LOBSTER Sports Elite Tennis Ball Machine - Auto Portable Tennis Ball Launcher, Preloaded & Custom Drills, Spin Control, Lob Elevation Switch, Ball Speed (up to 80MPH), with Multi-Function Remote

So here's the deal. I am a 40 year old 3.0/3.5 player with a goal of being a 4.0/4.5 player in two years (that's what my coach says is a reasonable goal). I wanted to buy a tennis ball machine so I could practice my forehand and backhand over and over and over again without having to go to a drill or lessons. I bought the machine after spending two hours at the club with a machine at $40 per hour, and doing the math. The resale of these things on craigslist also appears to be pretty high, so it seemed like a relatively low risk purchase, that would pay for itself if I used it 25 times or so, and which I could always unload if necessary with little financial loss. I bought the elite liberty on November 2, 2016. So far I really like it. The machine throws out relatively consistent shots in quick or slow intervals. You can add topspin or backspin or keep it neutral. The dial says 0-80 mph -- though the official product description says it tops out at 70mph (not sure if it really goes 80 or if it just says 80 (that is, if they didn't want to create a specific 70mph dial for this one machine or whatever)). It can do random horizontal back and forth shots as well, though the sweep is pretty wide and will keep you running like crazy. Battery works fine...my one objection is that you never really know how much juice is in the battery...it's either solid green (charged), blinking green (kinda charged) or red (needs charge) but there's obviously a lot of variance in each of those categories that you are effectively blind to. Effectively does pretty high lobs. Only a couple of downfalls I can see so far: 1. When you add a lot of topspin to the delivery, the speed goes down pretty significantly. I wasn't expecting that to happen as much as it does. When you set max speed and zero topspin, the balls are coming out pretty darn fast, but when you put a lot of topspin on it, they slow WAY down, maybe even 15-20mph or so. I'm only a 3.0/3.5 player, and full speed at full topspin doesn't seem particularly fast to me (though neutral spin top speed is pretty fast). I usually practice at almost top speed and a little bit of topspin. 2. There's no way (that I can see) to limit the degree to which it spits them out horizontally, or to make it alternate forehand-backhand-forehand etc...That is, the only setting is random delivery (not alternative), and the only width setting is the entire court (not more narrow). There's no way that I can see to narrow the tosses so you're not running from side to side in the entire court, or to make it alternate forehand to backhand. The playmate machine at my club does this, but i'm sure it's a far more expensive machine. So the liberty may deliver two identical forehands in a row, or a forehand on the extreme right line, then a backhand on the extreme left line. You never know. It's a good workout, but not best for alternative practice shots. It looks like you have to go up to the elite 3 to get the two line alternative narrow oscillation...not sure if that's worth the $700 upgrade. (And to be clear this is no fault of the machine; it's my fault for not researching it enough on the front end, though the illustrations on the Lobster website are not 100% clear on this point.) A couple of things I was worried about that are fine: Some folks complained about the wheels and I was worried that they were going to be some cheap, breakable plastic. They're not. They're big and tough rubber wheels. I haven't had, and doubt I'll have any problems. I was worried about not getting a remote, but it's not that big of a deal. When you turn it on, it gives you a good 10-15 seconds before it starts shooting balls, so you don't even have to run, you have plenty of time. Lots of folks say it just tore the fuzz off of the balls. It does a little bit, and I'm sure it will do it more over time, but it's not extreme or anything. (For reference, i bought a bucket of Penn pressureless balls and they work great.) So overall I'm really happy with it. I wish it were a little faster, and it would be nice to have it alternate left/right and have the sweep be a little more narrow. But I'm sure to get my money's worth with the lobster elite.

