Frustration with composite bats - material inside breaks apart far too soon

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CoreSoftball20

Wilson = Evil Empire
DFP Vendor
Dec 27, 2012
6,215
113
Kunkletown, PA
Yes, that is what I am referring to. Most coaches (including hitting coaches) say that means the bat is "broken." Also, I've been to a couple tournaments in which umpires will check for that and not allow the bat to be used.

Maybe a hitting coach that knows bats might help you not buy more bats :)...sand doesnt mean its broken. Could an ump toss it if he wants to show the field he is the boss, sure. But the bat isnt broken. A composite bat is a weave of fibers. Brand new its stiff and never flexed. When you start hitting, fibers loosen up from the bat flexing so much
and so does the epoxy that holds the comp layers together. That flakes off into the bat. This is the sand
you hear. If you hear a pebble rattle, that usually a glue ball that broke off.
By listening to these "coaches", you have returned perfectly fine bats.

I have had rattles on brand new, in the wrapper bats from every manufacturer and have had sand
in a ton of my own bats very quickly develop.

The grassy knoll conspiracy is in your mind. You can easily go buy a cheap tank that will last 10 years.
You dont...why? You want the best bats your dd can swing. Nobody is forcing you to buy any top bat.
Composites are an amazing thing, but it takes multiple parts and layers to make a bat...but parents wanting rocket launchers out of the wrapper are the ones who have caused bats being less durable than years ago. And manufacturers do very well
at replacing broken bats...not only do you get a one time warranty, a lot of times you can get more
if need be. They wouldnt do that if all they wanted was for you to buy another.
 
Last edited:
Oct 22, 2010
87
8
SO CAL
Maybe a hitting coach that knows bats might help you not buy more bats :)...sand doesnt mean its broken. Could an ump toss it if he wants to show the field he is the boss, sure. But the bat isnt broken. A composite bat is a weave of fibers. Brand new its stiff and never flexed. When you start hitting, fibers loosen up from the bat flexing so much
and so does the epoxy that holds the comp layers together. That flakes off into the bat. This is the sand
you hear. If you hear a pebble rattle, that usually a glue ball that broke off.
By listening to these "coaches", you have returned perfectly fine bats.

I have had rattles on brand new, in the wrapper bats from every manufacturer and have had sand
in a ton of my own bats very quickly develop.

The grassy knoll conspiracy is in your mind. You can easily go buy a cheap tank that will last 10 years.
You dont...why? You want the best bats your dd can swing. Nobody is forcing you to buy any top bat.
Composites are an amazing thing, but it takes multiple parts and layers to make a bat...but parents wanting rocket launchers out of the wrapper are the ones who have caused bats being less durable than years ago. And manufacturers do very well
at replacing broken bats...not only do you get a one time warranty, a lot of times you can get more
if need be. They wouldnt do that if all they wanted was for you to buy another.


Does softball use the ABI standard of testing like baseball. I really wish softball used the BBCOR standard. And no my DD is not a pitcher lol.
Thx Larry
 
Jun 8, 2016
16,118
113
Buy one of these, should really come to life around 18u

DD had one for a BP bat..amazingly she broke it after a year and a half or so :LOL:
 
Jun 16, 2010
259
28
Ask your daughter.....they will tell you when bat loses pop.

With my dd, it was easy to see.

Bats maybe better now, i doubt it.

200 hits. And bat was toast. That could be 100 hits and 100 foul balls....if even that. Some sooner if cracked...you could hear a sound change and well hit balls just didnt go anywhere....fly out instead of over fence.

Game bats are for games.....you need a couple . Old bats are for practice. Girls want to use good bats for practice because its more fun....ball goes over fence.....dont let them.

Then they want to use good bats at camps....well ok....but you might ruin a bat in a couple days

I spent $1500 one yr on bats....5 bats.

They really do lose pop fast, or did a few yrs ago. Daughters college team , and most, used louisville slugger bats....they may have held up better than eastons used in travel ball.....slightly. Coach had strict rules on game bats

Composite bats are a huge scam....
Huge. Unfortunately they are light, and awesome....for a short time.
 
