PowerNet Baseball Softball Batting Tee

First let me say that I help coach a 12 and under girls softball team - recreational ball. And so there are some girls there who are experienced, and some who are newer. This tee lasted about a month, give or take and probably about 6 tee sessions with the team. It did take some hard whacks from girls who swung wildly, so I can accept that this is a factor. Nonetheless, it's in the garbage now. The first part to give way were the little red plastic brackets where the tripod legs attach to the center pole - one of them broke right away but fortunately never separated. Annoying but - manageable. The second part to give way was the neck area where you twist to tighten the white stem - hard to explain but it's like there is a 'knob' on the top that you can use to tighten/loosen the white stem and extend it...well the knob itself busted free (looks like it was sort of glued on) so when you turn it, it's the whole knob that turns and it's not loosening or tightening anything. In fact that problem also allows the entire top half to separate and slide right out (so if the tee knocks over I basically had to put it back together again). The final part to give way was the actual wrapped rubber cone that holds the softballs - it tore near the base and began to lean over such that it wouldn't hold a ball any longer. One, two, three strikes - this thing was OUT for me. I thought about contacting the manufacturer, but instead went with a different product that is heavy duty rubber all throughout and decided to just cut my losses. Maybe if you never accidentally make accidental contact below the rubber area, it would hold up better, I can't say, but for younger kids in a recball environment who may still be learning how to aim their swing, I'd suggest avoiding this product.