any experience with the Sklz Lightning bolt "pitching machine"?

[utgrad92]

Has anyone used this small ball machine? I have three young girls ranging from 6-10 years old. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Lightning Bolt Pro- Baseball Pitching Machine with Shagger

Thanks!

 

[FastpitchFan]

Yes I've tried it. I personally like it. It is not revolutionary but I like it for a couple of reasons:

1) Price - $50
2) Very portable and lightweight
3) Small balls used are a little harder than golf whiffle balls - much better than golf whiffles.
4) Requires battery (not included) but it will last for hours (I haved used it at least 12 hours and have yet to change them)
5) Runs by itself, no coach needed. (one extra station in a hitting circuit)

A couple of things...

1) Buy the extra bucket of 50 balls. Only comes with 12.
2) Don't fill the ball holder, it sometimes get stuck. I found that filling it with 25-30 balls works best.
3) Also, I find that path of the ball is better if you put the machine on a bucket, a chair, or small table.

I also owned a personal pitcher before (pitching machine for golf whiffle balls) which is more expensive (still reasonable) and I like this Lightning Bolt Pitching Machine better.

Again, it's not something that is revolutionary but it quickly adds a station and allows your batter to work on hitting smaller object for hand-eye coordination, adds variety and does not require a coach or a teammate to make it work. You just have to pick up the balls after!

Again, while not necessary, I recommend putting the machine on something (bucket works well) to give it a better ball flight that looks less like a rainbow.

Coach Marc

 

[utgrad92]

Thanks Marc! I think i will give it a try!

 

[chinamigarden]

I got one last winter, it works OK. It seems like they have addressed some of the issues. Mine came with an AC plug, so the battery issue is solved, plus the balls are in a long tube now, instead of a hopper, that feeds them one at a time into the machine, so the balls don't get stuck anymore.

 

[CycloneSoftball22]

Pretty good machine and affordable. The newer version is better than the original (mostly due to the AC plug and the ball feeder tube).

 

[PEPPERS]

Can these machines throw breaking pitches or just straight pitches?

Can it throw the plastic golf ball with the holes?

 

[CycloneSoftball22]

Can these machines throw breaking pitches or just straight pitches?

Can it throw the plastic golf ball with the holes?

I have tried the plasic golf balls with this machine and they really dont work very well at all. Pretty much gotta go with the SKLZ balls to make it work correctly