Durability seems to be an issue. The cord breaks or unravels much too quickly. The sleeve inside the ball becomes grooved and slows the ball's travel on the cord. A sleeve made of a harder, slicker material would improve both ball speed and reduce cord wear. Possible materials are hardened aluminum, stainless steel (polished), teflon-based plastic or polycarbonate. 4 stars

My son hit .515 as an 8 year old last year. This year, he moved up a division and has struggled at around .250, even though he has a fairly nice swing. Using this device for two weeks, he suddenly can't hit anything. I pitched him hardballs today and he swung over the top of every one of the first 60! The problem with this device is that the ball doesn't drop like a pitched ball, so it actually trains them to swing higher than normal. I'll be putting this away for the season and trying to recover my son's swing and confidence. Don't get me wrong, the kids love it. The entire team lines up before every game and begs you to throw fastballs with it. It's great for use around the house - just tie it to a tree and you can take swings that you couldn't otherwise. Beware if you intend to use this for much more than casual practice and don't let it replace live pitching. Fun-factor is a 5, but as far as a training device, I have to question its value. 2 stars

I got great results coaching 2 teams last season in 2006 using the Zip N Hit as a training aid in addition to live Batting Practice. We would work it into our routine for pre-game drills and starting practice drills. With every player maybe getting another 20-25 swings at a moving ball at each practice and pre-game session, over a season it adds up to 200-300 extra swings that you can't get from live BP (which takes too long, you must retrieve balls). Both of my teams last year batted as a team over 0.400 in both Bronco and Pony. I had several players bat over 0.500 and 0.600, too. It also helped them develop a level swing which improves the Batting average, and become better situational hitters. Other opposing teams also began copying us. Perfect for pre-game warmups where you aren't allowed live BP, i.e. regular games, tournament games. Our league is now buying one kit for every team in our league as basic equipment. The players can even help drill themselves. 5 stars

The team my 9-year-old boy is on uses these in practice and will even take some swings on them during the games. His coach also uses them with his 13 year olds team. Not saying the zip and hit is the reason why, but my boy's team has only lost 1 game in over 3 years of baseball, including fall ball. So it's not a bad team, and they use it quite extensively.

At home we have the Hit-Away baseball mounted to a pole and it works great. But, I can't really take it with us. So, we picked up the zip and hit. Now, when the wife goes in the grocery store, we park far enough out for me and the boy to attach it to the back of the vehicle and take some swings in the parking lot. When we go to a Red's game or a Florence Freedom game, it's a big hit in the parking lot there as well. I coach 3 soccer teams year round and the boy and me can squeeze some hitting in between games.

So just for the portability alone, this thing gets 5 stars in my book.

Also, about the review stating his kid now swings over the ball because it doesn't drop like real pitches would. You can make it drop using several different techniques that are described in the directions that come with it. After you get his confidence back up, you might be able to give it another try.
5 stars

My daughter loves it. You wants to practice more often now.

Thanks 1 star