Apex Sports Portable Batting Cage 22x12x8 Ft, Baseball & Softball Net Cage

Why it's worth it

A 22-by-12-by-8-foot pop-up cage on fiberglass poles, with a 3.5-by-2-foot hole cut for a pitching machine. It gives up the steel corners and two feet of ceiling, but two people can stand it up in an afternoon and strike it before the first frost.

Most families don't actually want a permanent structure in the yard. You want a cage for the season and your lawn back afterward. This one packs into a carry bag with eight stakes and supporting nets, and the poles are fiberglass rather than steel, so one adult can haul the whole kit around the side of the house without a dolly.

The machine hole is what earns this the runner-up spot. A 3.5-by-2-foot opening lets a pitching machine sit outside the netting and feed through, which keeps whoever's loading it out of the line of fire and keeps the machine away from foul tips. You can also put a machine or a screen inside the cage if you'd rather. Either way, you're not improvising with zip ties and a tarp.

From our review of 5 backyard batting cages, by Eleanor Vance, Health & Beauty Editor

What we like

• +Most families don't actually want a permanent structure in the yard
• +The machine hole is what earns this the runner-up spot
• +The net is 3-ply stretchable polyester with a 1.25-inch mesh, and that does two useful things
• +Against the Cimarron, you're trading height and rigidity

What to know

• –The poles and plastic stakes are the weak link
• –Twenty-two feet isn't much runway