Ball machine for padel? Spinfire Pro 2 first impressions
Spinfire Pro 2 - link.padel.fyi...
Two Two Play Two racket - link.padel.fyi...
Filmed with ❤️ at We Are Padel Berlin - link.padel.fyi...
Today I’m going to share my first impressions of the Spinfire Pro 2
And by first impressions, I truly just received this this week, and I’ve never used it before, so you’re going to see how easy it is to use or not
And sometimes I may do things wrong just because I’m just learning to set it up, but I thought that it might be fun to take you guys on the journey as I learn to use it and I’ll make follow up vides when I’m more familiar with how to use it
This is a premium tennis ball machine that has had some software enhancements that enable its use on the padel court
We’re going to break down today’s review into 5 parts
1. Price
2. Portability
3. Battery life
4. Ball capacity
5. Padel drills, features, performance
Price
So the Spinfire Pro 2 is not a cheap machine. It’s got several hardware features above much of the competition that were important to me, but it does prevent the price from being low.
The price is about $2000 depending on the accessories you choose.
Portability
Ball machines are heavy, this one with the internal battery weighs about 25 kg. That’s just how they are.
It’s uncomfortable to lift around, but there are two features that make it easier:
They include a handle that allows you to roll it around
They separate the ball hopper that allows you carry the balls separately, making it less unwieldy
Battery life
The battery life varies widely based on the ball interval and ball speed settings that you make, but it is rated to at least 3 hours.
I will follow up on this in future reviews.
Capacity
It is rated for 150 balls.
You’ll want to consider picking up a ball pick up tube and some pressureless balls.
Padel drills
If you order this for use in padel, you’ll need to contact Spinfire to request that they enable the padel drills for you - if you're note ordering from Spain.
Here is where I’ll talk about why I chose the Spinfire ball machine:
1. Dual throwing wheels - with dual throwing wheels you get full control over the ball spin. Whereas with less expensive single throwing wheel machines like the Slinger for example, you’ll get high top spin on your high speed shots, which is totally unrealistic.
2. Internal oscillation - the throwing wheels are located inside the machine, so it’s hard to see them and tell where the machine is throwing the next ball, which gives the surprise effect to the training that I’m looking for
In addition to using the ball machine for racket reviews, I was interested in using the machine to practice two areas of my game:
The aerial game
Defending the double wall
Who do I recommend this for
If you live in a place where there are few good padel coaches
If you feel like you don’t get enough alone time - it can be nice to go to the court alone if you’re like me and have a kid and busy job and very little time to yourself
If you’re a club that would like to offer this as an additional service
00:00 Intro
1:39 Specs
5:56 Control panel
6:26 On the court
14:37 Spinfire padel drills
15:06 Recommendations
Пікірлер: 35
Updates/corrections: 1. Spinfire informed me my model has a lighter lithium battery (18Ah 2.2kg) instead of the Sealed Lead Acid (20Ah 6.6 kg)." 2. Any Spinfire 2 can be updated with the padel drills with a series of button presses (directions in the user guide). 3. I learned the Slinger Padel, unlike the tennis version, has two throwing wheels. Its price is €1390 including the external horizontal oscilator. 4. Heat damages the pressureless balls, so the thermal carrying bag will help protect them.
@tunna877
5 ай бұрын
just wondering… were the pressureless balls for tennis or padel?
@padelfyi
5 ай бұрын
@@tunna877 hey they don't make specific ones for padel, but pressureless balls are quite unusual. They do not feel like normal tennis balls...which to me feel like you're playing on the moon.
First.... thanks for your work..... the racquet reviews are very useful as are your unbiased comments. I am eager to buy a ball machine but cannot get any straight answers on a few questions: 1. Can a machine made for tennis balls be used with regular padel balls? (since there are several of those!) 2. Does this Spinfire 2 require the pressureless balls? Or can we use normal competition padel balls without damaging the machine or it's function? (Just seems pointless to train with different balls than the ones you use in competition?) Thanks in advance for your educated thoughts.
@padelfyi
2 ай бұрын
happy to hear they’re helping you! 1. yes, this spinfire was created for tennis. you just wind up using it with lower ball speed settings than you would for tennis 2. it doesn’t require pressureless balls. they are recommended bc they hold their bounce for longer. 100 pressured balls will cost you €100 and be dead in a week. alternatively you could buy a large ball pressurizer but the pressure less ball solution has worked for me so far.
Great review! As you said, my local padel club is having me try this one out tomorrow, super excited but seems you shouldn’t have too much expectations🤞
@padelfyi
6 ай бұрын
enjoy! and let me know what you think! so far, i think it’s good for practicing bandejas, volleys, and defending the single wall.
