Pickleball Magazine 2-2 | Page 58

Portable Pickleball Nets: The Inside Story W hat do you need to play pickle- ball? A flat surface. A partner. A paddle. A ball. And, a net. The ques- tion for this article is how to decide which portable net to purchase; does it matter? Do you value your playing time and your lower back and knees? Would you rather spend one minute bending down to set up your net as compared to nearly three times that long? If you answered yes to both these questions, read on. Today, there are options when deciding which portable net to purchase. It wasn’t always that way. Eight years ago Bill Booth, former President of the USAPA, and Joe Dinoffer, President of OnCourt OffCourt, spent nearly two years collaborating on the best design for a portable pickleball net. This design set the standard at that time and is still more or less the standard today, 56 having solved the 34-inch center net height challenge with a fixed height inserted center strap rod that met USAPA guidelines. First manufactured under the trademarked name “PickleNet” by OnCourt OffCourt, a 23-year-old tennis and (now) pickleball manu- facturing and distribution company based in Dallas, Texas, this is the same net that is private labeled for organizations such as USAPA, Pick- leball Spain, and Pickleball England. Plus, OnCourt OffCourt manu- factures these same nets for other companies such as Pickleball Central and Gopher Sport. The original net system was constructed with a round center strap rod and round metal tubes, but today’s PickleNet has evolved. The new and improved version is the first pickleball net to receive a U.S. Utility TO SUBSCRIBE CALL 724.942.0940 OR GO TO THEPICKLEBALLMAG.COM Patent that protects the many unique new features including a rectangular center strap insert for better net support and appearance, a partly elastic net for easier assembly and less stress on the net frame, and oval tubes for seamless frame alignment and much faster set-up than ever be- fore. “You’ve come a long way, baby!” said the pickleball paddle to the net. But while the improved versions of the original PickleNet are being released, it is a compliment to the original design that “knock-offs” from copycat companies have ap- peared on the scene. The purpose of this product review is to talk about the various features of different portable pickleball nets and what to look for in making this important investment decision. We will review two areas to consider: set-up time and durability.