Slinger Bag - Is The Topspin a Dealbreaker?!

[@walterhayley7252]

Hi again Ashley. I've had my Slinger Bag for about 9-10 months now. I play matches three times a week and practice with my Slinger Bag for two hours almost every Sunday. Because I own one, I'm always interested in overviews, insights, drills, etc. that I run across on KZbin. I want to say, yours are the most useful I have ever come across. Thank you for sharing so much. Take care and stay well...

[@TheTennisMentor]

Always nice to hear from you Walter… Great to know that you have found my videos useful so far! Good luck with your tennis, Take care! 💥🎾

[@cqntialstarco]

Hello, I was looking for an update on your slinger bag. How has it been holding up? Any malfunctions?

[@paulsteezo1772]

I used mine for the first time today. The topspin IS NOT A DEAL BREAKER!! It forces you to stay ready and helps your footwork!!! More to come!! Best $$$ I've spent in a long time

[@sdmit2000]

It's great for technical shots, volleys, drives and overheads. I don't use it on baseline, so it's perfect for me.

[@AaronKarp]

Thank you for this video! I practiced with my Slinger bag for the first time today, and really struggled to have a good session. Now that I know what it's good at (and what it's not), I'll adjust my practice, and judge it less harshly for its slow top speed.

[@charlie5204]

You're explanation helped me a lot on my way to decide to buy a Slinger Bag. I was struggling with the top spin and if it would be right machine for me as a "beginner" to work on my technic, but now it's clear to me where it comes from and how to handle it. Thanks for sharing.

[@akhilak208]

Such a useful video, thanks for this!

[@mikelevine4774]

Great job explaining all this! Very thorough; very clear. This is the first video of yours I have seen. Looking forward to watching more!

[@TheTennisMentor]

Thanks Mike, welcome! Let me know if l can help with anything!😁

[@CristinaVohs_Arq]

Hi , I'm from Brazil ! Congrats , your videos are the best on how to learn the settings of Slinger Bag in many ways , thanks for share !

[@AustinCatmull]

Great tips, Ashley. Thank you!

[@TheTennisMentor]

No problem, thanks for watching!

[@liketennis2023]

Thanks for the nice review. Your explanation is detail and clear, which is helping me in my decision to purchase a Slinger ball machine. This is the second year of my tennis journey. I feel like I need a way to practice more consistently so I'm looking to purchase a ball machine. Slinger ball machine is attracting me at the moment mainly because of the good price. Simple usage seems to be good enough to a beginner like me.

[@Shaunsweeney-Kubach71]

I love my slinger bag! Great job on the video my friend.

[@johnp1]

Good info. I'll get one. The launcher is currently on sale.

[@pm8196]

Hi Ashley ! Can you possibly please explain the best possible way to create/ simulate and set up a flat ball trajectory with the slinger. If you have already in any of your other videos please let us know.

[@matimoran2414]

Thank you for sharing!!

[@TheTennisMentor]

You’re welcome!

[@FrostyTheBeerMan]

As for balls getting stuck - ⚠Slinger has now brought out the Slinger Bag Version 2.0 - You can easily tell it is Version 2 by looking at the front of the bag, if you see 2 large horizontal blue strips of fabric that lie between the 2 large blue squares - you have a version 2 model. They have improved the inside of the bag where the balls fall into the feeder so there are fewer balls getting stuck in that area. Version 2 of the machine has been out for about 1 year at this point.

[@sergegascon6025]

Thank you for your advice, I love my Slingerbag it is an excellent tool to improve your technique. Really enjoy your training videos on the Slingerbag. Serge

[@TheTennisMentor]

Thanks Serge! Glad you’ve enjoyed the videos so far… happy hitting! 💥🎾

[@pecorcoran]

well done. excellent video.

[@TheTennisMentor]

Thanks Phil!

[@sidneyhymes5512]

Great vid!

[@mairalopes8778]

For me it was a dealbreaker, I kept it for about 18 months, ended up playing less and less because of wrist injury and pain due to the enormity of that heavy spin. I really wanted to love it but I didn’t, sold it

[@Stigmaru]

The most difficult balls to return in general are aggressive top spin balls

[@SeekMe-i5q]

Thank you coach Ashley, the best one who make tennis educational content EVER! My question is if you have the choice between two ball machine, multiple shoot options or only topsipn. (For a long term investment) What is your advice? Thank you❤

[@TheTennisMentor]

If you have the choice, multiple shoot options are best!

