2018 Xeno experience?

[ez_softball]

Based on what I'm see out on the fields, in the world of So Cal TB, Easton is giving a lot more than a little kick in the pants to Wilson. The Ghost is cutting out a very large slice of the softball bat pie. We have come a cross a couple of teams where all the players are swinging Ghosts.

Yeah that's awesome and not what we've seen but as time goes on maybe they'll be more of a shift. I like the fact that the marketplace is balancing out some with other competitors.

 

[ez_softball]

How does the 2015 Xeno compare to 2016,2017 and 2018? Any significant advantage. My DD is swinging a hand me down from her sister. You may all think this a little weird, but she is squaring up the ball much better with the Xeno in comparison to her CF9.. larger sweet spot maybe?? However, I don't think the ball is exiting the Xeno at the same speed as the CF9. Wondering if the 2015 Xeno is starting lose its pop... or maybe the newest Xenos have updated technology?

My daughter never swung a '15. IIRC I tried to get her to use both a '13 and a '14 Xeno in years past but she turned her nose up at both of them and stuck with her Rocketech. Man she loved the Rocketech. Also, tried to convert her to either a '16 or '17 LXT (don't remember which) and she absolutely hated it ... saying it swung like a wet noodle.

She has a '17 and an '18 Xeno in her bag now and another '16 and '17 new in the wrapper out in the garage. The '18 in the bag was a warranty replacement for a '16 which had a wobble at the barrel/handle connection.

 

[Eric F]

I paid attention to what was in players bags as we strolled around, LS and Demarini still dominated the bags of most players. This pattern is consistent with what I saw this past fall and last summer... Ghosts are in a small percentage of players hands and I hear about more Ghost issues (ie broken/cracked) than any other bat.

I'm an admitted gear geek, and pay attention to the trends I see in bats. Here's my observations from the fields of 12U and 14U TB...

In the summer, the Ghost was just being introduced, and very few players were using them. Demarini and LS were - by far - the dominant bats. In the fall, I saw a definite increase in the number of Ghosts being used, but it was still a pretty small percentage of players. Now, in mid-spring, I'm seeing a huge increase in the number of Ghosts out on the field. On my DD's 14U team, 3 players have Ghosts in their own bags, and every weekend, I'm seeing more of our team borrowing one of the Ghosts in favor of their Demarini, LS, or older Easton. This past weekend's tournament, half of our girls (6 of 12) were stepping into the box with a Ghost in their hands. The popularity of the Ghost is on a significant upswing right now.

 

[ez_softball]

I'm an admitted gear geek, and pay attention to the trends I see in bats. Here's my observations from the fields of 12U and 14U TB...

In the summer, the Ghost was just being introduced, and very few players were using them. Demarini and LS were - by far - the dominant bats. In the fall, I saw a definite increase in the number of Ghosts being used, but it was still a pretty small percentage of players. Now, in mid-spring, I'm seeing a huge increase in the number of Ghosts out on the field. On my DD's 14U team, 3 players have Ghosts in their own bags, and every weekend, I'm seeing more of our team borrowing one of the Ghosts in favor of their Demarini, LS, or older Easton. This past weekend's tournament, half of our girls (6 of 12) were stepping into the box with a Ghost in their hands. The popularity of the Ghost is on a significant upswing right now.

That makes sense based on when the Ghost was introduced last year and the fact that fall ball is not the typical time of year players are looking to upgrade their gear. New spring season equals new gear and the Ghost is readily available and is all the hype. Again, your experience is different as I see people initially excited with the Ghost but falling back into their old LS/Demarini bats when the Ghost gets damaged/broken/cracked or because of what they perceive as lack of performance. We'll see...I'm hoping that Easton continues to work hard to innovate and develop a bat that can rival the others in performance as well as durability. They might have already done that but based on my experience I'm not sold yet.

 

[STRIKE3]

I'm an admitted gear geek, and pay attention to the trends I see in bats. Here's my observations from the fields of 12U and 14U TB...