@JochenRomer
5 ай бұрын
no good for defending the double glass? @@padelfyi
I really appreciated this review. As I consider ball machines specifically for padel, I too prioritize functional oscillation in both the horizontal and vertical dimensions, useful for practicing the double glass and for drilling both bandejas and viboras simultaneously. As I survey the available padel ball machines, I see the Slinger for Padel, the Spinfire Pro 2 (this review), and the Padelshooter 3A. The Slinger has an oscillating platform option, but no apparent mechanism to oscillate (between lob depths) in the vertical direction. The Spinfire and Padelshooter look to have similar design and features, with the only obvious difference being the Padleshooter has a customizable app (but not yet available for IOS). In your followup full review on this machine, I'm very interested in knowing if you can get it configured to do both the double glass and vertical (oscillation) drills. I'm also interested in knowing if the finite choices offerred by the Spinfire interface (for instance oscillation width choices of narrow, medium, wide) are a limitation compared to a potentially fully configurable range setting? Also, can the Spinfire change both ball speed and vertical setting as it oscillates between two lob settings? Thanks much for your work!
@padelfyi
6 ай бұрын
Thanks for the comment! 1. I use an iPhone, but I wouldn't use a ball machine app. A remote is better bc it is small and light in your pocket. Also, ball machine companies will not build good apps. 2. Correct. Slinger lob functionality is reduced - you need to use a triangle and/or the level, which means you can't do it from the other side of the court with the remote. But it also costs less 🤷🏻♂️ 3. I will release another review video of the Spinfire after 3-6 months of use. 4. I don't want additional horizontal oscillation settings, the simplicity is valuable to me. 5. I will release a video with the Padelshooter in the spring 6. I think the Padel 1 drill just changes lob height (not speed). I'll confirm tomorrow.
@padelfyi
6 ай бұрын
I noticed that I missed one question, "can the Spinfire change both ball speed and vertical setting as it oscillates between two lob settings?" I don't totally understand the question, but just to inform you, you set Ball Speed, Spin and Interval as "random", which is useful during the Padel Drills.
Hi, great review, does it has an app for planning a training session ?
@padelfyi
Ай бұрын
Right now just the two padel drills programmed through the machine’s rear interface, but there will be news related to this soon
I tried the slinger padel bag machine for the first time today 😊 - only one wheel on this version i tried.. great for Corner practice, but i dont like the lobs.. i dont know if i had wrong settings though 😅
@padelfyi
2 ай бұрын
do its lobs not go high enough?
Hello Timo, great video by the way! I’m almost all in for a Ball Machine, it’s kind expensive, but it can be a good partner for training shots(specially if you don’t have a partner). I think the Spinfire lacks an APP to set shots or a sequence of shots(drills) I’ve seen a Titan Ball Machine, that has App and remote and the battery is way less expensive, but no representative in Europe so far, and too new to have some feedback. Saying that I’m also waiting for your review of the Padelshooter.
@padelfyi
3 ай бұрын
Thanks for the feedback!! Yes, they don’t have an app but so far it doesn’t bother me. i usually want to just practice the walls and my bandejas and viboras
Great review, are you using pressureless tennis balls as opposed to padel specific balls in the Spinfire Pro 2?
@padelfyi
6 ай бұрын
I’m using the recommended Spinfire pressureless balls. I describe their feel in the video.
Love your review videos and website. Keep going! 💪🏼
@padelfyi
6 ай бұрын
Man thank you! More coming soon, trying to organize my life for a video / week cadence *cues Rocky music*
Excellent video, thank you. The Slinger Padel is much cheaper so probably not a like-for-like comparison, but please do review/ compare to the Padelshooter 3A. The 3A sounds like it has the potential to be the best padel training machine, but I cannot find any detailed videos/ reviews!
@padelfyi
4 ай бұрын
Fair. I think it’s the incumbent though. So far, I haven’t seen a reason to pay an additional €1000 for the padel shooter. I’ll try it out soon though.
@benjamindonelien7224
3 ай бұрын
I went ahead and bought the Spinfire 2. I used it for the first time today and had a lot of fun, focussing mainly on bandejas. Naively, I thought 20 balls would be enough - I quickly realised it was not and have ordered another 40 or so. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to activate the padel drills on my machine so I'm checking with the supplier that my machine has the necessary software. Could you please share and settings (speed, spin etc) that you've fine-tuned for any specific exercises? Thanks a lot!
@padel-fyi
2 ай бұрын
@@benjamindonelien7224 Ah that's great news! I'm happy to hear that. So far, I use at least 100 balls to get a decent work out. The pressureless ones from Spinfire last quite a while. I'll make a video on my preferred drills with the Spinfire. For me, the best is the corners, viboras, and bajadas. My bajada is way more effective after hours with this.
Thank you so much!
@padelfyi
2 ай бұрын
i gotchu!
When are you going to release the new video commenting padel 2 routine?
@padelfyi
5 ай бұрын
I love the eagerness! I was planning on using it for another couple of months before giving a full in-depth run down. Padel 2 is nice: forehand volley, backhand volley, and lob. Maybe I’ll do a video on each drill.
Bravissimo grazie,dajeeee
FYI: There is Slinger Padel Bag, especially for Padel with two spinning wheels and additional Spin knob.
@padelfyi
6 ай бұрын
Hey thanks for this! I see the spin knob. I can't see any info on two throwing wheels, let me know where you see that. I reached out and they haven't responded yet.
@niks3200
6 ай бұрын
@padelfyi I have my own, so I can see them😂
@padelfyi
6 ай бұрын
Thanks @niks3200 I'll pin a correction comment! how’s the spin control? and the lobs?