[@SeekMe-i5q]

@@TheTennisMentor thank you coach! Then I'm considering to go with the Nisplay machine.

[@touchtennis]

Yeah I tried to get mine to make a slice of toast. Amazed that a compact unit that travels in your car, feeds you thousands of balls reliably, doesn’t make tea, coffee and toast! Honestly, what are people moaning about?! Donkeys!

[@TheTennisMentor]

😂😂😂😭😭

[@soniaela6506]

My biggest problem with the SlingerBag is the amount of times the balls get stuck and you need to shuffle them around for them to start popping out again. It kills my momentum every single time and I'm surprised almost no reviews address it as it's an incredibly frustrating feature. Does this not happen to you?

[@nicrow1369]

Yep - happens to me all the time !!

[@akio2730]

It doesn’t happen often to me.

[@onmcb8582]

I've had my Slinger since Jan 2021. I have experienced this problem but really not all that often, maybe once or twice per hitting session and sometimes not at all. I stir the balls around with my hand after I refill the feeder, and maybe that helps. Also, if what you mean is some of the balls getting stuck up on the sides or back of the feeding bin, since it is soft sided, I created a hack for that. I took a USPS Priority Mail box (#7 size, I think), folded the bottom flaps in so it is "bottomless" and left the top flaps all up. I slipped this into the empty feeder bin, fits fairly perfectly! I then shaped it to the bin a little better by folding the front flap in half and tucking that down in the front, and folding the front corners of the two side flaps down to match the shape of the bin when the zipper is closed. I just found these last folds made it much easier to refill the bin from the ball tube or a hopper. Since I did this, nearly all the balls flow into the feeder every time.

[@soniaela6506]

@@onmcb8582 thanks for the tip, I'll give it a go.

[@nicrow1369]

@onmcb - that’s exactly what the problem is - the soft sides of the bag. They’ll no doubt improve this over time but it needs something like that. I’ve stuffed a trainer in the large compartment to help with balls jamming on the back wall, and that puts some pressure on and stops a shelf forming inside the bag, but cardboard does sound like a good idea 👍

[@bluebird2833]

Hi, can I fill up the machine with regular tennis balls, or does it require their special tennis balls? And what’s the difference btw the tennis balls that come with it vs the regular tennis balls. Also, thank you for this great review of the machine. Thanks!

[@TheTennisMentor]

You can use regular balls. Pressureless balls will last much longer in a ball machine but tend to be more firm so not ideal for prolonged use. If you use regular balls, they’ll be more forgiving but won’t last as long as they lose pressure over time.

[@bluebird2833]

@@TheTennisMentor thanks for the info! Love and appreciate your helpful and informative videos! Keep up the excellent work!👍💝

[@cqntialstarco]

Hello, I was looking for an update on your slinger bag. How has it been holding up? Any malfunctions?

[@TheTennisMentor]

No malfunctions for me, it’s been brilliant! There’s a Facebook group called slinger owners forum which seems to have lots of questions and answers!

[@oooodaxteroooo]

if this thing always gives you topspin and i think ive seen it, which was gruesome... how on earth would you play volleys? will those spin off the racket, too?

[@FrostyTheBeerMan]

The other big factor and a negative is the slow speed of the ball. The Lobster Elite ball machine for example is 2x as fast at throwing balls, and will easily shoot a ball from the baseline where it sits to the other side of the court ( landing at the baseline ) I've not seen a video to date showing the Slinger Bag shoot a ball from the baseline and only 3 feet over the net... Every video shows the ball much higher in the air..... you should try and show this in a new video... how LOW can you go with the Slinger and a medium pace where it is only a few feet over the air. Most of these shots the Slinger throws look more like moonballs.

[@GigglesLoves]

I’m considering buying a Slinger Bag, I wanted to ask if you had any mechanical problems with the machine and if so how did you fix it? It’s a big purchase for me and I want to be sure before I buy it. 🙂

[@TheTennisMentor]

I’ve had mine for a couple of years now and no problems so far. I know that Slinger in the UK have great customer service and will sort out any problems if they arise. Where are you from?

[@GigglesLoves]

@@TheTennisMentor That's great to hear and im from the USA . I appreciate for your quick response :)

[@soniaela6506]

I mentioned it in a post before: the balls get stuck several times, even if you don't fill the bag to capacity. There's also no indication on when the machine is empty, so you never fully know if the bag is empty or it's the balls stuck again that need a manual shuffle. SlingerBag is a good concept and it's economical considering the price of other bag machines, but still needs a lot of tweaks to render a good experience. Another detail: you better not lose the remote, or else the machine will not work at all: that's a big oversight in its design. I regret that I bought it so soon. I think SlingerBag 2.0 or so in a few years will be an excellent product, but for now, best to save your cash.

