What Balls for Ball Machine?

[Qubax]

Hello TW community.

I just got a silent partner ball machine..

I usually use Wilson US Open balls when playing/practicing....

Should I use those or something different with the ball machine...

I only ask because I live in Canada and you can't buy large quantities of balls up here...so to buy like 200 balls worth for the machine could really cost a lot.

Also, what's the deal with "pressureless" balls, do they perform differently?

I guess i am a little worried that I will use pressureless balls, or cheaper balls or different balls with the ball machine and then when I use my normal wilson balls in game play things will be different.

Any responses, suggestions, insight would be appreciated...

Thanks

 

[beernutz]

This has been discussed a lot. Please do a search.

 

[Qubax]

I see that now.

After I posted this I noticed like a huge thread spanning many years devoted to this subject.

Thanks for the reply though.

 

[Ambivalent]

I bought tennis balls from walmart. 21 cans for 45 dollars or something if I remember correct. Penn balls. They last pretty long.

 

[MonkeyMuggs]

The short answer and overwhelming winner is "Tretorn Micro X balls".
I recently purchased a ball machine myself and along with it 2 buckets of Tretorn Micro X balls. Thanks to a tip I found on this forum, I ordered the 2-Tone yellow and white tretorns. This keeps my balls separate from others playing next to me. If one of their balls rolls onto my court and gets mixed into my 100+ balls - it's easy to determine which one's theirs and does'nt hold up play. I am very happy with the Micro X's "feel" and overall playability. I do not find them "heavy" or "hard".

 

[Qubax]

...and do you use those in actual matches?

My worry is that the muscle memory for that one specific type of ball may be altered if my regular balls are vastly different...

I usually use the US Open Wilson balls..

 

[ClubHoUno]

Tretorn Micro X - the best and most expensive

 

[beernutz]

Imo, pressurized balls will have to be replaced so frequently that you'll end up paying an arm and a leg for them in the long run. And unless you replace them all at once I think you'll end up spending a lot of time separating the old, dead ones from the good ones which is time you could be using your machine instead.

The good thing about quality pressure-less balls like the Tretorn Micro-x are that they feel pretty close to pressurized, or at least they do to me, and they keep that same feel for a long, long time. Some people say the Micro-x feel heavy but I don't share that opinion.

I've played 20 hours over the last 2.5 months with my ball machine using the same 110 Micro-x balls. Since I can hit and pick up a batch of 110 balls 4 times an hour that means I've shot and hit each ball about 80 times (and about 8800 balls overall!). I think these balls hit just about the same as when they were new. They've lost a bit of fuzz and have gotten darker but they still bounce like they were new.

</$.02>

 

[Qubax]

Hmm, I got a silent partner machine.....

it has a capacity of 200 balls...

I figure in a match you may strike each ball 400 or 500 times....which would be sort of like 400-500 ball machine cycles....

Beernutz:

Imagine if you had a brand new ball, and then engaged in 3 consecutive 30 shot rallies in a match. That ball would have been struck 90 times. Would a ball being used from 0-0 to 30-15, a matter of 3 points really be worn out?

I'm not trying to be argumentative, I'm just trying to question everything, and make sure I garner the most informed, well rounded opinion.

So, IMO your balls being struck 80 times should be in pretty good shape, and I would hope mine would be too.

Trouble is with shipping(to Canada) it's gonna cost upwards of 290 dollars to order 216 balls(72 balls in a case X 3 cases)

That is pretty smoking expensive...

How much are these Tretorn-micro ex balls??

 

[David123]

Imo, pressurized balls will have to be replaced so frequently that you'll end up paying an arm and a leg for them in the long run. And unless you replace them all at once I think you'll end up spending a lot of time separating the old, dead ones from the good ones which is time you could be using your machine instead.

The good thing about quality pressure-less balls like the Tretorn Micro-x are that they feel pretty close to pressurized, or at least they do to me, and they keep that same feel for a long, long time. Some people say the Micro-x feel heavy but I don't share that opinion.

I've played 20 hours over the last 2.5 months with my ball machine using the same 110 Micro-x balls. Since I can hit and pick up a batch of 110 balls 4 times an hour that means I've shot and hit each ball about 80 times (and about 8800 balls overall!). I think these balls hit just about the same as when they were new. They've lost a bit of fuzz and have gotten darker but they still bounce like they were new.

