- Dec 11, 2010
- 4,723
- 113
Wanted to start a thread that might help some newbies spend their softball budget wisely. Maybe even create a sticky worthy thread that could answer the same questions that get posted here a lot.
New people come to this site every day trying to figure out how to get started on their softball journey. Let's try to save them some money and get them started right. Most of the stuff I bought was for hitting. Most of it was expensive and most of it does not get used.
What equipment did you buy that was money well spent? Tell us what you bought and why it worked well.
If a tornado hit my shed and it was all gone, here are the first things I would buy in this order: (again, I am going to post and edit as I have time).
1) Bownet bucket mouth. Not the soft toss net. $149. I also have an extra Bownet replacement net that has a pitching hole I can pitch through that fits on the same Bownet frame. I have used both nets quite a bit. You have to be careful though, a hard hit can still hit you as this system is designed to flex.
Economy alternative: buy a $5 blue tarp at a home store, hang it in garage or basement a few feet away from wall and hit into it. ***Bownets still going strong 11/16.
2) Make or buy a Tanner tee or equivalent. There are plans on the internet or you can buy just the stem or the whole tee from Tanner. Eventually you will want two. It will disassemble and fit in your bow net bag. When you start hitting every week then twice a week and then three times a week, those rubber tees will break and it will be money you wasted. DO NOT buy goofy expensive tees with arms and gadgets hanging off them. Champro Equitee and Utilitee are great examples of what not to do not only because they are expensive but because they will not be good for your hitter. Keep it simple, hit off of regular tees. *** 11/16, Tanner Tees going strong.
3) 1-4 or more dozen synthetic cover, poly core, Dudley Thunder or Baden or the equivalent balls to hit. (We have had really good luck with Baden poly core for hitting balls.) We scrounge balls whenever we can and I cruise craigslist all the time for used softballs but if you have to buy some, get the synthetic core. I always put the railroad tracks up and down on the tee and the girls beat the balls oblong and until they are mushy in a few months so IMHO it is worth buying decent ones. Buy 7 gallon buckets with lids at a winemaking supply store or buy 5 gallon buckets at a Home Depot etc. to put them in. Don't buy those junky balls already in a junky clear bucket at Dicks or Dunhams or whatever. They are expensive and don't hold up.
4) Batting cage net. I have a shed on my property. It has a 10' ceiling in it which is about as low as it can be. I spent $300 on a 10' by 10' by 40' batting cage net on eBay. It was by far, hands down, the best money I have spent on softball. If you have room for it, do it. I strung mine from cables I bought at a farm store. Not everyone has a place for a cage but if you have room, do it. My batting cage would be much better if it was 12 or 14 feet wide and at least 12 feet high and at least 50' long because then I wouldn't have to move home plate for righties and lefties, it would be long enough to practice pitching in and tw extra feet hitch would make throwbacks to pitcher easier and throwing drills possible.*** 11/16, after 6-7 years of hard use, my lightweight cheap batting cage is starting to develop holes. Good purchase, will need to replace eventually.
5) Pitching screen. This is a pipe style metal frame with a heavy net over it and a square hole you can pitch through. We hit against it sometimes too. I use this in the batting cage to pitch to kids from about 20' away so they don't brain me with a line drive. I got this as part of an eBay deal for a Jugs pitching machine. I didn't know I needed it until I had it. We use the screen much more than the Jugs machine.
I could probably get by pretty well with the above purchases. My next list will be a "nice to have" list.
***edited to remove Total Control heavy balls. Like the TCB's whiffles, not the heavies.
New people come to this site every day trying to figure out how to get started on their softball journey. Let's try to save them some money and get them started right. Most of the stuff I bought was for hitting. Most of it was expensive and most of it does not get used.
What equipment did you buy that was money well spent? Tell us what you bought and why it worked well.
If a tornado hit my shed and it was all gone, here are the first things I would buy in this order: (again, I am going to post and edit as I have time).
1) Bownet bucket mouth. Not the soft toss net. $149. I also have an extra Bownet replacement net that has a pitching hole I can pitch through that fits on the same Bownet frame. I have used both nets quite a bit. You have to be careful though, a hard hit can still hit you as this system is designed to flex.
Economy alternative: buy a $5 blue tarp at a home store, hang it in garage or basement a few feet away from wall and hit into it. ***Bownets still going strong 11/16.
2) Make or buy a Tanner tee or equivalent. There are plans on the internet or you can buy just the stem or the whole tee from Tanner. Eventually you will want two. It will disassemble and fit in your bow net bag. When you start hitting every week then twice a week and then three times a week, those rubber tees will break and it will be money you wasted. DO NOT buy goofy expensive tees with arms and gadgets hanging off them. Champro Equitee and Utilitee are great examples of what not to do not only because they are expensive but because they will not be good for your hitter. Keep it simple, hit off of regular tees. *** 11/16, Tanner Tees going strong.
3) 1-4 or more dozen synthetic cover, poly core, Dudley Thunder or Baden or the equivalent balls to hit. (We have had really good luck with Baden poly core for hitting balls.) We scrounge balls whenever we can and I cruise craigslist all the time for used softballs but if you have to buy some, get the synthetic core. I always put the railroad tracks up and down on the tee and the girls beat the balls oblong and until they are mushy in a few months so IMHO it is worth buying decent ones. Buy 7 gallon buckets with lids at a winemaking supply store or buy 5 gallon buckets at a Home Depot etc. to put them in. Don't buy those junky balls already in a junky clear bucket at Dicks or Dunhams or whatever. They are expensive and don't hold up.
4) Batting cage net. I have a shed on my property. It has a 10' ceiling in it which is about as low as it can be. I spent $300 on a 10' by 10' by 40' batting cage net on eBay. It was by far, hands down, the best money I have spent on softball. If you have room for it, do it. I strung mine from cables I bought at a farm store. Not everyone has a place for a cage but if you have room, do it. My batting cage would be much better if it was 12 or 14 feet wide and at least 12 feet high and at least 50' long because then I wouldn't have to move home plate for righties and lefties, it would be long enough to practice pitching in and tw extra feet hitch would make throwbacks to pitcher easier and throwing drills possible.*** 11/16, after 6-7 years of hard use, my lightweight cheap batting cage is starting to develop holes. Good purchase, will need to replace eventually.
5) Pitching screen. This is a pipe style metal frame with a heavy net over it and a square hole you can pitch through. We hit against it sometimes too. I use this in the batting cage to pitch to kids from about 20' away so they don't brain me with a line drive. I got this as part of an eBay deal for a Jugs pitching machine. I didn't know I needed it until I had it. We use the screen much more than the Jugs machine.
I could probably get by pretty well with the above purchases. My next list will be a "nice to have" list.
***edited to remove Total Control heavy balls. Like the TCB's whiffles, not the heavies.
Last edited: