I'm sure many of you expected to see this post by coresoftabll20. I'm sorry to disappoint you. For those that would like to continue to read, just know that this is from the perspective of a member whose daughter grew up a "metalhead." By this I mean, my DD, Emily, loved her Rocketechs and Rocketflexes; so much so, that past offerings of composite bats couldn't compete with how well, hard and far she hit the ball with those aforementioned bats as well as the confidence she had in them.
The composite bats are superior IMO. That said, there are many problems with them. Most importantly IMO is the durablility. In order to give the performance which most of us expect, the manufacturers have to give up durability. In order to get the ball to "jump" off the bat, the composite walls of the bats are made thinner so that they give more "trampoline" effect to the ball. What does that mean to the durability? As I'm sure many of you can surmise, this means that the durability is decreased. It's no different then cutting plate steel with a torch. One can burn through 1/8" plate much faster than a 1/2" plate. This also means that there are so many hits on a composite bat before it is absolutely going to fail; not due to the manufacturing process, inferior materials, etc. other than the usage and longevity of the materials used to give us what we demand as far as performance goes. Just like steel, if you flex it often enough, any material will eventually weaken through stress and eventually tear or break.
Unlike past offerings by Easton, Demarini, Mizuno, Louisville Sluggers, Worth, Miken, etc.etc. where the bat walls were thicker, giving longevity as well as performance, the performance came at the price of hitting hundreds, if not thousands, of balls in order to "open it up" and we could continue to see improved performance until it failed. This is no longer the case. Those very same bats that did that, often exceeded the ball exit speeds that were mandated by ASA/USA and other various organizations such as USSSA. Now, with the newer bats, you might need a total of 150-250 balls at most in order to open them up or break them in.
So what does this mean for bat consumers such as ourselves?
It means that we're going to break more bats within the warranty period and even afterwards. It also means we will be paying higher prices for them since the manufacturers have accounted for the broken bats and are now charging you for them with the price higher at initial purchase price points.
How many times have we seen a new bat with improved or completely new and innovative technology come out such as the CF7 series and later models, the LXT, the Worth Legit2 and others, only to hear about their failures. The latest is the Easton Ghost. It's all new technology specifically designed to give us the most power for our hitters to fit within a certain set of standards (ASA/USA) right out of the wrapper. It doesn't matter which bat manufacturer it is, they will have failures at all points and times.
To blame the bat or the manufacturer is ludicrous. We, as a people and a society, are demanding performance, " RIGHT NOW!" They are only giving us what we demand. To blame them for giving us performance over durability, which we are demanding, should make you think a little about where our priorities lie.
Another thing. In order to make it the hottest bat, they had the innovative idea to make it the hottest per sanctioning body that had consistent bat testing. This only means that each model will be the hottest right out of the wrapper for each sanctioning body. It also means, If you want this bat and play different sanctioning body's tournaments, you may be purchasing more than one bat. Just be aware, should the bat fail, Easton is offering 2 replacements instead of 1 within the warranty period.
This also means, that the bats designed to fit ALL sanctioning bodies under the same model, such as the CF9, etc, will probably last a little longer due to the design being slightly more durable by having to adhere to multiple, more stringent bat exit speeds of differing sanctions but probably will not maximize the hitters potential in each one.
One last thing, a composite bat has only so many hits on it. If you plan on hitting 2000 balls a week or use it in another fashion to hit anything other than softballs will decrease the life (duration/time wise) and cause damage.
As a side note, my DD turned many more than a few RT's and RF's into boat oars over the years so the longevity isn't exactly there either with a hitter that has swing speeds in the high 70's to mid 80's.
The composite bats are superior IMO. That said, there are many problems with them. Most importantly IMO is the durablility. In order to give the performance which most of us expect, the manufacturers have to give up durability. In order to get the ball to "jump" off the bat, the composite walls of the bats are made thinner so that they give more "trampoline" effect to the ball. What does that mean to the durability? As I'm sure many of you can surmise, this means that the durability is decreased. It's no different then cutting plate steel with a torch. One can burn through 1/8" plate much faster than a 1/2" plate. This also means that there are so many hits on a composite bat before it is absolutely going to fail; not due to the manufacturing process, inferior materials, etc. other than the usage and longevity of the materials used to give us what we demand as far as performance goes. Just like steel, if you flex it often enough, any material will eventually weaken through stress and eventually tear or break.
Unlike past offerings by Easton, Demarini, Mizuno, Louisville Sluggers, Worth, Miken, etc.etc. where the bat walls were thicker, giving longevity as well as performance, the performance came at the price of hitting hundreds, if not thousands, of balls in order to "open it up" and we could continue to see improved performance until it failed. This is no longer the case. Those very same bats that did that, often exceeded the ball exit speeds that were mandated by ASA/USA and other various organizations such as USSSA. Now, with the newer bats, you might need a total of 150-250 balls at most in order to open them up or break them in.
So what does this mean for bat consumers such as ourselves?
It means that we're going to break more bats within the warranty period and even afterwards. It also means we will be paying higher prices for them since the manufacturers have accounted for the broken bats and are now charging you for them with the price higher at initial purchase price points.
How many times have we seen a new bat with improved or completely new and innovative technology come out such as the CF7 series and later models, the LXT, the Worth Legit2 and others, only to hear about their failures. The latest is the Easton Ghost. It's all new technology specifically designed to give us the most power for our hitters to fit within a certain set of standards (ASA/USA) right out of the wrapper. It doesn't matter which bat manufacturer it is, they will have failures at all points and times.
To blame the bat or the manufacturer is ludicrous. We, as a people and a society, are demanding performance, " RIGHT NOW!" They are only giving us what we demand. To blame them for giving us performance over durability, which we are demanding, should make you think a little about where our priorities lie.
Another thing. In order to make it the hottest bat, they had the innovative idea to make it the hottest per sanctioning body that had consistent bat testing. This only means that each model will be the hottest right out of the wrapper for each sanctioning body. It also means, If you want this bat and play different sanctioning body's tournaments, you may be purchasing more than one bat. Just be aware, should the bat fail, Easton is offering 2 replacements instead of 1 within the warranty period.
This also means, that the bats designed to fit ALL sanctioning bodies under the same model, such as the CF9, etc, will probably last a little longer due to the design being slightly more durable by having to adhere to multiple, more stringent bat exit speeds of differing sanctions but probably will not maximize the hitters potential in each one.
One last thing, a composite bat has only so many hits on it. If you plan on hitting 2000 balls a week or use it in another fashion to hit anything other than softballs will decrease the life (duration/time wise) and cause damage.
As a side note, my DD turned many more than a few RT's and RF's into boat oars over the years so the longevity isn't exactly there either with a hitter that has swing speeds in the high 70's to mid 80's.
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