Do Ghost Advanced bats REALLY break a lot?

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May 2, 2022
9
3
Hello there. My daughter is playing travel 14U this summer, and will be starting high school softball this fall. Not wanting to spend a gazillion dollars on a bat, last year I found a couple of used 33/23 bats for her to try - a CF9 and a LXT. She liked the CF9 and had a really good summer with it (she played 14U last summer as well). It still seems to have decent pop in it, but she has been talking about wanting a new bat for high school, and - while I don't really want to drop $450-500 for a bat, I figure I will splurge and get her a new bat.

She recently used a teammate's 2022 Ghost Advanced bat at a practice and loved it (hit a couple of balls out with it). Now, she has hit HR's with the CF9, but she really liked the feel and "pop" of the Ghost. I have been looking around and can find 2022 Ghost Advanced's for around $350 - but my primary concern is I read everywhere that the Ghosts are prone to breaking. I know that they have come out this year with one-piece that might be better, but it is $500 - and it is still pretty new, so it is hard to know if Easton has fixed their breakage issue.

I know the CF is more of a balanced bat, but my daughter has been able to drive the ball just fine with it. She doesn't like the feel of the LTX, so what are some other non-Easton bats that are similar to the CF but might have more of the "pop" that the Ghost has?

Thanks!
 

LEsoftballdad

DFP Vendor
Jun 29, 2021
2,838
113
NY
Okay, your question has a few layers, so I'll do my best to answer all of them. The CF9 was a great bat, but it's a 2016 model. The new CF line follows the same lineage in that it's very balanced and right on weight.

As for the Ghosts; yes, they are prone to breaking. Sometimes people confuse paint lines with cracking, but they do have breaking issues. That being said, every bat can break, if used improperly. The Unlimited solved one problem by eliminating the connection piece, but the barrel will still crack. Also, being a one-piece bat will give it a very different feel from the Advanced, and even more so, the CF.

All of the major brands top bats have good pop. DeMarini's new Whisper is getting great reviews. Mizuno makes the CRBN line, which a lot of colleges use, if not seeing them in the wild. Marucci makes the Echo line, which has a variety of sizes and feels. Rawlings makes the Mantra + now, too. And you can also try the Xeno or Meta X from Louisville. Both are different than the LXT.

If possible, have her try a few at a local store. Some Dick's locations have Hit Trax cages where they let you demo several bats.

When you're ready to purchase a new bat, feel free to contact me. We carry all major brands, and you'll be happy with the pricing.

Best of luck in your search.
 
May 2, 2022
9
3
Okay, your question has a few layers, so I'll do my best to answer all of them. The CF9 was a great bat, but it's a 2016 model. The new CF line follows the same lineage in that it's very balanced and right on weight.

As for the Ghosts; yes, they are prone to breaking. Sometimes people confuse paint lines with cracking, but they do have breaking issues. That being said, every bat can break, if used improperly. The Unlimited solved one problem by eliminating the connection piece, but the barrel will still crack. Also, being a one-piece bat will give it a very different feel from the Advanced, and even more so, the CF.

All of the major brands top bats have good pop. DeMarini's new Whisper is getting great reviews. Mizuno makes the CRBN line, which a lot of colleges use, if not seeing them in the wild. Marucci makes the Echo line, which has a variety of sizes and feels. Rawlings makes the Mantra + now, too. And you can also try the Xeno or Meta X from Louisville. Both are different than the LXT.

If possible, have her try a few at a local store. Some Dick's locations have Hit Trax cages where they let you demo several bats.

When you're ready to purchase a new bat, feel free to contact me. We carry all major brands, and you'll be happy with the pricing.

Best of luck in your search.
Thanks for the quick reply! I think that the key thing is she really likes the balanced feel of the CF9, and my sense in talking to her is the Ghost had a similar, balanced feel...so whatever bat we get should be similar to the CF - with hopefully a little more "pop"!

I was hoping to make this a surprise purchase - the CF9 and LXT were a combined surprise (I took the risk that she would like at least one of them - which she did). I will check to see if there is a local Dick's where she can try a few bats.
 
May 18, 2022
115
28
My daughter is swinging the new Mizuno PWR CRBN in 33/23 and uses a CF8 33/23 as her backup, they feel similar to me. The PC took a couple hundred hits to break in (t-work and soft toss), but she loves it and I loved the price.
 
May 2, 2022
9
3
DD has broken 2 ghosts, 2 Xenos, 1 LXT and 1 CF5. She’s not a big kid either.
Yeah - my daughter has used the crap out of that CF9, and it is still got some pop in it.

I think that whatever bat she gets needs to be very similar in feel to the CF9. Does anybody have any thoughts on whether either the Mizuno PWR CRBN or Marucci Echo Connect has a similar swing feel to the CF9 (or the CF series in general)?
 

LEsoftballdad

DFP Vendor
Jun 29, 2021
2,838
113
NY
The CF hasn't changed much since the CF-9, so if it works for her, stick with it.

The Mizuno is a balanced swinging bat, and so is the Echo. Both of them have a large barrel and sweet spot.
 
May 20, 2015
1,095
113
they break no more than other top of the line bats......i haven't really seen a 2022 GA with any issues at all, in fact

there are more of them out there (don't know market share numbers, but anecdotally in the HS & travel worlds, Ghosts outnumber other bats 4 to 1 in my observation), so there's bound to be more "issues" - but that doesn't mean they are more prone to break

the only bat i can say i believe truly has durability issues is the Meta.......I know kids who went through 3 in less than a month before moving on

the Mizuno line is the best bang for the buck, period.......my kid loves the Mantra+, but both DDs have GA's in their bag........I still have DD1's original OG Ghost Advanced here in our entryway........bought it within a few weeks of it's original release, it saw 3 travel seasons and 2 HS seasons with full winter usage (because why use the practice bat?)......it has the beginnings of a small sharktooth starting if you look very carefully, but it still passed inspections last summer......i would say we've had 4-5 GA's, and we sent one back because she took a chunk out of the connection cover (mishit) and we didn't want it to get tossed.......beyond that the only other cracking we had was over 18 months in.......18 months of heavy usage out of a bat is AOK with me

a LOT of bats went back with paint cracks when they first came out (white paint does not usually do well on bats)......and when you're the top dog, it's also pretty easy for those who are getting beat in the sales department to create some negative hype online.....don't believe it.......if she likes the 2022 GA, get it
 
May 20, 2015
1,095
113
Yeah - my daughter has used the crap out of that CF9, and it is still got some pop in it.

I think that whatever bat she gets needs to be very similar in feel to the CF9. Does anybody have any thoughts on whether either the Mizuno PWR CRBN or Marucci Echo Connect has a similar swing feel to the CF9 (or the CF series in general)?


if you're looking for similar feel out of a Mizuno to the CF line, look at the CRBN 1.......the PC is similar (same) tech as the Ghost (inner barrel)

we bought a PWR CRBN from Core here at DFP, and for the price, it is a great bat.......we have two starters that have ditched their bats (one a Mantra and one a 2022 CF) and are using it full time
 

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