Hurricane Net

I used the Hurricane Net for soft-toss during an entire Fast Pitch softball All-Star season, and I was not impressed. It is portable, but not very easy to set up nor is it very reliable.

Putting up the Hurricane Net was a pain. Each pole is held in place by two tension straps connected to stakes in the ground. Once both poles are set, the four tension straps should be adjusted one last time. Though one person with a lot of patience could set up the net by themselves in about ten minutes, in practice two people were required and setup still took over five minutes.

Worse, when hitting softballs into the net, the stakes often worked loose from the multiple impacts into the net. As a result, either the poles became wobbly and the tension straps would have to be adjusted, or the entire assembly would collapse as the stakes popped out of the ground or the straps slipped loose. Either way, stopping to adjust or reset the net was a major pre-game distraction that I loathed.

This is the only catch net that I have seen that can support two batting stations at the same time (one on each side of the net), but even this benefit was not practical. Try concentrating on hitting when ten feet away, separated only by a nylon net, someone is hitting a ball right at you. Yeah...not such a good thing. Especially for a net that has a tendency to fall down in mid-swing.

Materially, it is pretty well made. The nylon netting held up with hardly a fray, and the poles and support straps made it through the season none the worse for wear. It might be serviceable as a back-yard or facility hitting net where quick setup and stability are not a prerequisite (I would recommend setting the stakes into concrete so that the poles have a solid foundation). However, in the scenario of pre-game warmups or temporary batting stations, there are plenty of better options.

As a portable catch net, I am afraid the Hurricane Net fails.