Ball machine : Lobster Elite 3 or Spinshot Plus-2

[db26]

Lobster Elite 3 or Spinshot Plus-2 ball machine ?
Which one would you buy?
Are they both well built and reliable.
I Am looking at a machine which can feed short and long balls randomly.
Thank you.
Len

 

[snoflewis]

cant comment on the spinshot, but the lobster elite 3 is well built and reliable. i feel it has some features i'll never use, but it's built much better than the tennis tutor plus that i had before that. having the larger wheels and better handle are definitely worth the larger form factor compared to the tennis tutor

 

[db26]

Thanks for the feedback. Is the lobster elite 3 noisy ?
When the machine rotates, is it as noisy as when balls are discharged , or more noisy?

 

[snoflewis]

are you referring to the wheels that project the ball out or the oscillation?

you definitely hear the wheels turning but it's not a squeal or rattle. i would say it's in line with the tennis tutor i had and a playmate i've used before.

 

[db26]

I was asking about the oscillation. I watched videos of the lobster elite 3 , there was quite a bit of noise when
the machine moved left and right , but likely, the camera recording was right behind it.
If you know, what's the projected life of a machine like the lobster 3?

 

[snoflewis]

there's a whirring/whining when it oscillates like in the video below. you can still hear it from the other side of the net. not sure what the lifespan is, but lobster HQ is local to me so i'm not too worried there. there's also 3rd party support available like Tennis Machines.

 

[2ndServe]

Imo the lobster is the best. It's not because of functions etc, but because of it's portability and weight. I've had the tennis tutor plus, spinfire, lobster and silent partner. The lobster you can use the heavy duty battery or use a smaller battery (for weight reasons) now saving 5lbs doesn't seem like much but lifting in and out of the car, up the curb back in out of the car, along with the tennis ball hopper full of balls and racket bag gets annoying.

I think all ball machine owners can agree the biggest hassle to practicing it getting everything in out of the car and back in the car. The tutor player plus is too boxy, small wheels have to bend down to hold the handle. The spinfire was very heavy imo and wider. the silent partner was ok but a little boxy, as the Lobster can fit in my trunk no problem with the handle folded.

Also the batteries are very easy to get to on the Lobster, I put in a smaller battery and my lobster only weights 35lbs. but I have the fast charger and the AC charger.

 

[myke232]

...Also the batteries are very easy to get to on the Lobster...

I agree that 2 pluses for lobster are that it is slightly smaller and has easy battery access...