No composite bats

[shockcoach]

Anderson bats are outstanding and all models but the Nanotek are metal.

All their bats are metal. From their website.

The Anderson NanoTek™ all-metal bat is the equivalent-performance alternative to the extended break-in period and compromised durability of today's composite bats.

[SOURCE]

 

[MsDinosaur]

My DD is using a 2009 Rip-It force that I found on eBay for about $45, though there don't seem to be any low priced ones listed there right now. When she gets a little bigger, she can have the used Techzilla that I also got on eBay. Those are both doublewall bats and have a -10 drop so would seem heavier than the Synge if that's what your DD had her heart set on. I don't know what the quality is like, but they do have a slew of higher drop metal bats out there.

With eBay, you can get some great deals, but naturally you've got to get lucky on your timing.

 

[mkral]

Can't beat Anderson!! And yes all of their bats including the NanoTek are all metal. The new alloys are the best they have made so don't be afraid of the new models. As some of the composites got hurt a little with the ASA mandates these bats never missed a beat and seemed to get even better. DD's have Nano's, RT's, and TechZilla's and I have to say the 2011 TechZilla is a sleeper. It is a great bat for the money. Not quite the pop of the Nano but very very close. Keep in mind that the TechZilla and Nano's are balanced and the RT's are endloaded and will swing heavy. So if your DD is use to a balanced bat keep her swinging a balanced bat unless she has a real good connected swing. You can find TechZilla's on ebay pretty cheap.
Good Luck in your search!!
Mike

 

[HollowMan]

If you're able to use composite handles with metal barrels, the Easton SSV2B can be had for around $125. -11.5 drop though, might be lighter than you want.

 

[chinamigarden]

If you're able to use composite handles with metal barrels, the Easton SSV2B can be had for around $125. -11.5 drop though, might be lighter than you want.

I just picked one of these up at Dicks for 69.99

 

[MsDinosaur]

My DD is currently using a Worth Storm. Moving into 8U and growing there was no way I could see spending a ton on a bat. It worked great hitting 10" RIF balls in 6U and then I was shocked when she attended a hitting camp this summer. They were hitting 12" NCAA balls and they jumped off the bat. She was putting balls in the outfield grass.

The girl on my DD's U10 team with the best batting average uses a Worth Storm -13 bat. I've never seen her send one out, but she has great bat speed, great foot speed and can hit just about anything. I'm pretty sure the performance is due to the athlete and not the bat, but clearly that bat is working for her.

 

[Damiansports]

Both bats Amy pointed out are good aluminum bats.
You could also get the Bustos or Rip-It Force for a higher end bat at $100-$150

 

[nanotech14]

nanotech is metal

Anderson bats are outstanding and all models but the Nanotek are metal. Regarding price, I don't really care about the warranty and I purchased a (at the time) New 2009 Techzilla shipped for I believe $180 and (since my duaghter loves it and won't use anything else) just purchased a 2011 Techzilla as a backup shipped for $185 three weeks ago. Both off Ebay. Find a seller with an impecable feedback record and you should have no problem.

the nanotech is metal to , my dd has one and loves it. She has the stealth speed to and can't tell the diffrence between them I feel the nanotech is more balanced than the speed.

 

[ArmWhip]

Worth makes some bats that are metal. I believe that the Amp, Storm, Toxic (yellow) and Prodigy are metal, but check their website to make sure. You can also find many of their older models still for sale like the Quads, if it has Lithium in it them it should be a metal bat.

 

[Renntiger]

Chapelhillbilly- tough to say because bat preference is so personal. Oldest DD has a DiMarini .375 that has served her well. She loves it but they don't make it anymore. maybe see what's available in doublewall aluminum instaed of carbon fiber.

Interestingly enough, DD hits better with aluminum (.375) than Carbon Fiber (CF4). I've seen girls with questionable swings going to town with carbon fiber bats, but DD has tried both (same size) and hits noteably farther with her Aluminum bat.

I actually went out and bought a couple of 375s last year after reading obbay's hearty endorsements in his initial posts on this subject. It's true that DeMarini doesn't make these anymore, but they must have made a ton of them before quitting, as 'Just Bats' has been selling these at dirt-cheap prices for at least a year now and still hasn't exhausted their supply:

DeMarini 375 Softball

My dd (5'1", 120 lbs of muscle) can get roughly the same distance out of her 33" 375 as she can with her 32" Rocketech, but she prefers the "crispier" feel of the Rocketech by a healthy margin (even though the slightly longer 375 gives her a little more reach on those nasty low outside drop curves, which really aren't very sporty when pitched against a shorty like her). She is also addicted to that weird screechy Rocketech sound that no other bat makes on contact with the ball.

I myself seem to be able to hit a little farther with the 375 than with the Rocketech, but that's with soft tosses.

One thing I've noticed is that while my dd's 375 had seen less than 1/10 the action the Rocketech had, it has developed just as many wavy areas as the Rocketech, maybe even more so. DeMarini must have made the walls really thin on this bat to produce the pop, or else Anderson's proprietary internal arches do a better job of preserving the barrel surface geometry than 375's more conventional double-wall setup.

However, at the "3-fer" price for the 375, you can have one bat for batting practice, one for the games (so that you don't have to worry about ruining the game bat on practice balls), plus a spare, all for less than half of what you'd have to pay for a Rocketech (unless you can duplicate Amy's luck when visiting your local Play-It-Again-Sports).

Another big advantage these metal bats have over the composites is that there is no break-in period. It's maximum (legal) performance from day one. So in the above scenario, the 'spare' is ready to come out of the wrapper and do its job at any time it's needed.