In the summer, the Ghost was just being introduced, and very few players were using them. Demarini and LS were - by far - the dominant bats. In the fall, I saw a definite increase in the number of Ghosts being used, but it was still a pretty small percentage of players. Now, in mid-spring, I'm seeing a huge increase in the number of Ghosts out on the field. On my DD's 14U team, 3 players have Ghosts in their own bags, and every weekend, I'm seeing more of our team borrowing one of the Ghosts in favor of their Demarini, LS, or older Easton. This past weekend's tournament, half of our girls (6 of 12) were stepping into the box with a Ghost in their hands. The popularity of the Ghost is on a significant upswing right now.

I saw a post here yesterday where some folks were saying the Ghost is hot for a bit but then losing its muster a few months down the road. Have you or anyone else had that experience? This was the first I had heard anything negative about the bat and hoping it is just a couple of fluke cases.

 

[julray]

TBH, I think bats breaking, cracking is an issue with all the high end bats. My DD cracked Demarini CF8, cracked an old Worth Legit in half etc. I saw with my own eyes a Worth 2 Legit fall apart. I was the first base coach, it just fell apart. The batter was left with the handle in her hands while the barrel flew towards me and the batter on deck. Not sure it's really accurate to target the Ghost as a bat with durability issues. IMO all the manufacturers experience this. I must say however that the Mako was a tank, .

I would love to get a Ghost in my DD's hands, Ironically her teams name is Ghosts. I actually emailed Easton to see if they would throw me a bone, we could raise awareness of how great this bat is in these parts... long shot I know... LOL

 

[Eric F]

I saw a post here yesterday where some folks were saying the Ghost is hot for a bit but then losing its muster a few months down the road. Have you or anyone else had that experience? This was the first I had heard anything negative about the bat and hoping it is just a couple of fluke cases.

I have not seen or heard about a drop-off in performance for the Ghost from the group of people I talk to. There are currently 3 that I get to see in action on a weekly basis. One of the girls is the most powerful 13yo hitter I have personally been around (250' towering bomb last Sunday with her Ghost). My DD also hits the ball pretty hard on a consistent basis. I'm definitely paying attention to how these bats perform.

I've seen all brands break. I have not seen anything conclusive that indicates that the Ghost is any more prone to breaking than a CF-series, LXT, Xeno, or Quatro. I personally know of one Ghost that broke within a short time period. It was quickly replaced by Easton, and the replacement bat has had no issues for now a longer time than she had the first bat.

 

[STRIKE3]

I have not seen or heard about a drop-off in performance for the Ghost from the group of people I talk to. There are currently 3 that I get to see in action on a weekly basis. One of the girls is the most powerful 13yo hitter I have personally been around (250' towering bomb last Sunday with her Ghost). My DD also hits the ball pretty hard on a consistent basis. I'm definitely paying attention to how these bats perform.

I've seen all brands break. I have not seen anything conclusive that indicates that the Ghost is any more prone to breaking than a CF-series, LXT, Xeno, or Quatro. I personally know of one Ghost that broke within a short time period. It was quickly replaced by Easton, and the replacement bat has had no issues for now a longer time than she had the first bat.

Thanks Eric! It is a sweet bat and seeing more and more of them around. My only personal experience is a couple girls on HS team that have had theirs since last summer. They have been cranking bombs with it all season so appears as hot as ever. Every bat can have problem and the post I am referring to was probably just a fluke. Gonna have to get one soon!

 

[Westwind]

Haven’t seen any drop off in performance with time either. They just sound “crunchier” when they hit the ball. Dd swung a brand new one in the cage couple nights ago to get some swings on it and it sounded way different than the one she had been using since January.

 

[CoreSoftball20]

They just sound “crunchier” when they hit the ball.

And that would be correct as the inner barrel is made to flex to the point of still being legal if that makes sense. So there are two moving pieces...the thin outer comp
wall that flexes and the inner barrel that also gives a little bit. So yes, the inner barrel will also loosen a little bit and change tone slightly.