Bats

My 15 loves his ExoGrid

My son wouldn't use anything but a Demarini until switching to ExoGrid last year. Now he's sold on that . . . he's soon to be 14, so he's about ready to make the switch to a drop 3. Thought it made sense to buy something inexpensive he could hit with over the winter. So just ordered a Miken Burn (2007 model) on clearance for a great price. Anyone familiar with the Miken bat?

my experience in coaching is that the bat plays a part in the mental approach. That is to say that if a kid picks up a bat and thinks its neat, or its "sweet" or a hot bat, you might as well let them use it ...because mentally if they think they are using a lesser bat, they think they're at a disdvantage.

I once coached a kid who religously used a cheap wal-mart bat that he dubbed "magic" ... I "bought in" and thought it was Magic too ...because honestly the kid absolutely raked line-drives all over the field with the bat.

Once you get the Easton Comp.( Stiff ) bat broke in. You can't beat the performance..The only down fall is I don't think they last as long or stay as hot as the EXO. Bottom line if you can afford a new bat every year go with Easton, if you want something to last 2 or 3 seasons go with the EXO.

My son has the Rawlings Plasma. Every player (except 2) use this bat on the Varsity fall team.

They all love this bat, and I will be buying another one before spring.

EXO all the way

For the last 3 seasons, my son has been breaking 3-4 bats a year. Last season, I said forget it, you can use whatever the team has for you to use.

He broke them all, Easton, Exo, DeMarini.

My son has used a lot of different Louisville Slugger bats. He was hot on the EXO when it first came out but we both really noticed something this last summer.
The composite bats are getting much more out of the hit than the appearance of the swing would indicate. I guess what I'm saying is, composite bats seem to launch the ball better than ANY aluminum bat.
This year he will go to a composite bat. He never did get the EXO. The EXO is only a composite reinforced handle, not barrel.
Does anyone have an opinion of the Demarini compared to the Nike?

My son used the Anderson Techzilla up until he went to Cooperstown. At that point he started using the Demarini CF3 in a -8 drop. He has quick hands and really likes an end loaded bat. The CF3 has great pop once it is broken in. (similar to the Techzilla). I think the keys is with bat speed. If they have quick hands go with an end loaded bat and you should see greater distance. If bat speed is just starting to develop go with a more balanced bat.JMHO

If the price paid on ebay auctions is the criteria, players must think the Demarini CF3 and Blue Easton Stealth IMX are the best bats since these 2 are bringing the highest prices, although the range of prices paid is substantial $190-$380. The exo is probably number 3 at around $200 with not too wide a range. Baseball bat review rates the Blue IMX as the top bat with the CF3 also up there. My grandson uses last years IMX(orange) which he says feels identical to the blue 2009 model. He initially did not like the composite but after it was broken in (about 300 solid hits at HS practice), he is amazed at the pop it has.