PuttOut AirBreak - Unofficial Review

[WaffleHouseTour]

 

The PuttOut AirBreak arrived this week, so I thought I'd share some unboxing photos and first impressions.  I first heard of the AirBreak right here on the forum.  They were taking orders and promising a fall delivery.  I thought it probably wouldn't arrive until late fall, but it came in September.   I'm a very regular user of the BirdieBall PuttUp (keep it in my home away from home - work hotel - for use in the winter.  So I thought this might be a fun alternative for when the snow flies.  

I am an AimPoint user for the last few years, so I thought this would be particularly useful.  I'm pretty happy with my putting at distance, but the 8 foot and in could use some work.  "Perfect", I thought.  Then came the disappointment in reading it was not meant to stand on.  Well.... you know I'm going to...

The Unboxing

It comes in two boxes - the AirBreak base, and the rolled up putting surface (carpet? grass?)  Included in the base box are the lego like pieces for the stand - you can raise it up a couple of levels for when you inflate the back end of the putting base to practice downhills. 

 

The Base is like the firm extruded foam - probably for weight.  You can see that all the parts and hinges are built right in.  A place for everything and everything in its place.  You fold out the base.  Then you can roll the carpet out on top of it.  There are little eyelets at the top and at the bottom to attach it to hold it snuggly in place.  

       

AirBreaks selling point is that you can create tilts and breaks to practice those nasty right to lefters... uphills and downhills.  It has 8 built in air pumps and air bladders that you can inflate and deflate to simulate all kinds of breaks you'd find on the green. You can see below just how high up you can inflate it. And honestly, that’s more than enough.  

   

While the AirBreak is 8 feet long it is not 8 feet of putting length - more like two wedges - so more like 6 feet of putting length.  

During my unboxing - and then putting it away in the garage - my first observation is that it would be nice if there were some strap or handle to hold the base together in a folded up position, and to carry it with.  And while they provide the bag to keep the "turf" rolled up tight, such a thing would be nice for the base.  Again, I plan to set this up and use it, then put it away, and repeat.  No way it's sitting out 24/7.  It'd be nice to keep it together.  I think that would help with the durability.  Just an observation. 

 

As I wrote earlier, PuttOut says you are not supposed to stand on the base.  You know that is the first thing I did...  More on that in a future post.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 14 by WaffleHouseTour
Uploading more pictures and constant saving to avoid the ads crashing my page

[Rob Person]

You have an amazing backyard setup!

I wonder if anyone has ever thought about putting air bladder systems underneath something like that on a large scale?

How hard is it to re-adjust the direction changes? Would you find it being too bothersome after awhile?

 

[Josh Parker]

Great review!  I agree, it would be nice to have a strap for the base.  It would be easy enough to make one with a strap and clip.  Prob cost under $10 on amazon

[WaffleHouseTour]

Standing on the AirBreak

First thing I did after I got it set up and rolled the first couple putts you saw in the time lapse video above was to stand on it.   At 165 pounds I knew I was in no danger of popping one of the air bladders. 
 

So here is why you aren’t going to try and practice or learn Aimpoint by standing on it - it’s unstable. Ever stand on an inflated pool mattress or floaty? You wobble. That’s what happened with Airbreak.   

Also, where all those hinges are, the different sections will move and respond to where you are putting your weight. So it’s unstable. 
 

But a golf ball sighing far less than any of us won’t pose a problem. 
 

PuttOut gave us fair warning. The buyer has been told what it is NOT for.  
 

I’m sure I will try again, but for now the way to practice your AimPoint reading is with a hard surface AimPoint Board. 
 

3 hours ago, Rob Person said:

I wonder if anyone has ever thought about putting air bladder systems underneath something like that on a large scale?

How hard is it to re-adjust the direction changes? Would you find it being too bothersome after awhile?

I’ve seen such attempts but not with an air bladder.  Firmer (think a plywood surface with a wood frame and joist support) can be adjusted with things like furniture levelers, bolts, wooden wedges.   I just think an air bladder has too much give.  It’s not uniform or firm. But would be interesting to try.   My backyard set up I adjust by sliding quarter inch foam sheets under areas. 
 

