If you’re looking for the best in class, Rolls Royce of pickleball machines, then the Simon X pickleball machine is certainly worth looking at. Manufactured in the USA this Beast of a machine screams quality and durability. It is bigger and heavier than the Pickleball Tutor Ultra but its numerous features and extended battery life place it in a class on its own.
The “Military Grade Built Machines” stamped on it speaks for itself. The Simon X is built with heavy duty aluminum and stainless steel and outperforms all other pickleball machines I have reviewed. Let’s dig into the specs and my thoughts on this custom made machine.
Simon X Pickleball Machine Specs
- Weight: 65 LBS
- Ball Speed: 5-70 MPH
- Ball Feed Rate: 1.5-10 Seconds
- Spin: Topspin and Underspin
- Ball Capacity: 120 Balls
- Elevation: Manual (Wheel system)
- Oscillator: Random (“Stealth” Oscillation)
- Playing Time: 10-12 Hours using external battery
- Remote: Yes
- AC Power: Yes
Simon X Pickleball Machine Review
It almost seems like the folks over at pickleballmachine.com built the Simon X with the intention to step away from the pack. Simon X wins in all categories when you compare ball capacity, top speed, low speed, features, functionality and warranty.
Ball Speed
I thought the Pickleball Tutor Plus Ultra was pretty quick at 65 MPH, but the Simon X tops out at 70 MPH and those extra 5 MPH make a huge difference especially with the new tech being introduced in pickleball paddles, it’s important to practice returning and resetting those hard shots.
I loved using the Simon X right up at the net to simulate fast paced hands battles, but what I thought was the most useful aspect of this machine was that you could set it at a very low soft speed.
Other pickleball practice machines go down to 10 MPH, which is fine, but the Simon X goes down to 5 MPH. This really helped simulate very soft dinks that you’ll likely see from high caliber players.
Oscillation/Elevation
With other machines the Oscillation is great, but you can always tell where the ball is going based on where the machine’s body is pointing. Since the Stealth Oscillation on Simon X occurs inside the blacked out machine it catches you off guard and allows you to really work on your reflexes especially if you use the sweep function with a high feed rate.
The Stealth Oscillation is electronic and random and If you want to fine tune the height even more, you can adjust the wheel settings to add or decrease the loft. This will really challenge you to focus and watch the ball.
Battery Life
Between the 10-12 hours of the external battery and the AC power you can use this all day with no issues. Between the battery and the ball capacity, you could easily hit thousands of shots in a practice session.
The battery life of the Simon X is more than double the other machines on the market.
Ball Capacity
The Simon X holds 120 balls, but if for some reason that isn’t enough you can order a separate hopper that holds another 60 balls making it capable of holding 180 balls total.
Warranty
This is an expensive machine, but fear not because the warranty makes everything worth it. The two pitch/throw wheels that are responsible for shooting the balls and that are the most important part of a pickleball machine have the only lifetime warranty in the industry. The regular warranty has just been extended on all new sales to 5 years. Other machines on the market offer a 2-3 year warranty.
On top of that the customer service is amazing. The contact info on the website is a direct line to the owner, Mike Schwartz
Final Thoughts
If you’re looking for a super portable pickleball machine, the Simon X may not be your first choice. Although it can be transported as many owners do, the weight does add a bit of a challenge. However, its military grade build, features and performance in my opinion makes the Simon X the best machine on the market and will take your practice sessions the extra mile and push you to become a better player.
