often that’s an extra.
@@primetimepickleball Thank you for your input. Even though the slinger is heavier I may have to reconsider.
Any coupon codes that you know of...both are pretty pricey....no harm in asking ...right
☺
Theres a slinger group on Facebook. The admin does show drills. Where to put it on the court and what settings to put it at
That’s great! I’ll have to check it out.
Thanks! Just ordered one through your link!
Awesome! I think you'll really like it. Here is a link to a Slinger Bag Drill playlist I have. Every time I create a new video for Slinger I add it to the list. ---ua-cam.com/play/PLf5SOZbiy_ZgdxeFYjoYW-hoLUAc6v52T.html
Hey can you please do a video on how to combat against players who are basically hitting hand battles and speed ups right at your chest or neck area? A lot of aggressive players around here are doing that and it's so hard to defend, you also usually give them a weak deflection and they kill that shot.
Hi! Yes, I have a video on that. Here it is: ua-cam.com/video/HmA6bTBJgHc/v-deo.html. It comes down to improving your blocking volleys and this is how you will do it.
Does the machine throw lobs? to practice overheads?
Yes it can. Put it in the highest incline setting. I’ve even put the ball tube under the front of the machine to get more tilt. Works great!
How many balls does it hold before a pickup/refill is required???
I think it can hold 120 but I usually have about 80 in there while in use to be sure the ball loader can rotate freely. You could probably have a few more in there but I'll probably stick with 80 or so.
There's no way it has room for 120 balls!
@stevemclaughlin6276 Why not? Lobster holds 135 balls and the ERNE holds 150 balls
Loved to see the lob drills with this!
Awesome! It can definitely feed a lob... I've used it for working on overheads already.
Great review. Unfortunately already ordered one a couple of weeks ago. Would like to have supported you. Looking forward to your drill videos. Thanks for all you do.
Thanks so much! All good, I'm glad you got one and will get those reps in :)
Thanks Nicole...next level stuff...not too far down the road purchase..
Thank you! Awesome...yes, let's get those reps in :)
Hi, I spent $900 on the Slinger last month (Mar 2024, including tax) and am having a go round with Slinger support. Could you confirm during your review that when you charge the Slinger, that there is/is not a light displayed on the panel indicating that it is charging or did you solely rely on the charger's light? Much appreciated.
I disconnect the battery and charge it on its own and I only rely on the charger light.
Oscillation is a must if you want more realistic drills. All digital with setting adjusted with an app is far more convenient and the direction for high end machines.
Thanks for sharing your perspective. There's certainly a place for the things you mention in the market.
I have a slinger bag and love it.
Nice review. Must be nice having access to courts where there aren't 20 people waiting to play!
Thank you! Yeah, it’s pretty sweet. Can’t lie.
How about shipping to Ireland? I'm interested but it is probably cost prohibitive?
Unfortunately they currently ship to Mainland U.S.A only.
I am definitely looking into a ball machine and I will keep this one on my list. I am concerned about the durability. It would be nice if you would do a follow up on your machine in a couple of months.
Yes, that's always something we wonder about and can't know until later. I'll keep an eye on it. Thanks for the comment.
Did you ever put together any other video's on how to set up the Slinger for different kinds of drills? I looked for more video's but I didn't see any new ones. :-)
Sorry for the late reply. I have been dealing with an injury and a move across the country.
Here is a link to a YT playlist I have in regards to all the videos I have created specifically with the Slinger Bag. I hope you find this useful.
ua-cam.com/play/PLf5SOZbiy_ZgdxeFYjoYW-hoLUAc6v52T.html
Hi Nicole
Do you have an affiliate link for Slinger Bag Canada or can I use your US AFFILIATE LINK?
hi Helen, great question. I appreciate you supporting me in this way. I'm not sure and I've just emailed them to ask if I have an affiliate link that will work for Canada. I'll get back to you as soon as I hear back.
They've let me now that my affiliate link only works for US purchases.
Thanks for checking Nicole!
I also have a Slinger pickleball machine. I do think it is great especially for working on block/punch shots and roll shots. And you are correct the space in the bag for all the items that you may need is awesome.