I ordered this item and it arrived in two days though I did not expect it for 5-7 days from shipping. It was on the court within 1 hour and working with regular used tennis balls that I use for serving practice. I ordered the Tretorn pressureless balls but they haven't arrived yet. Pressureless tennis balls are recommended. There has been a small problem with charging using the basic charger. However, tech support has been great and we are working it out. I am not concerned as I might have been because the machine can provide a great workout in about 1 hour. With 72 pressureless balls at a time, that is about 3-4 loads if you hustle. Normal battery charge is supposed to be 2-4 hours. My only regret is that I did not get this machine several years ago. It is well worth the investment into your development in tennis. Consider getting the Elite 3 machine that adds a nice feature that the Elite 2 does not have. (The Elite 2 can be upgraded to an Elite 3 by the manufacturer.) The remote is nice but the machine gives you twenty seconds to get into position before the first ball. After that, there is no need to stop until you finish the load. If getting instruction while using the machine, then the remote makes sense. Definitely get the premium charger. It goes much, much faster than the basic charger and doesn't need to be watched (the basic charger requires user to watch light progression and stop when charged). The premium charger is wired into panel differently and bypasses the basic charger circuit. I gave this a 5 star rating because it has performed very well other than the minor problem with basic charger. And I have learned that tech support for the machine is excellent and I look forward to being able to maintain this machine indefinitely!

I would give the machine zero stars if I could. If the company offered to give me this machine for free and to pay for shipping I wouldn't want it, nor would I be willing to sell it to someone else. I've owned ball machines for about 15 years and since I have a lot of free time, I use the machines 3-4 times a week. I have loved the Lobster Elite 1 model for the past 8 years and have been wanting to upgrade to a programmable model for a number of years. I was hoping that someone would create my ideal ball machine, and that Lobster would be the company to do it, but I got tired of waiting so when I found their best ball machine on sale a few days before my birthday I decided that I had to buy it at the deal price of $1800 because I knew that I would never buy it the full $2500 price. I really, really wanted to like the machine because I got such a good deal on it, so I spent two days trying to talk myself into keeping the machine. The biggest issue is that I bought the machine because I wanted to take my game to the next level by using the fancy pre-programmed drills. I found that the first drill worked, but the balls bounced too high. Switching to other drills they either slammed the balls into the bottom of the net or shot the balls out so hard and fast that Roger Federer wouldn't be able to use the drill. I called about the problem and the company acted like they had not heard of the problem and explained how I could use the calibration process to adjust the drills. I really didn't like the fact that I would have to re-calibration the machine before using each drill, but I gave it a try and still found that I couldn't get the machine to give me drills that were useable (realistic), the balls either came out too fast or bounced too high. I decided that even if I couldn't use the pre-programmed drills I would just program my own drills. I found that it didn't repeat the drills that I programmed correctly. I created a drill to all four corners and it would start out with two short and two long only to decide to sometimes turn the two long into four long shots before going back to the two short shots. Also I wasn't impressed with the machine's ability to hit the locations that I wanted it to hit. As a last resort I wanted to see if the machine could just give me some basic hitting practice with placing the ball in one direction with a simple arc. That's where I really discovered the limitations of the machine. At the lowest speed the ball would hit the bottom of the net and at the next speed setting which was 5 miles an hour faster the balls would land past the baseline. I was able to change the height setting to keep the balls in, but at the expense of having balls that bounced too high. By going digital with this programmable machine they took away the great control that their basic analog machines gives you. If they changed their software to allow speed changes of 1 mile an hour that might make the machine usable, but the way it currently works is crazy. I tried to call the president of the company to ask him why he was selling an unusable product but he doesn't take phone calls from customers. Warning: You really don't want to buy a product with a large battery from Amazon, they are willing to sell you such products, but they don't allow you to return them. You can't return it to Lobster either if you don't buy it directly from them.

