SKLZ Baseball Rebound Net - Durable Pitch-Back Trainer for Enhanced Fielding Practice & Skill Development

I bought this while it was on sale and I feel like I got a bargain. But even at full retail price, I feel like it's worth the money. It's a surprisingly well made piece of equipment for the price point. I think what surprised me the most was how the metal pieces didn't feel cheap. The metal felt thick had a nice smooth paint job and the pieces all went together nice and snugly. The spring locks had a nice resistance to them and the holes they locked into on the opposing piece were all clearly punched so there were no poor fittings, which made for a sturdy frame once assembled. I thought the net was too small at first when I held it up to the frame before I secured it but the bungees stretched it to the edges of the frame and it filled in fine. The yellow strike zone is a great feature to have. It makes it very easy to see the location of your pitches. My son loves it. Now he can stop throwing his baseball against my tree to practice his grounders. And I like it too because I just bought a new baseball glove and it needs some breaking in. All that being said, there is room for improvement. First, the net isn’t terribly springy so the rebound comes back at half the speed that you threw it. To get any sort of useable rebound for practicing pop flies or normal catching, you really have to throw with some force. Second, the rear support that sits on the setting to adjust the angle is very insecure. It kind of just sits against a piece of plastic and if you throw hard enough, it could knock one side loose and you have to go fix it. But that seems to be rare so it's not too big a deal. I imagine a small bungee wrapped around the two bars would solve this problem if it ever really became one.

Time will tell on how well it holds up, but initially it looks like a good one. Typically rebounders don't last long, but there are a couple reasons I think this may be better.Sun is the killer on rebounders. The bungie cords break down in the sunshine and lose elasticity then break. The Skilz rebounder is smaller, lighter and easier to fold up than the other rebounders we've had so we are much more likely to fold it up and get it stored properly.Skilz is more likely to have and sell you replacement bungies when you need them. Rukket was our last one and they had zero interest in offering replacement cords.The design makes for easy assembly, easy storage and solid performance. If you aren't going to spend $300+ on a professional rebounder I would recommend the Skilz over the Rukket or other common brands.

I like the way the ball rebounds when you pitch or throw a ball into it. My daughter will be able to practice softball pitching without me catching for her every time. Less hits in the shin and face for me.Assembly was easy. But, when I first started throwing balls into it, the frame would fall apart. The clips that hold the bars for the frame together are light metal clips that come loose when you throw a ball into the net. So, first I thought of duct tape. But, then I thought of the zip ties that held the bars together in the packaging. You can take zip ties and run them through the clips on the frame and hold the frame together. Ended up being a quick and easy solution. See the picture I attached to this review. Without using these zip ties, I would have given up on this net because it fell apart almost every time I threw a ball at it. With the zip ties in place, I haven't had a problem since. Hopefully the clips hold up over time, I have only used it for about 15 minutes. If not, I can go back to the duct tape idea again.

The net action is GREAT. The net quality is awful. 1st time use, by the 5th pitch there was a hole in the net. The support is awful. My son doesn’t even throw hard and the ball is yanking it right out of the ground. I had to zip tie the connections because the frame just falls apart when the ball hits the net. After that it worked a lot better, but I have to reseat the stakes every couple of pitches. And the net still has a hole in it after just a few throws.

I recently added the SKLZ Baseball Rebound Net to my training gear, and it’s been a total game-changer. Whether I’m working on grounders, throws, or reflexes, this pitch-back trainer nails it every time.Durable Build: The strong netting and sturdy frame have stood up to countless line drives without sagging or wobbling.Adjustable Angles: Easily switch between ground-level for fielding or higher for catch pop-ups—super versatile.Portable & Compact: Folds flat and pops open in seconds. Great for tossing in the car to bring to the field, garage, or backyard.Beginner to Advanced Friendly: Parents, coaches, and players at all levels can get quality reps in solo sessions.

The media could not be loaded. The net structure itself is great. Excellent rebound. You'll know you hit the strike zone when it comes straight back to you.HOWEVER, it's unstable as heck. Completely useless without backup stabilization. The included stakes are a joke. We are using a couple of scrap boards and a heavy bucket of dirt to keep it from falling over with every single pitch. The tube connectors are also super light duty, but some zip ties/twist ties around the tubes (through the little connector tabs) will keep everything together.The ribbon that came with ours was about half the length we needed, but thankfully we happened to have some red ribbon in our craft stash that worked perfectly.This is going to keep my baseball-crazed offspring very busy, but only purchase this if you can't afford a higher quality option and if you have something to stabilize it with! Otherwise you'll have a pretty disappointed kiddo on your hands.

It's hard to get my son to actually practice throwing and catching with me, as he's only 6 and still in that "scared" phase where he thinks i'm going to drill him with the ball. I set this up in about 10 minutes and it was night and day. He absolutely loves throwing into the net and I find that he goes after the ball to catch it, rather than duck or pull away from me trying to avoid being hit.