I would be interested in drills that you do with the bag and the exact settings that you focused on for speed, height, bag position, and spin.
I agree that having the oscillator together would have been better but it hasn't been a problem apart.
The transport is very easy -- they certainly did their homework on that part of the design along with the space accommodations.
The only negative I have is that I wish the speed would go up to 55 MPH to help me work on my hand speed. Oh another negative, is that I need to be very close to the machine/bag for the remote to work. If I am on the other side of the court it will not turn on/off. But that is very minor. Overall this bag/machine is really good.
Thank you for doing this review and look forward to how to take advantage with doing drills with it.
Nice review .. move the machine closer to you it will increase the speed to work on your reactin drills
True! Thanks.
Thanks for your thorough and thoughtful comment. I'm glad you're making use of the oscillator. I'm definitely more sensitive right now to carrying extra things due to injury so possibly once that subsides I'll bust it out and see how we go. I'll start getting to work on drills/setting video(s). Seems like there's a lot of interest in that. I see your point about the 55 mph... would be nice. Yes, it really shines in transport/portability which is huge because the harder it is to get out on the court the less likely folks are to pull it out which defeats the whole purpose.
how many balls does it take to fill? aprx?
I think I have approx 90 in there. I think technically it holds 120 but I don’t top it off that much. I like to leave some room for the wheel to spin.
Tremendously thorough!
Thanks William!
I have a slinger bag on order, but they are having so many logistical problems getting stock and filling orders that I’m nervous about them as a company. The machine looks great, but what if it breaks and they can’t get parts? The other thing that concerns me is the address they give on their website is a house. Do they even have a business address? I really want their Slingerbag, and I’m sure they are great people, but I’m worried that the company is not established enough to be dependable.
I think these are legitimate concerns. They are a relatively new company. 4 years or so. They process 100s of orders per day which to me indicates they're doing pretty well and will be around but, of course, there's no guarantees. Their tennis bag has been popular and now so is their pickleball bag. Yes, they've had logistical issues and have made improvements and are in the process of restocking and adjusting their inventory to account for the surge in demand. I've been pleasantly surprised with how transparent they've been with me about their issues. I had zero issues with my order. If I recall correctly, I got it within a week. And, it was a retail order, they were not aware I'm a coach and that I have an online presence in pickleball.
@@primetimepickleball That’s reassuring, thank you, Nicole! I am hanging in there with my order because I really want the product, and hoping they’re able to ship this week.
I just took a quick look at Yahoo Finance. The company is actually a public company (CNXA). But here's the bad news - its stock has gone from a high of $252 per share in 2021 to $0.22 per share. That's really, really problematic.
Que diferencia tiene con la de tenis que es azul? La de tenis sirve para pickleball? mucha gracias
The blue one is for tennis and the orange one is for pickleball. You can NOT use the tennis one for pickleball or vice versa. The balls are different which requires a different machine for each.
So true - no one wants to drill with me! I would love to have this ball machine - wonder if I can convince my husband this would make a great xmas gift! Still expensive though for me.
Start dropping those hints 😉
I like that you showed what the different settings will do even if it shoots the ball into the net or into the fence. I wonder if at the highest speed setting it would have worked better to move the machine back. Also wondered how easy it is to fill the ball hopper since it looks like a flap from the bag covers it?
It probably still would have gone over if I pulled it back some. I could pull it back and drop the incline and that would help. It’s very easy to fill the ball compartment from the tube. You just pull the flap back a little.
Thanks for your blog and comments on this machine, both are very beneficial and useful. Review was thorough however, I'm always leary of mail order purchases especially evaluating service and warranty quality and responsiveness to problems after the sale. Is the 3 year warranty include full replace and exchange during the warranty period or is it pro-rated depending upon when problems occur? Who pays for the shipping etc. Recommend you address these issues in your next update. Also, mention where to you go for service and repair when problems occur? Another suggestion, suggest doing a comparison between the Erne machine and Slinger. Food for thought? Keep up the good work.
