I've used the Pocket Radar next to both Stalker Pro's and Sports and found no difference in the readings.  I measured sons exit velo/crow hop the day before going to a PBR event, and he was 1 mph better at the showcase. The JUGS gun is also premium, but I've never used one personally. To clarify, the Pocket Radar "Ball coach", the one with the blue button is the one I have. The standard Pocket Radar with the red button requires timing the reading, and as a result does not give consistent velocities.

I would buy the Pocket Radar "Ball coach" if I were you, the others aren't worth the extra money. You'll never need a tuning fork either. 

Pocket Radar Ball coach is just as good as Stalker if used in close proximity to target. PG used one to measure exit velo at their events. 

Stalker is better from greater distance and at some angles. 

2019OF posted:

I've used the Pocket Radar next to both Stalker Pro's and Sports and found no difference in the readings.  I measured sons exit velo/crow hop the day before going to a PBR event, and he was 1 mph better at the showcase. The JUGS gun is also premium, but I've never used one personally. To clarify, the Pocket Radar "Ball coach", the one with the blue button is the one I have. The standard Pocket Radar with the red button requires timing the reading, and as a result does not give consistent velocities.

I would buy the Pocket Radar "Ball coach" if I were you, the others aren't worth the extra money. You'll never need a tuning fork either. 

The main reason I was looking at the Stalker was for the distance of 300 ft. I have heard (though not confirmed) that the Stalker can also read at wider angles and that you do not have to be as in line with what you are measuring. I wonder if anyone knows what PG uses at showcases?

Get a. stalker. You can always selll it after you’re done with  it. I never saw scouts with pocket radars, you can probably get a discount if you buy the scout starter pack.

Pocket Radar is just as accurate with one caveat: you need to be directly in front or behind and not more than like 25-30 or so feet away.

So for a practice setting it works just fine.

However if you want to do game velo from the stands the real guns are much better.

I have a pocket radar (you absolutely need the ball coach one, the other one with the red dot sucks) and for training it is absolutely fine.

For scouting you need a real gun though.

Radar guns are only as good as the knowledge the person has of how it operates.  A suggestion would be to read the manual online of each potential purchase first, then purchase accordingly.  All too often guns are not being used as intended and the funny thing is player's futures are being decided upon that radar gun reading.

Everyone has a budget. If your budget allows, go for quality - it can be resold which makes the initial outlay that much less.

Over the past 15 years i went from a glove attached device (worked fine for the days I could actually catch what he threw), to a really cheap hand held gun (lasted a season), to a Stalker Pro.

The SP was unquestionably expensive. Bought it when S was 16 (definitely overkill initially). Every few years i ship it back to Stalker for routine maintenance; have gone through several battery handles, and never had any other issues. When you look at the market for used SPs in great shape, you see that the value has really held up.  i bet I could sell it today to young dads for 50 - 80% of the initial price - couldn't do that with the other devices which had residual values of zero.

It was an expensive vanity purchase which has gotten a lot of baseball use over the decade. (If you can stand to be pegged as "that dad," I have used it at tryouts (amateur and pro), lessons, all levels of college, HS, pro games, showcases and camps. Over the years, its been well used; but I know other dads who made similar purchases and used it for a season. Only you can speculate whether a big purchase makes sense.)

Goosegg posted:

 

If you can stand to be pegged as "that dad," 

Lol. I am very much "that dad." 

Dominik85 posted:

 

For scouting you need a real gun though.

So does the Stalker Sport 2 model count as a real gun?  It is the cheaper of the Stalker models.

Elijah posted:

Goosegg posted:

 

If you can stand to be pegged as "that dad," 

Lol. I am very much "that dad." 

Get a small backpack.  Dress like a golfer in short pants.  Get a tan.  Look like you're bored. Drive a golf cart around the little league fields.  Where a floppy hat.  Then you're  "that scout".

(helps to be in shape, that's where it falls apart for me)

I bought an older model JUGS gun on eBay.  I have found it gives the same readings as the top-tier newer models--not sure the basic tech has changed any.  There always seem to be used guns for sale, and you can save a lot of money that way.

I guess I'm also "that dad."  But playing with the gun is interesting.  I learned, for example, that I am terrible at judging the speed of a given pitcher.  Guys who look really fast to me turn out to be throwing with unimpressive velos.  I typically try to discreetly take 3 or 4 readings of each pitcher, then put mine away.  As a spectator, I like having the additional info.  For my son or his teammates, who I see pitch regularly, a drop in velo often means a bad outing b/c a pitcher isn't feeling right that day.  It's also interesting to see how some guys are very effective despite not having great velocity, or how fast the ace of the local HS rival team actually throws.  Just another way to follow the action on the field.  There is a reason college and pro stadiums put velocity numbers on the scoreboard--fans want to know them. 