[@GigglesLoves]

Sonia, thanks for the honest review of the slinger bag, yes I agree with you on waiting. This is why I’m doing some research and I appreciate the help.

[@akio2730]

@@soniaela6506 Even the more expensive ball machines have the balls get stuck sometimes. I use Slinger with 72 balls and It is not true that the balls get stuck several times. With regard to the remote , you can easily buy a new one by the support online shop. In Italy it costs just 20 euro. The principle to wait for a better version could be apply to everything in your life and would make you not to buy anything.

[@Paul-mz2dq]

Thank you for the video Ashley, your content and delivery is always very helpful. I am trying to improve hitting the ball in the rise, can you give any tips for this while use the slinger? Thank you 👏👍

[@TheTennisMentor]

Hi Paul, this video for ‘Clay Court Drills’ has a couple of exercises working on taking high balls early: kzbin.info/www/bejne/e4rJaHWgptKcobs Alternatively, you can set the machine on a slower setting and higher trajectory at your end of the court so that the ball bounces closer to you. This will force you to take the ball early with a more compact swing. Good luck!

[@Paul-mz2dq]

@@TheTennisMentor thank you very much 👍

[@srdfcgvhbn]

unfortunately, lot courts are not allowed to have tennis ball machine

[@TheTennisMentor]

I hear this but struggle to understand why! Frustrating!

[@whatsfordinner1695]

errr why?

[@speedymr]

Which balls do you use for ball machine?

[@onmcb8582]

I bought a case of Wilson Triniti Academy/Club balls. They've performed and held up really well in the Slinger.

[@Wben113]

I have seen people try to use this product. I teach tennis, the concept is amazing, everything about it except the topspin. It is most definitely a deal breaker. It is way too much and unnatural. Very sad, how did they ever let that happen. No spin would be 10 times better.

[@adityahpatel]

When playing a tennis match, vast majority of balls opponent returns are at 55 to 65 mph. Max speed on slingerbag is 45mph. Forget for a moment that u paid $ to buy it. If u are truly objective, how is this joke speed of 45 mph gonna help anyone?

[@rolsguitars]

Beware!! Bought a slinger, and it was just not realistic if you want to see a ball come from around the baseline. To get to go that far, the topspin is unrealistic for the non atp player , it has to feed you at kiddy speed from just the other side of the net or on your side . Btw, slinger will NOT let you return it.

[@SeekMe-i5q]

Thank you for sharing your experience!! I'm confused about what ball machine should I get. The only thing that's stopping me of getting Slinger, that is only you have topspin option. .. So, I'm thinking of buying Nisplay, which has multiple feeding options. It's really big investment for me, that's why I'm asking a lot 😅. Thanks again ❤

[@jimkent9217]

This machine is a non-starter. It feeds unrealistic heavy topspin at all speeds. Spend a bit more and get a machine with two pitching wheels so you can adjust the topspin for a more realistic practice experience. The Playmate Volley is a superior choice for not much more money.

[@andrejjorg8650]

Absolutely right!!!

[@0thundr0]

What is your definition of "not much more money? Slinger is $800, and Playmate Volley is $2,400. You can buy 3 Slingers for that price. Seems a bit of apples to oranges comparison.

[@rolsguitars]

Lobster elite 1k, silent partner edge $800 , nisplay $900 any one of these outperform the slinger for a few hundred more , or used fir the same price .

[@dionschardijn2102]

Dont buy this slingerbag. The amount of topspin is abnormal and not realistic

[@markmoorefineart7453]

Came across this video while researching ball machines. I am trying to sort out which unit is the best value ball machine under $1000. Lots to choose from: Nisplay N1 Tennis Ball Machine $899. Tennis Tutor Tennis Cube w/ Oscillation $909. Tennis Tutor ProLite w/ Battery - Oscillation $949. Slinger Bag Tennis Ball Machine $649. Sports Tutor eCannon Tennis Ball Machine $649. Lobster Sports Elite Liberty $1179 and now there is a new very lightweight and portable Nisplay Model L1 coming out for around $350. (there are videos online promoting the unit now). Have you heard any buzz about the Nisplay Model L1? What do you feel is the best value ball machine under $1000. right now?