In the interest of being clear and helpful, I recommend that everyone who contributes a review cover as a minimum all the numbered information below. (My answers are in parenthesis.) Tennis level (I am 46 and played Division 1 tennis) Balls used (I tried Gamma Pressureless, and was very disappointed. I moved to regular pressured balls, and so far have been happy with their performance) Length of time used (I've used it now for about 4 weeks, at least 2x/week) Machine Type (Elite 1) Battery Care (Did you overcharge your battery, by charging it overnight/more than 24 hours? If so, you ruined your battery's life. I did not.) How I am using it (I am not traveling with it, so no picking up and loading into car. I would not want to do that with this machine, and thankfully I roll it out and down to the court.) Type of court (Red Clay) So far, I am very pleased with this machine. I will update this review if anything I write in it changes. It has proven to be reliable, and arrived fully charged and ready to use. The wheels work well and seem sturdy, although even bigger ones would be nice. I did not get the remote, and while it would be nice, it is certainly not essential for use (and I have no plans to buy one). I have found one setting with speed and distance and spin that I have been hitting cross court ground strokes with only. It delivers a consistent ball. While it can hold 150 balls,, but if you are going to roll with it and tilt it at the appropriate angle to get it moving, I am only able to keep about 40 balls in the basin (the others are in the hopper), otherwise they are going to spill out of the basin. I have found that using an air compressor after 4 weeks of use was helpful to remove the dirt and accumulation of fuzz from the balls. I will continue to use that every few weeks. As I mentioned in the intro. I bought Gamma Pressureless balls because Lobster recommends using pressureless. The Gamma batch of balls I received was poor and I sent them back. In their place, I put all the balls I've played with since the start of 2017, and had a much more consistent bounce and delivery. I called Lobster to inquire deeper into the pressureless recommendation: it's NOT for the well being of the machine, but rather for the consumer. In other words, Lobster believes that pressured balls will go dead within 1-3 months time, and they don't want consumers to be annoyed that they have to replace the balls so often. They reported that pressureless might last up to 6 months. I'm going to go with the used pressured balls and see how it goes, as it's going well so far. With about 85 balls, I estimate the machine can go about 10-12 times before the battery dies. That's not very impressive for me, as I'm turning it off during the ball collection period. The charge time can be anywhere from 3-8 hours, depending on how dead the battery is. That seems good to me. Overall, I'm happy with it. To be able to practice tennis strokes, and have a reliable machine to do it with, is a luxury. Why didn't I think of this earlier?

I am very happy with my Elite 3. Since the first usage it was very easy to use it, from the handling to put it into my car's trunk to the court setting up speed, elevation and spin. I use it along with my 9 and 16 years old daughters, and each one uses a different configuration. They learned to use it easily and we enjoy a lot practicing. For me, I do 6 rounds of 150 balls each, and after a shoulder surgery I am getting back my timing and swing very fast. We spend 4 hours in the morning and batteries keep up, its impressive. What I love the most is that it keeps sending you balls perfectly, no hesitation, no errors, no tired complaints from the other side. Quality of the machine is very high.

I am using this to help me re-groove my strokes after not playing for 12 years. I am VERY rusty. So I haven't used the advanced functions yet other than test to make sure they work. I like this machine a lot. It does what it says it will, and it does it well. I ran it through its paces when I got it (and the weather improved) and it performed flawlessly. I regret not getting the remote. But $300? C'mon! I decided I wanted the advanced features of the next model up, over the convenience of the remote. I just wish they had an option for a remote that just paused and started the machine. As the remotes for the Elite I-III models do. I may at some future date buy the $300 one and retrofit it. Get it from Amazon. Same price, free shipping with Prime. 'Nuff said. However, when I used it for the second time a few days later, some of my balls got damp by rolling through some small melting snow rivulets of water by the fence. When the wet balls fed into the machine it freaked out and promptly shut itself down saying it was jammed. I went home and cleared the balls out and it started up again just fine. I called Lobster and confirmed that damp or wet balls will jam the machine. I also discovered a broken main power switch on my unit and asked them to replace it. Very nice people but I received the wrong part--twice! At that point I called Amazon and explained the problem and they resolved it promptly. Also a very nice person. Hooray for Amazon! I have found that the machine's accuracy is affected by wind, temperature and humidity. And pressurized balls have a different trajectory and bounce than unpressurized ones. The degree of wear and pressure also affects the balls. Not a lot, but some. It kinda adds to the fun if you have a few pressurized mixed in with the unpressurized. That way you don't get complacent about where they are going to go. All in all I am very happy with the model and what it can do. I'm getting a good workout, my strokes are getting better and I don't bore a tennis partner with my inconsistent playing.

