I always wait a year with any "hot" bat to see how it shakes out.
If we chased every hot bat, we would have to change often. Much because they have endurance issues, and compliance issues. The softball world is pretty serious about limiting the "pop" of bats. In general, as has happened the last few years, the trend is toward bats that are less powerful.
Super hot bats turn into fools gold much more often than not. With current regulatory environment, the older bats are the hottest bats. The hottest new bats are soon to be banned, but no one knows yet. Be careful with your money.
TRUTH!!!
Add to this that the "sizzle" that the marketing depts put on the shiny new steaks is in the "advanced, cutting edged, hot technology" lingo. As SCDad states, the bats have to be compliant with the regs. They had to be compliant last year and the year before as well, so new bats are not 'hotter' than last years bats.
Companies are making bats as hot as allowed, yes, but the technology focus seems to be in making their new hot $300 bats fail, lose pop, or break as close to day 366 as possible so that they can in turn sell the newest hype. Expensive, SHORT-LIVED, hot bats and bat bans are a real cash cow and the fuel in the business as of late IMO.
The technology focus seems to be in building in the right TIMING FOR THE DURABILITY ISSUES that the bat companies WANT their products to have! Building a hot bat that will last and stay hot for 2-3 years=failure in the eyes of the company. The company wants a "fireworks" product full of sizzle and ooh-ahh and then gone before you know it, leaving the consumer with a whet appetite for the next hype-a-thon.
But I only speculate...anyone have a minty LXT or Mako in 33" they want to sell cheap, lol!!