</$.02>

Nice observation. So would you reccomend buying the the pressureless balls just for pratice matches? and hitting?

 

[beernutz]

Hmm, I got a silent partner machine.....

it has a capacity of 200 balls...

I figure in a match you may strike each ball 400 or 500 times....which would be sort of like 400-500 ball machine cycles....

Beernutz:

Imagine if you had a brand new ball, and then engaged in 3 consecutive 30 shot rallies in a match. That ball would have been struck 90 times. Would a ball being used from 0-0 to 30-15, a matter of 3 points really be worn out?

I'm not trying to be argumentative, I'm just trying to question everything, and make sure I garner the most informed, well rounded opinion.

So, IMO your balls being struck 80 times should be in pretty good shape, and I would hope mine would be too.

Trouble is with shipping(to Canada) it's gonna cost upwards of 290 dollars to order 216 balls(72 balls in a case X 3 cases)

That is pretty smoking expensive...

How much are these Tretorn-micro ex balls??

I think the wear on balls comes from being thrown out of the ball machine as well as being hit with a racquet. Being thrown appears to take quite a bit of fuzz off the ball--much more than being hit with a racquet imo. I also pick my balls up with a hopper which also adds a small bit of wear and tear to them as they are shoved up into it.

Bottom line is that I don't think you can compare the wear on balls that have been hit 80 times versus those that have been thrown 80 times from a ball machine. It is apples and oranges.

I paid $152 shipped in the US at Amazon Marketplace for my first 96 Micro-x balls then got 15 more as a gift.

I am not trying to argumentative either--just sharing my experiences which are somewhat limited since I've only owned my machine and balls 2 1/2 months. I would bet that you get a more realistic workout using pressurized balls but I happen to believe, at least in my case, that the cost and trouble would be too high.

 

[beernutz]

Nice observation. So would you reccomend buying the the pressureless balls just for pratice matches? and hitting?

I only use the Micro-x balls in my ball machine. For all other hitting I used pressurized.

 

[Pwned]

Just ordered 96 Tretorn two tone balls. If they work great I'll order another 96.

 

[Qubax]

Bottom line is that I don't think you can compare the wear on balls that have been hit 80 times versus those that have been thrown 80 times from a ball machine. It is apples and oranges.

I paid $152 shipped in the US at Amazon Marketplace for my first 96 Micro-x balls then got 15 more as a gift.

I am not trying to argumentative either--just sharing my experiences which are somewhat limited since I've only owned my machine and balls 2 1/2 months. I would bet that you get a more realistic workout using pressurized balls but I happen to believe, at least in my case, that the cost and trouble would be too high.

I had never considered how the ball machine would be hard on the balls. You've got a good point there.

So it would cost $290 for 216 Wilson US Open balls....

the Tretorn balls are about $300+ for 192 balls.

I'm surprised these Tretorn ones aren't cheaper, considering they aren't a true pressurized ball....

The Tretorn balls almost seem better for regular play since the ball machine is gonna beat them up a little, and then use the pressurized balls for the ball machine...

I suppose the draw back of using the pressurized balls for the ball machine is that the balls will lose their bounce naturally over the course of a few months...and even if they aren't worn out, they will be out of bounce...

Anyway,

thanks for all the advice so far....

 

[Qubax]

So anyway, I went with 2 cases (72 balls) of Wilson US Open Heavy Duty balls.

I am too leary about the Tretorn Micro - X ones being too "heavy" and "hard on the gut strings"

I may in the future, as I plan on using the ball machine for years buy some Tretorn brand balls, but for now the pressurized Wilson's will have to do....

ordered some Prince T22 shoes with them through tenniswarehouse to make the shipping seem like it makes more sense...

thanks for all the help everyone...

 

[parasailing]

Tretorn Micro X are the best balls for ball machine. They are a bit harder than normal balls but last quite long. I would not recommend hitting with them outside of the ball machine when they lose their felt.

Once they lose their felt, they fly and exhibit weird spin especially if you hit with players who hit junk.