Customer Reviews

Unique Ballport - Plastic (80 cap.)

5 star:		(5)
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I have been using the ballport for about a month now and it seems to work really well. I coach some younger kids and it is light enough for them to use as well. I like the additional feature of being able to "close" the top so that balls do not spill all over my car if the ballport falls over.
The ballport is easy to assemble and it appears that it will last for quite a while. Since it is made of plastic materials, I do not expect it to last more than 3 or 4 years (I use it almost every day). But at this price, it is well worth it.
It is also easy to convert to a standing hopper. This item is much better than the old metal ball holders that convert to standing. The handles lock in an upward position when picking up balls, and lock in a downward position when standing.
One note: the pictures on the shopping page are reversed. The 80 ball capacity ballport is the larger rectangular shape.

Easy to put together, it keeps the balls in the basket and does not tip over. Also, since it is not metal, it does not bend out of shape like metal hoppers do.

Do yourself a favor and buy this hopper. The design is very superior to any other ballhopper.

I bought the Ballport two years ago and use it perhaps 12 times over the nice weather season (we live in Boston) to practice with my kids and for service practice. Plastic construction makes it flexible and light. It appears to be a quite well designed item, as it picks up balls effortlessly. The top bars when slided lock the balls in place for transportation and allows me to place the hopper horizontally in my shallow trunk, without spilling balls. Its legs also lock in place easily, both for standing as well as when they double as handles.

Very satisfied overall.

This is the best tennis ball hopper made! I was originally going to purchase one of the high end metal hoppers but I'm so glad I didn't. The Hoag ball hopper is extremely strong but the 4 pegs along the bottom are about three-quarter inches thick so when picking up the balls they don't go all the way into the basket. Instead, you have to continually press on top of an additional balls to have the first ball fully enter into the basket, and so on. With the last 4-5 balls you either have to force them inside by hand, or let them naturally fall out the bottom and add them manually into the top. Ending each pick-up this way is a pain, particularly when you're done hitting and tired. The Unique Ballport build quality is outstanding, consisting of solid plastic inserts and metal screws that actually secure/fortify the basket from breaking. Not sure why their is a Sampras Ballport 80 and a regular Ballport 80. They are identical but the price is less for the non-Sampras version. The writing on the hopper and everything is identical. If you need a hopper that holds 80 balls then this is it. Unlike all other metal hoppers, this one actually holds the stated amount of 80 balls. Because of the build of the metal hoppers, which are angled on the sides(whereas the Ballport is square), you can only get about 85% of the stated capacity, unless you meticulously place each ball in the basket by hand - not good. The top of the Bal port has two sliding poles to secure the balls from falling out which is much better than a free hanging top that swings open and shut. Buy this hopper you won't regret it.

This ball pickup is well built and very easy to use, it makes your serving drills much more enjoyable.

For those who never used one of these here is a short description of how tihs works... When you go through all the balls you move the top bars towards the middle, flip the stands to convert to carry and pick up all the balls easily by simply pushing the ball pickup down to pick the ball up. Once you're done, you flip the stands back, open the top by moving the two bars towards the box sides and you're ready to continue serving...