To the question about adjusting it - Changing the amount of break is super easy.  You just step on the little pumps.  And to deflate there is a little valve that you depress - you can even push it down with your putter head. 
 

2 hours ago, Josh Parker said:

agree, it would be nice to have a strap for the base.  It would be easy enough to make one with a strap and clip.  Prob cost under $10 on amazon

Im sure I can figure something out with a trip to Lowes next week.  Just voicing my thought out loud incase someone at PuttOut is thinking about their next version…

Edited September 14 by WaffleHouseTour

[cksurfdude]

1 hour ago, WaffleHouseTour said:

I’m sure I will try again, but for now the way to practice your AimPoint reading is with a hard surface AimPoint Board. 

Just thinking 'out loud' another potential way to practice a read is to stand behind/off the mat, make a visual guesstimate and then place your digital level on your aim spot on the putting surface.

Great info on the product! Not sure it's for me, though, not really an assemble / disassemble repetitively kinda guy....

Edited September 14 by cksurfdude

[WaffleHouseTour]

14 minutes ago, cksurfdude said:

Just thinking 'out loud' another potential way to practice a read is to stand behind/off the mat, make a visual guesstimate and then place your digital level on your aim spot on the putting surface.

Great info on the product! Not sure it's for me, though, not really an assemble / disassemble repetitively kinda guy....

Well, PuttOut has an App for

  

 

 

Seriously.  You can download their app, calibrate your iPhone and then know what the slope is you’ve created.  Or adjust the Airbreak to the desired slope.  So for the AimPointers you can stand behind and practice looking at your “read” and then try to make it. 
 

but for practicing the feel of the slope you’ll need one of these…

 

As far as set up time - probably about the same amount of time as it takes you to pull your push cart out of the trunk, set it up and then toss your clubs on…  Or just leave it up  

 

 

[William P]

Good review and a great backyard setup! 

[WaffleHouseTour]

Thought today would be a good time to practice with the AirBreak.  Presidents Cup on TV, SheWhoMustBeObeyed gone to visit our daughter…

First observation, with the ball in the middle of the mat, with me on the stance block my feet hang way over the edge and just about are on the mat.  That’s not necessarily a bad thing, just a surprise.  And it may just be a factor of how I take my stance.  Will make it interesting to hit from the right side without  standing on it. 
 

 

Second observation, my floor is not level…. I worked to get the Airbreak level using my digital level, and then recalibrated the AirBreak app I downloaded onto my iPhone.  I can’t feel a tenth of one percent of slope, so good enough.
 

Third observation, and it’s true of the Putt Out mat I purchased several years ago - I don’t think they are very quick.  I don’t want to say slow, but they aren’t quick.  The texture of the mat also gives the ball stopping power, it holds in place more.  Not sure if that makes sense, but it’s just a function of the grain and texture of the mat.  The smoothest, least textured mat I’ve ever used in my BirdieBall.  
 

Any way, I worked a bit on right to left putts.   Using the app siting just short of the hole I inflated that side pump until I saw it read 1%, and then moved the iPhone down to the next air pump and repeated the process until I had a constant 1% slope.  I stood on the stance pad behind the green and picked my target like I was aim pointing, only I knew the break from the phone instead of my feet.  Then I practiced 2%, then 3%.  

 

With this 3% slope my target is that little chevron to the right of the T in PuttOut.  Three percent isn’t anything crazy, but you have to pick a target outside the hole.  
 

Lastly, the mat isn’t laying perfectly flat.  It’s very very close.  But you can see in that down the line picture above that the stance end has a little curl to it pushing it up.  Going to leave it out overnight and see if it flattens.  To be fair that part was rolled tight for the last couple of weeks. 
 

My biggest gripe about the original PuttOut mat was that it developed grooves or wear patterns with a lot of use.  I really hope that doesn’t happen here.