Hitting Mat vs Net

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I'm thinking about hanging a simple hitting mat in the garage since the Jugs pop-up has deteriorated.

Any advice on what kind of material, and heaviness it should be? Best way to hang it?

If anyone has advice for one that works well for them and that is also easy to retract and put away, I would appreciate it.

 

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Get a BowNet - by far the best! Make the Jugs pop-up look like a toy.

 

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Get a BowNet - by far the best! Make the Jugs pop-up look like a toy.

I may wind up doing that but I was trying to go the cheaper route first with the mat.

 

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You can save some cash and just hang a heavy blanket up.Something like a moving blanket is ideal, strip the old net apart and use the net to form a troff below the blanket catch the balls. Worked well for us for years in the basement until the wife ran us out of the house and to the place we hit now.

Tim

 

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I have used the big chip bag clips to hang an old blaket from a wire in the garage before(clothes pins would work great). If your trying not to spend money I'd try to do something like that. If you are looking to buy something nice the bigmouth bownet is the way to go. I can take mine apart and put away just as fast as trying to fold the jugs net and put it in the bag.

 

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A piece of short nap carpet would work good as well. Could buy it long and fold the bottom up and tie it at the sides to make a ball catcher.

 

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Big Mouth BowNet works great, but you'll need about 4 foot clearance behind because the balls will fly that far back. Learned the hard way and got a hole in the drywall.

 

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@lewam:

lol

 

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I used those cheap blue tarps for years to hit and throw in to. They have eyelets and seams around the edges already so the tear factor was at a minimum. You can get those things at Harbor Freight or any discount place. A 9x12 or 12x16 is as cheap as 5-6 bucks. I bought a box of 10 on Ebay for 3.50 each.

The kids love them because when you hit them they make a big bang or pop sound. Down side is they block the light same as a blanket would.

 

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We use the Skilz Quickster. it doesn't satisfy the need for cheap but is easy to move outside and sets up and breaks down similarly to the bownet
http://www.sklz.com/sports-training/fastpitch/pitchbacks-and-nets/quickster-7-x-7

 

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I have the Zip Net in my garage. Veeeery nice. So easy to collapse/store and worth the money biiiig time. I've since put all my Jugs nets up. The kids set it up in seconds. I added some clips and anchors to make it stay put.

http://baseballtips.com/field-equipment/screens-and-nets/zip-net.html

I highly recommend this!!

 

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Thanks for the ideas - I like the zip net and it seems like that would be easy to build a do-it-yourself version if I can find some cheap netting.

I like the carpet idea also. I'll post a pic after I get something up and let you know how it turns out.

 

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I'll try to post a picture of how to make the zip net even better... a way to catch the balls and keep the net placement where you want it. Got some of this from our Buddy "Hitter".

 

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You can also go to www.ondecksports.com. My husband measured the corner of our garage, then he measured the garage door area, and ordered 2 nets. You customize your own, it was cheaper than the zip line and we got more netting.The corner is hung up and just pulled back when car is in the garage, and the area where the garage door is pulled to the side when not in use. I got tired of chasing balls down the driveway into the road, worried we might scare a driver that's why we have a smaller net there

 

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Thank you all for the suggestions.

Last night I made my own version of the Zip net for about $35.

I will post a picture soon. Here is what I used...

1 8X10 mesh tarp with grommets $22

http://www.menards.com/main/tools-hardware/material-handling/tarps/tarp-mesh-8x10/p-1461717.htm

50' 3/16 vinyl covered steel cable $5.48

5 Metal Clips (to attach tarp to cable) $5

2 eye bolts (to attach cable to wall) $2

2 chain quick links (to attach cable to eye bolts) $2

 

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I like that zip net wish they would have had that out 10 years ago when I set my basement up

 

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Thank you all for the suggestions.

Last night I made my own version of the Zip net for about $35.

I will post a picture soon. Here is what I used...

1 8X10 mesh tarp with grommets $22

http://www.menards.com/main/tools-hardware/material-handling/tarps/tarp-mesh-8x10/p-1461717.htm

50' 3/16 vinyl covered steel cable $5.48

5 Metal Clips (to attach tarp to cable) $5

2 eye bolts (to attach cable to wall) $2

2 chain quick links (to attach cable to eye bolts) $2

now I'm mad... I got taken to the cleaners when compared to your craftiness! Nice! Let us know how the tarp material holds up.

 

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now I'm mad... I got taken to the cleaners when compared to your craftiness! Nice! Let us know how the tarp material holds up.

Well, we haven't tested it yet. My kid might blast one right through it on the first swing ...lol. I'm sure the zip net is much better but I spend enough on other softball stuff. The tarp does seem pretty decent quality. The mesh is almost like a very fine net. Not sure how it's going to catch the balls or keep them from rolling all over. There is about 1-2' of material left over on the ground so maybe I can figure out how to use that to keep the balls wrangled.

 

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yeah, I have a system of carbines to catch the balls off of the zip net. Well worth the aggravation to get it set up. I have extra ropes (1 on each end and 1 in the middle) with clips to connect/disconnect each time we pull it out. Also put up two 4' banks of lights with metal cages around them above the hitting station. Adding turf or a hitting mat really puts the final touches on it.

 

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Well, we haven't tested it yet. My kid might blast one right through it on the first swing ...lol. I'm sure the zip net is much better but I spend enough on other softball stuff. The tarp does seem pretty decent quality. The mesh is almost like a very fine net. Not sure how it's going to catch the balls or keep them from rolling all over. There is about 1-2' of material left over on the ground so maybe I can figure out how to use that to keep the balls wrangled.

Just hang that heavy blanket behind it