Slinger Bag Review 2022 – The Best Portable Tennis Ball Machine?

Over the summer season months, I have been attempting out a number of ball machines in pursuit of discovering one of the best tennis ball machine in the marketplace proper now.

There are extra opinions to return, however the machine in focus in the present day is the Slinger Bag from Connexa Sports activities.

The Slinger burst onto the market a couple of years in the past by way of a profitable Kickstarter crowdfunding marketing campaign and has since solid a partnership with Dunlop after being integrated into the bigger Connexa Sports activities Group.

The product has been properly marketed and is without doubt one of the extra fashionable ball machines on the market, because of its accessible worth level and portability in comparison with some heavier machines.

I have been testing the Slinger bag for a number of weeks, so is it any good? How does it evaluate to dearer machines? Discover out on this full playtest and assessment.

The Slinger Tennis Ball Machine

GET THE SLINGER BAG

The Slinger Bag has a singular luggage-like design, and alongside the ball machine firing part, it has storage for round 144 tennis balls straight above it.

On the rear of the bag, there’s a high loading racket compartment part that holds three rackets after which a number of accent compartments on the perimeters to retailer the charger, the distant key fob, the cellphone holder and different bits and items.

The telescopic ball collector that holds 20 balls when prolonged is strapped to the aspect, and on the rear of the Slinger are two wheels with a telescopic deal with for wheeling it round.

The oscillator accent is available in a separate bag, which you’ll be able to slot over the telescopic deal with for carrying round.

By way of design, I believe it is rather slick wanting, and it attracts loads of consideration from individuals; whereas most individuals have guessed it’s one thing sport-related, no person exterior the tennis world that I’ve run into knew it was a tennis ball machine.

The mannequin I’ve is the Grand Slam pack which incorporates:

Slinger Bag Grand Slam Pack

Slinger Bag Specification

Setting Up the Slinger Bag

Establishing the Slinger is simple. First, guarantee it’s totally charged by plugging the charging adapter into the port and letting it run earlier than play.

It’s also attainable to take away the battery and cost that straight in case you’d slightly go away the bag within the automobile or in a spot the place there isn’t a wall socket inside attain.

When you arrive on the courtroom, you unzip the entrance backside pocket and fasten it with the carabiner clip, so it stays totally open. 

Turning on the Slinger bag is finished by way of a rocker change, and also you then have two knobs to regulate the velocity and the feed charge. There are 4 lights to point battery degree.

When you have by no means used a ball machine earlier than, do not be alarmed by the tennis ball fuzz, this occurs on all ball machines and is endless.

You possibly can vacuum it off periodically, which I like to recommend, however it will likely be again instantly as quickly as you utilize it once more.

There’s a aspect pocket that you simply open to entry the elevation knob, which dictates the angle the ball fires out at from zero to 40 levels. You loosen it to regulate, then tighten it when pleased with the angle.

You then open the highest entrance compartment, which is the ball holder; opening permits the balls to be shuffled round in a bigger area.

In case you are utilizing the machine for the primary time, I might advocate preserving it off the oscillator, as it would be best to mess around with courtroom areas first.

To make use of the oscillator, you place the bag onto the oscillator base, so the wheels are within the grooves, then join it by way of the white cable, which locks on magnetically to the management panel. You possibly can then change it on from the distant management keyfob.

You’re able to go from there, however do not choose up your racket and dash to the baseline like Nadal.

I might advocate utilizing the fob to modify to the machine to ‘go’ when you are standing subsequent to it; then, you possibly can see the place the primary couple of balls land. 

Relying on the velocity and bounce location, you may want to regulate.

For first-time use and warm-up, I might advocate inserting the machine behind the ‘T’ of the service bins, setting the velocity to simply beneath midway, and the angle at round 15 levels. This gives a snug ball to get into the groove.

First Impressions

Earlier than utilizing the Slinger Bag, I might used a Siboasi ball machine for six weeks; that mannequin is a extra conventional model ball machine with many options.

So my preconceptions of the Slinger could be that it isn’t pretty much as good, given its 3 times cheaper and would not have as many choices.

Nevertheless, my first time utilizing the Slinger impressed me. Whereas it’s not pretty much as good in some areas because the Siboasi, it is higher in others which I will get into under within the playtest part.

