Portable Ball Machines don't come more ballsy than the SAM P4, the rebranded name for the successful Prince Portable Model 4. Portable Tennis Ball Machines are always a compromise between the demands of portability and durability. The SAM P4 has been built with the latter more to the fore, though it is still a mobile machine.
You'll find aluminum on more internal components in the P4 than other portable machines that rely on plastic to keep weight to a minimum. Also the tennis ball hopper is solidly built to retain it's shape even if you smash a tennis ball at it, whereas some other makes' hoppers will crumple and likely be damaged. This same toughened hopper doubles as a protective cover for the machine in storage or when moving to an from the tennis court.
The price of all this ruggedness is weight - the P4 is 49lbs without the hopper and with, it's 58lbs, one of the heavier portable ball machines. It'll likely be a bit challenging for the individual to get in and out of a vehicle, but when on level ground, it has an extending handle and two rolling wheels like a suitcase.
The P4's nearly $700 more than the P1 and $1000 more than the iSAM, so what do you get for this extra investment? The P4 has significant advantages in 3 main areas - the throwing balls to two line feature, the advanced 10 function wireless remote control (a unique feature in ball machines of this price range), and it's electronic elevation control, allowing it to throw to all areas of the court, without having to return to the machine and manually adjust settings.
The two line throwing feature is particularly helpful for alternate forehand and backhand practice and is ideal for two players to each play a shot alternately. With the massive 300 ball capacity tennis ball hopper, the AC power source option, and it's durability, the SAM P4 can be used as a relatively low cost tennis coaching tool.
The distance between these two throwing lines can be modified easily so that you can quickly adjust between a lung-burning wide setting, where the tennis balls touch alternate sidelines in turn, or a comfortable left to right near the center of the court, where you'll barely nead to move to drill your forehand and backhand.
Wireless Remote Controls for tennis ball machines in this price range normally have a couple of functions, like 'feed on' and 'oscillation start'.
The P4 is blessed with an inclusive 10 function remote, allowing you to alter most of the functions on the control panel from the opposite side of the net to the machine - even the spin, the elevation, rate of fire and width of the horizontal oscillation sweep.
In other words, you can get your SAM P4 to fire to any corner of the court at any speed. spin and rate without the need to return to the machine.
Being able to deal with your opponent's lobs is of course an important part of your tennis game, and the P4 is equipped better than many ball machines to help you get proficient in this area.
It's electronic elevation control allows you to easily switch from groundstrokes to elevated shots, but with the application of the P4's simple lob attachment (a $35 simple accessory that attaches in seconds), you have access to proper lob heights up to 50 feet. This is more than ample to let the tennis ball hang in the air long enough to practice the oh-so-important timing when dealing with this shot.
All SAM models have certain strengths common to all. One is the very large Ball Hopper that'll allow you extended tennis workouts, and save you constantly having to reload.
Another is the robust construction, making SAM models amoung the most durable portable ball machines. Unfortunately, this quality also means they're amoung the most heavy of the transportable machines.
A particularly handy feature of portable SAM machines is their potential to run on battery or AC power, or even both! There's an optional AC converter accessory for about $135 if you like the increased options this gives you.
The free smart charger protects all SAM battery machines from battery overcharge but is considered an extra on some makes like Lobster. It's essential for the longevity of the battery.
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