Blast Vision App Review | Make Tee Work Fun Again

The Blast Vision App uses your phone’s camera to plot baseball and softball tee hits’ distance, speed, and launch angles. Having immediate feedback and data at your fingertips easily justifies the nominal price. The data estimates ball exit speeds about 8 to 10 mph faster than more expensive systems like HitTrax. Despite that inflation, we think the data is useful and repeatable enough to measure hitter progress and success and even add some fun to tee work.

Get the Blast Motion App on the Apple Store.

Rapsodo vs Blast Vision App: Bat Testing

We use Rapsodo in our exit speed testing. Rapsodo is much more expensive, but it tracks bat performance from an actual pitched ball. The Blast Vision only works off a tee. While tee metrics help hitter feedback and progress, they aren’t as useful for comparing bats across multiple hitters over multiple days. In other words, Blast Vision is great for what it is—hitter feedback from a tee—but not a robust bat exit speed tester.

How Blast Vision Works

Blast Vision uses your iPhone or iPad’s camera to measure the ball’s flight off the tee. Set your device up parallel to the player and tee, about 3-4 feet in front and 6-12 feet away; line up the ball at one end of the screen, hit record, tell it the distance from the tee, and you’re ready. It records all swings until you stop it.

This app works independently of the Blast Motion sensor, focusing on bat speeds and launch angles.

Blast Vision Strengths

There’s a lot to like about Blast Vision. First, cost. While it’s not free, it’s way cheaper at $10 after a two-week trial than Rapsodo or HitTrax. We think it’s worth that price.

Blast Vision is simple and user-friendly. It took only a few minutes to start, though we had to adjust some environmental factors for best results.

It provides instant feedback—both visually and audibly—and records video of each swing. We used a Bluetooth speaker to hear the readouts instead of checking the screen after each swing.

Blast Vision also generates a spray chart showing where each hit would go and the distance. You can pick an individual hit and see its metrics. We noticed a high concentration up the middle, which might indicate some directional limitations or just our hitters’ tendencies.

Blast Vision Video Capture

One outstanding feature is the video recording of each swing. You can play it back in controlled slow motion. This helps compare good-result swings to poor-result swings and identify what changed mechanically.

The only drawback is you need enough space (about 11-12 feet away from the hitter) to capture their swing fully. You might not see the entire swing in tight spaces in the frame.

Session Labeling

You can label sessions and take notes. We used this to label hitters and bats to compare exit velocities later. This helps with organization and tracking progress over time.

Blast Vision Weaknesses

Calling them weaknesses might be unfair; they’re more like considerations. A tripod is essential to keeping the device stable. Any movement can cause missed swings or inaccurate readings. A small phone-mount tripod costs about $7.

We initially had issues with missed swings, likely due to poor lighting. Improving the lighting solved the problem.

The app requires newer phone technology, meaning older iPads or iPhones may not work well. Our iPhone 7+ worked, but the iPhone 6 and older iPad Air did not. Also, compared to HitTrax, it tends to inflate exit velocities by about 8-10 mph. We accept this inflation and still find it useful for measuring relative improvement.

Blast Vision only works off a tee. Rapsodo and HitTrax can work with pitched balls, providing a fuller picture for advanced analysis. But those systems cost substantially more.

Is Blast Vision Worth it?

Even if the data skews a bit high, understanding that helps keep it in perspective. We think the app is worth the $10 price tag. It can even make tee work more enjoyable for players.

Blast Vision is easy and intuitive, and it can become a valuable development and tracking tool, especially at that price point. If you’re looking to add feedback and fun to tee sessions, Blast Vision is a solid investment.