The primary impression I preferred was how simple the bag was to maneuver round. It’s simple to tilt to get onto the wheels, and you could possibly fairly simply stroll a good distance to the courts in case you wanted to; bringing it on public transport would even be no downside.

Whereas stairs and tough surfaces like gravel aren’t going to be simple to traverse, it is easy sufficient to carry and carry for a short interval if it’s essential.

I’ve carried it up and down three flights of stairs a number of instances, and whereas it is cumbersome, it’s mild sufficient to be manageable for most individuals. As you possibly can see, it matches in a automobile boot comfortably. Mid-size SUV under for reference.

I significantly just like the wheels on the Slinger; they’re slimline however substantial and have a rubber really feel. They run tremendous easily, too, and so they really feel just like the wheels you get on a well-made suitcase.

That is in comparison with the Siboasi machine, which has totally plastic thick chunky wheels, that are a bit clunky.

In the event that they added a rubber coating to them just like the Slinger’s, wheeling round could be a lot smoother, particularly on pavements.

I additionally preferred how the Slinger is one full bundle; with different ball machines, you want the machine, ball baskets and your rackets which might contain a few journeys again to the automobile to get every little thing, whereas the Slinger has every little thing throughout the bag.

Slinger Bag Playtest

The Slinger comes with a cardboard placard, suggesting the place to place the machine and what settings to make use of. 

I believe the ball boy suggestion is pointless, because it’s firing you one ball you catch then serve with. Practising serves with a basket is way simpler, and when do membership gamers ever have a ball boy to chuck them a ball? 😁

My first strive of the Slinger was indoors, and I set it simply behind the service line on the following velocity and feed settings.

After my first few hits, I used to be shocked at how a lot high spin the Slinger generates.

I assumed the ball may really feel lacklustre given it would not have the velocity functionality of larger machines, however it produces an exceptionally difficult ball with a penetrating topspin.

It does this as a result of it solely has one wheel, whereas different machines use two wheels that run at completely different speeds, producing a flat ball, topspin and underspin.

I’ve seen another feedback that solely having topspin is a downside of the Slinger, however I do not suppose it is a downside.

I believe it is a bonus as a result of as your sport progresses, particularly in case you’re a junior, you’ll run into increasingly topspin.

I bear in mind once I first performed somebody who hit the ball with huge topspin off each wings; it was like nothing I might ever seen earlier than, and the response off my stringbed was so alien to me that it took a number of video games to regulate to.

The Slinger produces that sort of ball, and it’s the sort you wish to face because it challenges you and can make you a greater participant. 

You’re fortunate to search out greater than 2 or 3 gamers at a tennis membership that may hit that sort of spin, so having a machine that may fireplace out ~140 heavy spin balls at you is very advantageous.

If you can begin coping with excessive bouncing balls penetrating the courtroom, you will additionally get higher at mopping powder puff moon balls from the dreaded ‘pusher’ that everybody at each degree of tennis has misplaced to in some unspecified time in the future.

On my first session, I hit a complete bag of balls on that setting, then moved the Slinger Bag again to the baseline, growing the velocity to the max whereas preserving the angle the identical. The outcome was extra of the identical with a shoulder-high bouncing ball which provides an actual exercise as you are utilizing smaller muscle teams.

I then put the oscillator on, which makes issues much more difficult as you are now hitting excessive balls on the run, which is extraordinarily tiring in case you do an entire basket of them.

For the second session, I made a decision to strive extra focused drills, so this time I arrange the bag on the identical aspect of the online as myself and put the velocity close to its lowest and the angle close to 40 levels.

This produces a kind of hand-fed ball, and I wished to follow moving into the courtroom and getting low to hit quick forehands, retreating to the center behind the baseline and repeating.

This kind of drill helps develop the quick steps required for higher footwork. See the video under for the sort of factor I am speaking about; substitute Coach Nick with the Slinger and you’ve got an analogous drill:

To shut the session, I made a decision to check out the Slinger on one of many least practised pictures in tennis – the overhead.

For this, I set the bag contained in the baseline on the centre service line with a velocity close to max and an angle of 40 levels. This fires up lobs at a good top, and you may as well follow again pedalling in case you stand near the online, which is difficult.