Some parents bring $5,000 worth of camera equipment and aim their two-foot long lenses at the field.  (I have no problem with that, esp the folks who share photos with other team parents.)  I have a used radar gun I got for a couple of hundred bucks that I might have out of my bag for 10 minutes during the course of the game.  Shouldn't be a big deal (although I know it can be).    

baseball mom2020 posted:

At one  tournament,  Pocket Radar was set up. Readings on it were 4 mph less than the ones the scouts had.

That is surprising. I really just wanted it to track my son's progress away from the game. I was actually considering the Pocket Radar after considering the jump in price to the Stalker that will read both pitch and contact on a live pitch. That one is north of $1000 with a 500ft distance! Exit velocity off the tee is less sexy, but I guess that is more common. 

You can buy a used Stalker Sport II on Ebay for around $300, then resell it a few years later for about the same price.  New, they go for $500.  It's a good gun.  However, my experience is the range is not 300 feet as advertised.  Probably more like 150-200.  It also tends to read, on average,  about 1 slower than the Stalker Pro.  

My Pocket Radar was within 1 mph all summer with pro and college scouts and the PG guns.  I found most of the time when it was off more than 1, and that is usually rounding I believe, it was user error.  I will say if they had it at a tournament set up and it was very far to home plate it will not be accurate as the big guns.  I find that it is good for what I want and that is helping guys during training and for my own knowledge.  I have not used it at a HS game and plan to be discreet but i think for me it is a good information piece for my son.  Plus it solves the myth that the kid for the other team is throwing 90 when he is actually throwing 82. 

When my son attended Headfirst and Showball, they were both using Pocket Radar to record official velo numbers (and I didn't notice any of the coaches with their own guns).  That surprised me--and seems like a vote of confidence in the general accuracy of Pocket Radar.  At PG and every other tournament I have attended where they were measuring, I see official numbers being recorded with Stalkers (can't say which model).

Go44dad posted:

Get a small backpack.  Dress like a golfer in short pants.  Get a tan.  Look like you're bored. Drive a golf cart around the little league fields.  Where a floppy hat.  Then you're  "that scout".

MidAtlanticDad posted:

Go44dad posted:

Get a small backpack.  Dress like a golfer in short pants.  Get a tan.  Look like you're bored. Drive a golf cart around the little league fields.  Where a floppy hat.  Then you're  "that scout".

Reminds me of one of my son's tournament games at a high school in the middle of nowhere. The boys were all mid-major to better D3 prospects, but no one expected colleges to show up at this game. One of the more excitable dads started a buzz that a coach from La Salle University was at the game. He had spotted a guy with a backpack and a navy blue "LS" ball cap watching the game. I was pretty surprised. Maybe the guy came to watch a kid on the other team? I wandered over to get a look at the guy. The hat didn't look right. I googled "Louisville Slugger logo"... and had little chuckle.

I still have an old gun from my son's playing days.  I miss baseball, so I go to quite a few HS games and take my gun with me just to see what kids are throwing.  And, if I see something interesting, I may send a text to some friends who scout.  People automatically assume you're a scout when you carry a radar gun around.  I have a closet full of college gear that I never wear to HS games just so people won't think I'm scouting for son's former team.  Fortunately, folks at son's old HS are starting to realize that I'm "just the old guy with the radar gun."

Go44dad posted:

Elijah posted:

Goosegg posted:

 

If you can stand to be pegged as "that dad," 

Lol. I am very much "that dad." 

Get a small backpack.  Dress like a golfer in short pants.  Get a tan.  Look like you're bored. Drive a golf cart around the little league fields.  Where a floppy hat.  Then you're  "that scout".

(helps to be in shape, that's where it falls apart for me)

I have seen you at the ballpark in your floppy hat.  You carry it off well!! And don't let Godad fool you he is in excellent shape - for an olderish guy!

The newest Pocket Radar has some nice features if you are looking to make videos and show the reading in the video. I don't have one but it's worth checking out. I have an old Stalker Sport and a newer Sport 2. The Sport 2 is a very nice gun and you can use with their speed boards as well. Personally, I would lean towards the Sport 2. As mentioned above, you can find them used for a reasonable price and sell them later and probably not lose much in the process. They have a proven track record in the industry.

Todd Hill posted:

The newest Pocket Radar has some nice features if you are looking to make videos and show the reading in the video. I don't have one but it's worth checking out. I have an old Stalker Sport and a newer Sport 2. The Sport 2 is a very nice gun and you can use with their speed boards as well. Personally, I would lean towards the Sport 2. As mentioned above, you can find them used for a reasonable price and sell them later and probably not lose much in the process. They have a proven track record in the industry.

I have the pocket radar ball coach and it is fine for a dad, but I really like the new pocket radar smart coach.  You can use an iPad as a display, make videos, etc.  It is nice to have the video with the radar overlay built in.  If I was a high school coach I would probably go with one of the Stalker guns.

the Ball Coach is nice if you don't want to look like "that Dad", but it sounds like you need to get a Stalker.