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Saturday, September 23, 2017

Product Review: Pickleball Pic

Opinion is the medium between knowledge and ignorance... 

I won a great door prize at the recent Ambassador Retreat at Beech Mountain - the Pickleball Pic 35. It is a pickleball "picker-upper" that allows me to gather up 35-40 balls without stooping a single time. 


Review

The Pickleball Pic 35 is a huge improvement over the PVC tube system I previously used. The tube was awkward at 5 feet long. It was also heavy since I could only find the thicker version of the pipe. Additionally, the tube held only 16 balls.

The Pic similarly uses a short piece of PVC pipe to feed the balls into a vinyl bag. The Pic seems well-constructed with the tube and bag attached to an aluminum handle The handle has a rough grip that allows for easy and sure handling. Total length is just under 3'. The Pic has a removable block of wood on the bottom (yellow in the above photo) that allows the Pic to stand on its own as a hopper. It can remain attached or be removed while picking up balls.

I found the Pic to be a great addition to my pickleball assets. It was very efficient and effective in picking up balls when using my 100-ball Tutor. With the wood block removed (shown in the photo below), the Pic fits under chairs, into corners, and along fences/walls. (The story was not the same with the block in place, based on a mistaken assumption that it was not removable.) Once the bag is filled, it can easily be poured into a Tutor hopper or some other storage container.

The only problem I had with the Pic is that I used it too much the first time and created a blister on my thumb - my paddle grip thumb! I quickly learned to grip the Pic differently and to shift it between hands. That rough grip was tough on my hand.

One other note of potential caution. I used this only on an outdoor asphalt surface. The bottom of the PVC pipe can be a little abrasive and might scratch or otherwise damage a wood gym floor. I have yet to try it indoors so I cannot be sure. I might try to attach some felt or rubber cushions to the bottom before I do.




A video showing the entire product is below.



Pickleball Pic website

As an aside, I have included photos of the PVC tube system. Rather than the elaborate cable ties requiring drilling, I used felt pads.





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