Definitely good food for thought. Thanks for the suggestions.
Do they have a Canadian distributor?
yes that can definitely be a challenge. Another alternative is a ball machine however those do cost some money which can deter people
Hi, the discount code is not working. Is there an update? Thank you!
Hi! Thanks for letting me know. This issue must’ve just started recently. I’ve just emailed them to look into it. I’ll report back when i have news.
It’s working now.
I am surprised at that price they don't include free shipping - Thoughts?
There’s no such thing as free shipping. I’ve had a small business and trying to get discounted shipping rates is a nightmare. It’s all about volume.
I think it's still a good price for the value even with shipping.
Do you have to charge a battery or can you plug it in to electricity ?
It cannot run on AC, only battery, so yes, you need to charge the battery. I have found battery life to be very good.
Battery. No plug.
I ordered one after looking at what was on the market. At first I was in awe of the App driven machines. But in reality I think it would be difficult to see my phone on a bright day and by the time I pull out my phone to stop a machine it would have probably sent eight or more balls sailing. I think the on and off remote for the Slinger is a great idea. There was one machine that had a remote which would be more helpful than an app driven machine but it cost 2k and has no storage. The Slinger bag looks awesome in the area of convenience. It holds all your balls, paddles, phone, keys, etc. The Titan has storage too but is way more expensive and bulky. Pickleball Studio also gave it a great review as have you. Thanks!
that's great! I hope you are enjoying your slinger bag. It's definitely my favorite training tool.
The pickleball slinger bag will be good to have.
Yes, it's a great tool. I love using mine. You can get SO MANY quality reps in.
Does it matter what type of pickleball you use? Should it be what you play with? Or the best value you can find?
That's definitely a personal choice. Different brands of balls, bounce and feel differently. If you can get a very similar ball that's a much better value then I'd say go for it otherwise, get the same ball.
Just curious on the price ,you mentioned under a thousand which is nice . Looks like a machine I’m interested in .Thanks for the review,well appreciated .
Please check the price at the link in the description. I'm not totally sure what it is after shipping but it is still under $1000 with shipping. Also look for a discount code in the description.
Is the 45 mph max speed enough to replicate game speed?
Yes
Hi, better check your affiliate link for the slingerbag. I clicked on it and it goes to page not found. 404 error.
Thanks for the heads up. It’s fixed now.
Do you have any updated reviews on this machine yet? Thanks!
After six months, how has the machine performed?
Well! I still feel the same way about it.
I bought one and really like it.
I'm curious about a few things not reviewed...
Are all the controls available on the remote or only on/off?
Also can you speak to battery life and charging time?
Overall nice review.
Only on/off for the ball feed and on/off for oscillator on the remote. I worked with it for two hours and it was still going strong. That’s as much as I’ve pushed it so far. Charging time is relatively painless. A couple hours I think. I haven’t paid that close attention to be honest.
How many balls does the bag hold?
Approx. 90 while in use.
I've been looking at some machines and noticed high-priced ones like ERNE just seem more user friendly as far as preset drilling options go. Any chance you plan on putting together a "brochure/guide" type of settings and machine court placement that replicate certain shots? I think the $1000 cost difference between the slinger and ERNE would be ok if there was something to diminish the learning curve for setup. Although the ERNE app looks to offer a ton of setups/drills
I am planning on some drills videos with settings included. Not sure if they will come with an accompanying brochure or guide but they may. Thanks for the comment and suggestion.
How many balls does it hold?
I think it can technically hold 120 in the compartment but I'd have less in there during use to allow for the ball loader to spin freely. I had about 80 in there at time.
Add me to the list of looking forward to you videos on drill settings. Seems like you need to do a decent amount of tweaking.
Just bought one today 9/20, $806 shipped. Said free shipping (No such thing. Someone pays for it. Used to be a small biz owner.) , $100 off sale, $50 off code PATTY.
Will do!
She’s awesome.
As someone who has never used a pickleball machine, but have in tennis, please stick to enclosed courts. So irritating having to knock multiple balls back to their court.
Thanks for the feedback.