I regret buying this ball machine, the machine randomly turns on, the remote control stopped working after using it twice, it is not worth the money ($2600.00). The preloaded drills are not that great and not that easy to set. I contacted Customer Service regarding the machine malfunctions and they sent me a replacement Control Panel after I had to take the original apart from the machine. The new one is worse than the old one! The battery died after 5 months. I purchased the external battery pack, that does not work either! Now I have to ship this heavy machine back to them (at my cost). In the meantime, I am renting a ball machine at my tennis club which negates the reason I purchased this machine. I just shipped this back to them as the remote control also never worked, it cost me $225.00 to ship back. I just purchased the Slinger Ball Machine as I have little hope that this overpriced machine will even work when and IF I get it back. I do not recommend!!!!

I bought this liberty machine(like new for $827) to practice tennis alone on the court without any hitting partner. I can practice my shots for long hours without need of anyone in my opposite court. I got it delivered it yesterday and tested the functionality without balls. Everything works as mentioned. The is one discrepancy in the elevation markings. In the www.lobstersports.com it is clearly mentioned that liberty machine has 50 degree elevation, but machine it is printed only 40 degree so kind of wrong impression about their honesty in giving the correct specification in actual machine. I will test it on the court tomorrow and give further feedback on elevation and top spin and back spin and speed. For 10 degree less elevation on machine then what is on Amazon.com and lobstersports.com, i can give only 4 stars. I stay on second floor and it is not easy to carry machine 36lbs every day for charging internal battery. So I decided to check the internal circuit layout and found a solution to connect the battery externally and carry only the battery home for charging. Lot of relief as I can keep the machine in my car. Let me tell how to separate the battery from machine, it is quite easy if you know how to check the polarity for +ve and -ve terminals. Please be careful before connecting the battery externally and connect correct polarity for XLR cable and battery. I have made a custom XLR cable to connect to battery. I modified the XLR connector and using only two pins of the XLR cable . 1 & 2 pin only. XLR Pin 1 is +ve and 2 is -ve. Lobster machines have an XLR connection port to plug in external battery pack. The lobster battery pack 12V 18AH with fast charger is $179. So I decided to buy a cheaper 18AH battery an Amazon for $37. Bought an XLR cable cut it and used the male side connector to battery. We can buy XLR connectors separately without cable and make our own cable. Please check the continuity of the +ve and gnd wire using multimeter. I made the connections wrong twice and two 7.5 A fuse blown away. Thank God, I have connected the fuses in line to protect the machine PCB board in case I make the wrong connections. I found out that the lobster machines has reverse battery connection protection circuit. So I saved my brand new machine from getting fried due to components burning on the PCB. I am using two battery chargers one 1.5 A schumacher charger from Amazon $25 for the 18 AH battery and another battery tender .75 A charger ($27) for the 8.5 AH battery which was previously inside the machine but now it is outside the machine in the external battery BOX. I bought this BOX from amazon for $12. I bought the XLR CABLE for $10 Monoprice brand . The cable is not 16 AWG as mentioned by Monoprice only the outer sleeve is thick making it 16AWG, So if you can solder and make your own XLR cable that would be great using 16AWG or 18 AWG wire. I posted the pics also for everything. Please do not forget to make the XLR cable correctly and with correct polarity.Use 16 AWG wires for safety as 18Ah battery has higher current than internal 8.5 Ah battery. Connect only one battery at a time to XLR cable and another when first one has depleted. Enjoy court time of 6 to 8 hrs . More review on the way. Please let me know if any questions. I took the machine to the court yesterday and after messing around with the adjustments with elevation, speed, feed time, spin control and finally started playing. I am really amazed as the balls were consitent in their desired spot and i was able to practice for 6 hrs continously as I have total 2 batteries. I left with 2 more hours of juice left in battery. I tried the horizontal sweep but stopped it after 15 mins as it made me tired very fast. I have not tried the overhead lob yet but will try it next weekend and will update my review. The top spin and underspin is great, though need some adjustments on the control panel for speed and elevation. Overhead lob is great, I practised at max elevation and speed around 50MPH , need to adjust as per wind blowing. Overall great machine and true partner so far.