Lobster Elite Freedom - A Whole Lot Of Ball Machine For Your Money.

The Lobster Elite Freedom is Lobster's most affordable Elite ball Machine, yet has the same look and many of the features of the rest of the Lobster range.

It's the lightest and most portable of the models, making your journey to and from court a doddle. You won't have to worry about a power outlet either, as like the majority of the Lobster range it's complete with a potent battery, allowing you extended practice on court.

The 'Freedom's' battery is a little smaller than the other Elites but should still give you 1.5 to 2 hours of continuous use, and 2 - 4 hours of court time, more than enough for a good tennis workout!

Portability is central to a Lobster Ball Machine's appeal. It's obvious from looking at it's toughened red plastic body that a lot of thought has gone into streamlining and compacting it's hardy, hidden engineering, to help with carrying.
The ball hopper cleverly inverts after use. It fits snugly over the machine and the 3 foot towing handle folds over the top to further reduce it's size, to allow positioning into most vehicles, though the handle does still stick out a bit.

The Freedom is really in it's element when being towed to court, as the 8 inch wheels cope better than most ball machines over varying surfaces. With the large handle extended, a child can easily pull it's nimble 35lb body.

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All Lobster ball machines have above average elevation control, and the Freedom is no exception, shooting out tennis balls up to a 50 degree angle, which is plenty enough to test your overhead shots and smashes. The Freedom's elevation control is manual, but gets the job done much the same as the pricier electronically controlled Lobster models.

Lobster have done themselves an injustice with their ball speed indicator marked 30, 40, 50 and 60mph. This is actually less of a range than the actual performance of 20mph to a very healthy 70mph for a machine costing less than $800.

On the other hand, the ball feed interval indicated as 2,4,8,and 10 seconds, is more like 2, 3, 5 and 6 seconds.

The Elite Freedom benefits from Lobster's two year warranty, which is twice the length of most of the Freedom's competition, and the Lobster after sales team seem very responsive to quickly fixing an underperforming machine and paying for any collection/delivery charges.

The Lobster Elite Freedom comes equipped with a standard battery charger that will overcharge and potentially damage the battery if left on too long. Lobster do supply a smart/fast charger that will switch to a trickle charge when the battery is topped up, but it costs an extra $90 or so. One possible cheaper option is to use a general use on/off timer switch, that will turn off the charge to your Elite Freedom battery at a pre-set time.

Some people have had to make a few fiddly adjustments to the positioning of their Lobster Freedom when setting up the machine on court and changing between oscillation and shooting to one line.

When operating at high ball delivery speed, the balls have a tendancy to overshoot the court, a problem solved by positioning your Lobster a little behind the baseline. If you then switch to oscillation at these ball speeds, they'll be thrown in a slightly too wide arc, so you'll need to reposition your machine near the baseline again.

Most find this isn't too much of a problem as they don't tend to alternate between the two settings often during a practice session.

The Lobster Elite Freedom is one of the world's best selling ball machines - a reliable, portable, affordable machine from a well respected company.

It would make a fantastic present for a youngster just getting 'bitten by the tennis bug', or at the other end of the age scale, a great retirement present for someone determined to use their extra time and 'freedom' to hone their tennis to a higher level and maintain their health.

It has plenty of power and variety to take the tennis game of beginners to a high level and even haul up the game of competant intermediate players to a better standard. The horizontal oscillation feature will help with your footwork as well as your tennis strokes as your Lobster moves you around the court with it's random throwing sweep. Obviously, this will help with fitness as well.

All Lobster ball machines are portable, but the Elite Freedom at 35lbs is the easiest to get around, though you'll probably find the lifting 'handles' on the base of the machine slightly awkward when lifting your machine. The competition from Tennis Tutor, (Prolite), and SAM (iSAM) is slightly lighter but the Freedom compares well otherwise, especially re the two year warranty.

If you'd like your ball machine to apply spin to the ball, or want a simple remote control option, or have a longer lasting heavy duty battery, then Lobster's next model up, the Elite 1 might be your best option. The basic model is priced about $300 above the Freedom.

(iSAM)

Elite 1

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