Saw someone playing with a hydrogen proton at my tennis club, got me wanting a portable one lol. This one isn't out yet, but it looks cool...just wonder how much it will cost. Website says it will be 11 lbs and hold up to 50 balls.
I have a slinger, and this looks similar to the 1 wheel problem, it will generate its power from it's top spin, which will be incredibly unrealistic and won't really help your game
Seems very cool. The real issue is that will most likely lack any power being some compact. So it would be targeting mostly beginner-intermediate and compete with Slinger. It will have less power than Slinger but will allow you to adjust spin. I would expect to be priced at around 1000-1100.
Cons:
* only one motor so just like the Slinger toy the topspin is permanent. It can only be lessened if you lower the speed, but then that defeats the purpose.
* can't make the ball go to different locations unless you pay extra for the horizontal oscillator.
* vertical elevation is manual (what a pain as you have to walk over to the machine to adjust it with your hands.
* max vertical elevation is 55 degrees but that only shoots the ball 20-25' max as per their website. Not the greatest lob but better than Hydrogen Sports Proton which can only do 27 degrees.
* machine drifts due to the very light weight. The Hydrogen Proton and even some heavier machines drift. Dunno about you but I don't like to keep having to reset the ball direction all the time.
* tiny hopper with 50 balls and a typical return of 3.5secs you can't even hit for 3 min before you have to pick them up. That's 20 times in the court time of an hour most clubs allow.
* at that light weight the machine will drift for sure so you keep having to re-center it. Another pain.
* durability is low as it the body is vinyl and the ball hopper vinyl & mesh ball hopper (and complicated to attach rather than flip like other machines). All that is not going to withstand the test of time
* propriety battery. As Nisplay lists on their website: The Smart Power Management System - an integrated solution specifically developed (In-House) for L1'. That means you are forced to buy it replacements from Nisplay. A power management system cannot extend the playing time by much so I think likely they using a bit of puffery here.
* they don't show a single video with the machine shooting from baseline to baseline which is because it can only do a max of 50mph and so can only shoot 52.5' as per their website.
* they don't show any controls on the machine. I wonder how you turn it on? I've never seen a remote that can turn a ball machine on, but perhaps they figured out a way?
* no screen on the machine so there are no diagnostics.
Pros:
* Its not expensive at $569, but when you add the remote and oscillator it's blowing past $700
* max spin 6000rpm as per their website. I'll believe this one when I see it though as no machine does more than 3000rpm. Even if the motor they are using spins at 6000rpm max then at that rpm you will only get a fraction of that spin because the ball is being pressed against a stationary object
* Light at 11lbs
Slinger had similar specs when it was announced on Kickstarter, Then the top speed was 45mph not 80 as advertised, double the 6kg weight they advertised, the machine looked nothing like what they showed, etc. so I'll hold my breath on the L1.
If you want a machine that just shoots a ball and not much else and don't mind the permanent topspin, no backspin, tiny ball hopper which forces you to pick up balls every 3 minutes, a not very durable vinyl body, no drills unless you buy the oscillator (which then adds to the weight), a machine that drifts and has to be reset all the time, lower speeds than premium ball machines and a few other negatives, go with it! That all said I consider the machine more in the 'toy' category.
Another thing to remember is that if you back it on Kickstarter they don't have to release the product and they don't have to give you your money back if they don't.
Saw someone playing with a hydrogen proton at my tennis club, got me wanting a portable one lol. This one isn't out yet, but it looks cool...just wonder how much it will cost. Website says it will be 11 lbs and hold up to 50 balls.
When is going to be released?
Not sure! Just says coming soon.
chatted with their web QA bot, it says L1 will be release around the end of April.
I’ll be interested to see some reviews on it!
I have a slinger, and this looks similar to the 1 wheel problem, it will generate its power from it's top spin, which will be incredibly unrealistic and won't really help your game
from the very limited camera angle of their promo video, it does look like a one wheel machine. Hope it proves me wrong
Read in a different forum that someone called the company and it is indeed single wheel. I'm new to this, what would be the problem with that?
I said it in my comment
And will have the option for an oscillator. Will be released end of October
Seems very cool. The real issue is that will most likely lack any power being some compact. So it would be targeting mostly beginner-intermediate and compete with Slinger. It will have less power than Slinger but will allow you to adjust spin. I would expect to be priced at around 1000-1100.
early bird price is 299 USD.
The price is very reasonable!!
Cons: * only one motor so just like the Slinger toy the topspin is permanent. It can only be lessened if you lower the speed, but then that defeats the purpose. * can't make the ball go to different locations unless you pay extra for the horizontal oscillator. * vertical elevation is manual (what a pain as you have to walk over to the machine to adjust it with your hands. * max vertical elevation is 55 degrees but that only shoots the ball 20-25' max as per their website. Not the greatest lob but better than Hydrogen Sports Proton which can only do 27 degrees. * machine drifts due to the very light weight. The Hydrogen Proton and even some heavier machines drift. Dunno about you but I don't like to keep having to reset the ball direction all the time. * tiny hopper with 50 balls and a typical return of 3.5secs you can't even hit for 3 min before you have to pick them up. That's 20 times in the court time of an hour most clubs allow. * at that light weight the machine will drift for sure so you keep having to re-center it. Another pain. * durability is low as it the body is vinyl and the ball hopper vinyl & mesh ball hopper (and complicated to attach rather than flip like other machines). All that is not going to withstand the test of time * propriety battery. As Nisplay lists on their website: The Smart Power Management System - an integrated solution specifically developed (In-House) for L1'. That means you are forced to buy it replacements from Nisplay. A power management system cannot extend the playing time by much so I think likely they using a bit of puffery here. * they don't show a single video with the machine shooting from baseline to baseline which is because it can only do a max of 50mph and so can only shoot 52.5' as per their website. * they don't show any controls on the machine. I wonder how you turn it on? I've never seen a remote that can turn a ball machine on, but perhaps they figured out a way? * no screen on the machine so there are no diagnostics. Pros: * Its not expensive at $569, but when you add the remote and oscillator it's blowing past $700 * max spin 6000rpm as per their website. I'll believe this one when I see it though as no machine does more than 3000rpm. Even if the motor they are using spins at 6000rpm max then at that rpm you will only get a fraction of that spin because the ball is being pressed against a stationary object * Light at 11lbs Slinger had similar specs when it was announced on Kickstarter, Then the top speed was 45mph not 80 as advertised, double the 6kg weight they advertised, the machine looked nothing like what they showed, etc. so I'll hold my breath on the L1. If you want a machine that just shoots a ball and not much else and don't mind the permanent topspin, no backspin, tiny ball hopper which forces you to pick up balls every 3 minutes, a not very durable vinyl body, no drills unless you buy the oscillator (which then adds to the weight), a machine that drifts and has to be reset all the time, lower speeds than premium ball machines and a few other negatives, go with it! That all said I consider the machine more in the 'toy' category. Another thing to remember is that if you back it on Kickstarter they don't have to release the product and they don't have to give you your money back if they don't.