Can’t find a friend with the same voracious appetite for table tennis as you? Get an iPong Ball Launcher. Want something a little more sophisticated to really hone your skills? Pick up the Killerspin Throw II, a sophisticated pitching machine that can simulate the way a real person will play against you.
Unlike standard pitching machines, it won’t just spit out a ball with no regard for how it helps you train. Instead, it offers detailed adjustments to offer practice for your topspin, underspin, left-to-right placement (with 10 points of location), short-to-long ball placement, and arc adjustment, making sure you put in a well-rounded practice session instead of merely hitting balls randomly.
The Killerspin Throw II consists of a pitching robot, an accompanying remote (so you can adjust settings on the fly), and a full net cover that encloses the opposing side of the table. That way, it can catch all the balls you hit, which it collects and returns back to the rotation for unimpeded play. It can pitch balls at a rate of up to 105 balls per minute (at speeds of 9 to 90 mph), although you can adjust the rate to a more leisurely pace (as few as 25 balls per minute) if you’re not up to the task of running after two balls per second. You can have it train you in just one specific skill (e.g. hitting fast backhands on the left side of the table) or set it at random to ensure you get a more varied practice experience.
Available now, the Killerspin Throw II retails for $999.