When penning this assessment, I’ve used the Slinger Bag for round fifteen 90-minute classes, and I have been very pleased with its efficiency.

Initially, I assumed I might be swapping between the Slinger and the Siboasi I used to be utilizing, however I stored the Slinger within the automobile for 5 consecutive classes, so I did not miss the additional options and most popular the lighter portability side of the Slinger.

What Can You Apply with the Slinger Bag?

Regardless of not having a number of the options of different ball machines, you possibly can follow each sort of shot within the sport with some artistic courtroom placement. Thus far, I’ve used the Slinger to follow:

Even when the battery conked out on me midway by means of a session, all was not misplaced as you possibly can stick the bag subsequent to you and follow serves with no need to continuously bend over and choose up balls from the bottom.

For a lot of drills, you do not even want to maneuver the bag; for instance, I put the bag in one of many corners, a few toes contained in the baseline and simply contained in the sideline, which fires the ball cross-court into my forehand. 

I then hit a number of cross-court forehands, go down the road for a pair, again to cross-court, after which are available and hit a couple of volleys. You possibly can then backpedal to attempt to get the following ball for some extra cross-court groundstroke hitting.

Really useful Slinger Bag Drills and Settings

Stroke	Pace	Feed	Angle	Court docket Place
Lob / Drive Volley / Excessive Volley	80%	50%	40 Levels	Centre, simply contained in the baseline
Mid Court docket Excessive Forehand	60%	50%	~15 levels	Centre, behind service T
Cross Court docket Groundstokres	70%	50%	~15 levels	Inside Sideline, 2 toes from the service line
Hand Fed Sort Ball	20%	30%	40 Levels	Your aspect of the online

Received any drill strategies with their related settings? Let me know within the feedback.

For different drill concepts, there are a number of Youtube movies you possibly can watch, the Tennis Mentor has an entire sequence on utilizing the Slinger for all ranges of play, and there are different drill movies from Hammer It Tennis that are value trying out.

Lastly, there are fairly a couple of coaches that supply stroke evaluation in case you ship them the footage, so Slinger can be helpful for videoing a follow session to ship them.

It isn’t all the time simple to discover a hitting associate who can hit constantly, so in case you can movie your self hitting 50 forehands in a row off an analogous ball, this might be useful for a coach.

Why I Like The Slinger Bag

The factor I like most in regards to the Slinger Bag is that it is a stable all-rounder. It would not have all of the bells and whistles of different ball machines, however for sub $1000 / £1000, it greater than competes with them.

Whereas my dearer ball machine sits in the course of the courtroom and might do every little thing from one location, when you begin taking part in round with the position of the Slinger Bag and the velocity/launch angle, you possibly can recreate many of the issues dearer machines can do.

The opposite huge plus level was how a lot high spin the Slinger bag generates. On the leisure degree, everybody loves that waist-high ball, which implies shoulder-high balls are under-practised if not actively averted.

The Slinger forces you to play these sorts of balls, and you’ll change into a greater participant from it.

Take a look at how the professionals on the ATP tour destroy these shoulder-high mid-court balls, and so they’ve performed that by means of repetition, which a ball machine can assist you do too.

Lastly, I just like the all-in-one nature of the bag. The whole lot you want for a session is saved within the bag: racket, balls, ball collector, ball machine, distant management. 

You flip as much as a courtroom, wheel it on, and after a few minutes of setup, you might be prepared to begin hitting (do not forget to heat up!)

Are There Any Drawbacks?

The primary minor downside I found was that not all of the balls would discover their approach into the rotating part earlier than falling into the rotating hopper.

It’s because there’s a lip across the edge the place the balls get caught, and sometimes I get wherever from 3 to 10 balls that do not fall in.

It is a straightforward sufficient repair by inserting one thing behind the velcro mesh within the bag – I used air-filled sacks used for packaging that you simply typically get in Amazon bins when it is outsized in comparison with the merchandise you ordered. You could possibly additionally use foam.

Please word: The difficulty of balls not falling into the hopper has been addressed within the 3.0 model of the Slinger Bag.

My bag will not be the newest model, and the newer one, which you will obtain in case you order the bag in the USA or UK today, has a distinct inside setup, and a few carry handles that assist will get the bag into the automobile and so on.