Last edited:
Dec 11, 2010
4,713
113
Weird. My dd, considered a power hitter by her college coaches in a large conference, was handed a new LXT in August and hit approximately 11 billion pitched softballs and another 11 billion machine balls out of 3 different kinds of machines. She then brought the bat home at Thanksgiving and hit 5 days a week here. Bat is still launching rockets as of last Saturday.

Since she broke her last Xeno, which corresponded almost to the day with when the first Ghost came out, she has had two Ghosts in her bag then two GA’s. Yeah, I sent a few back but I am pretty sure I only actually paid for 2 or 3 grey ASA ghosts and exactly 2 Advanced’s. (I have a new in wrapper Advanced and a low hits Advanced that will go one EBay as soon as it looks like bats are moving again so I will likely get quite a bit of my money back out of them.) In fact, I was reimbursed by Visa card for the last Xeno and at least one Ghost after they broke outside of manufacturers warranty ran out because I kept copies of my original receipt and my credit card statement. I would have never paid for a grey Ghost if I had been better about keeping credit card statements.

DD never liked the practice bat vs game bat plan. With a few exceptions she swung one bat until it died and pulled out the second bat while I warranted the next bat. I always knew I might have to make a mad dash to get a new bat and have it FedEx’d to my house or a hotel but that never happened.

Bats break. They ALWAYS have broken. I worked with some people whose dd was a big deal hitter in college. While she was in high school, she eventually broke every Easton Stealth they could find and shredded a few Xenos after that.

In this day and age you are probably going to have to buy two bats if your dd plays a lot. Find a LEGIT dealer such as CoreSoftball Sales so you know you are getting a warranty. Pay with a credit card. Put the receipt for the bat and the credit card statement in a safe place. Save the box it came in. Know you are going to have to call the manufacturer and politely request/cajole/worry about the warranty at some point. Easton sent me a new bat every time I needed one, including during the pandemic. Some were out of warranty. Multiple bats in a year- not one replacement per bat. Then, when I had been smart enough to print and save my cc receipt, I would get reimbursed by Visa for the bat when it broke outside of warranty. I have posted about that many times.

I have been listening to parents fuss for years about this stuff. If your dd plays softball, she is going to break bats. Complaining about it isn’t a plan. Get a plan to deal with it and roll on.
 
Last edited:

CoreSoftball20

Wilson = Evil Empire
DFP Vendor
Dec 27, 2012
6,215
113
Kunkletown, PA
Very well said WW...its not going to end. Bats aren't made to last, they are made to perform.

And stop with the scam thing LOTR...you as well can buy an old tank...you don't. I don't think you know what
goes into a composite bat...and if you make it more durable, then you have a log...and nobody wants it.
If it was a scam, you wouldnt get the replacements you do. Composites are here to stay because why???
They are great. Its a mixture of unreal performance while having a lightweight material.

Does it suck when a bat breaks, yes...but its going to happen, move on. And bats losing pop happen way less then
people claim. And def not after 200 hits. Usually its after a ton of hits, the bat gets hot as heck, then it goes the opposite way or it busts. Can someone buy a dud, yes, but again, not very often.
What usually happens is the bat gets the blame when someone doesn't hit well. Or someone sees a blemish or paint crack and they
focus on that...then every mishit or bad swing turns into the dead bat syndrome :). Also happens when a person outgrows
a bat and its not hitting like it used too...the bat is dead. No, the bat is too light, not dead.
Nobody likes to hear my theory on the dead bat ideas...hahaha.
 
Jun 8, 2016
16,118
113
You are the weird factor of the universe....hahahaha.
This is true on so many levels...

I have come to realize your dd will break everything
that nobody will ever come to figure out why it always happens to you :)
I think it may have been we were keeping the balls in the garage in the winter. Even though they made a 45 minute ride to the cages in a warm car, 3+ times a week, the middle still may have been cold. This winter we have been keeping them in the house so hopefully that helps...
 

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