I consider some areas will nonetheless be promoting the two.0 model if they’ve inventory. So if having the newest model is essential for you, ask earlier than ordering. 

One other downside for me could be the distant management’s incapability to regulate velocity or feed charge.

I do miss the choice of being unable to tweak the velocity or frequency from the opposite aspect of the courtroom. It isn’t a deal breaker, although, simply good to have; if I hadn’t skilled that on my different ball machine, I am unsure I might have thought of it that a lot.

Is the very fact you possibly can solely do topspin a gripe? Not a lot for me. When you cannot get the Slinger to fireside flat balls at you, that’s simple sufficient to get from a hitting associate.

So whereas solely topspin is a limitation, it’s not one thing I’ve discovered myself lacking when utilizing the Slinger, as I benefit from the problem of dealing with a ball that kicks up. 

Slinger vs Different Ball Machines

The desk under compares the Slinger Bag vs the Spinfire 2 Professional, the Lobster Elite Two and Tennis Tutor.

Slinger Bag Ideas and Tips

After utilizing the bag a few instances every week for a number of weeks, listed here are some ideas and methods I’ve considered.

Carry a small Pozi screwdriver and a few alternative CR2016 batteries within the bag. I do not know how lengthy the battery within the keyfob will final; I assume it’s much like a automobile key. However attending to the courts then having no technique to begin the machine could be painful.

Cost the Slinger repeatedly. I might advocate charging each time earlier than play. On one in every of my classes, the battery ran out after half-hour of utilizing it as a result of I hadn’t charged it. I get round 3-4 hours from the battery. So do not get caught out in any other case; you are practising serves for the rest.

Clear the bag typically; I like to recommend vacuuming off the fuzz from the management panel and contained in the ball machine to stop extreme buildup. I exploit a Xiaomi mini handheld vacuum that does a good job. You may as well use a smooth bristle brush to get it out of the harder-to-reach locations.

Use high-quality unpressurised balls. My favorite is the Wilson Triniti which play nice with a ball machine. I additionally use the Babolat Gold Academy balls, that are respectable, however I favor the Triniti general. Slinger now companions with Dunlop for balls, however I’ve not tried them.

Get a second ball tube or basket. The bag has a tube that holds 20 balls, but when you may get two, use one in every hand, and then you definitely spend extra time coaching and fewer time gathering.

How I Would Enhance the Slinger

Another enchancment concepts? Let me know within the feedback.

Who’s the Slinger Bag For?

The Slinger is the best bag for the enhancing leisure participant or an aspiring professional, and it is the kind of factor I might have been fruitlessly asking my mother and father for as a Christmas gift once I was a child.

In case you’re on the lookout for a private ball machine that’s simple to carry into the automobile, simple to maneuver round on the courtroom and delivers a constant ball to enhance your strokes, this could be my choose as you will not discover higher for the worth.

Whereas there are extra refined machines on the market, not everybody has $3k / £2k to spend on what is basically a luxurious toy that fires a tennis ball at you, so I like the place this bag sits when it comes to worth: efficiency.

Sure, the Slinger Bag continues to be fairly costly at $800 / £800, however when you think about that many individuals spend $1000+ on an iPhone yearly, that is cheaper and will get you transferring round.

Whereas it’s extra fitted to private use, I additionally suppose it is a priceless string to the tennis coach’s bow.

Some coaches will possible be higher off investing in a pricier machine, however for these one-on-one classes the place you wish to watch a participant’s strokes from behind or the aspect whereas they hit from the machine, it is a useful software.

Likewise, it will likely be a very good funding for coaches who journey round and run group coaching camps for juniors.

They will use the Slinger on the courtroom with a gaggle of children and martial them from closeup with out having to deal with the feeds.

It is also simpler to hold round than the heavier machines, so in case you do a morning session at one membership after which drive to a different a part of city for a day session, the Slinger lends itself properly to that use case. In addition they promote a spare battery, so you possibly can swap them out if you cannot cost it up between classes.

Last Ideas

Execs

Cons

Have you ever tried the Slinger Bag? Do you’ve any questions on it or suppose I’ve missed any important bits of information? Let me know within the feedback.