BBCOR experiences

My experience BBCOR.

Cat 5 like banned. Traded back for Omaha, liked. Bought Easton L1 $400 like composite barrel shattered, sent back, new one came with sticker only one more exchange allowed.

They have not invented another mouse trap as hard as they have tried yet. Buy cheap.

the boy loves his 33/30 anderson Ignite. The problem is that he can't keep it on the field. the bat dents if the ball is struck just a little bit down the barrel. We have not had one for more than 2 weeks. I am sending back the 3rd one today and I am not sure how many they will keep sending.

We have had good experiences with the 5150 and Omaha. Son like them both for being well balanced. Got a Z1000 composite coming in this week to try out

My son had CF5, good pop. Sold it and bought a 5150 velo, $150 dollars cheapier and seems to have more pop than Cf5. Easton S1 is very hot, but seen alot break this season. Cat 5 is very good also, but 33/30 is banned and it is hard to find new bats in this model. Vodoo is very popular, but somewhat endloaded. z1000 is very balanced and hit good in the cage. Ripit bat is good if your son can swing end loaded bat. How big is your son, is he a power hitter or contact hitter.

quote:

Originally posted by Rob T:
My 13yo will be playing 14U in the fall, (No Jr high ball in the area)so there is no issue with him continuing to use the -5 he has used this spring.

However, a friend of mine has invited him to play some on his summer team. Basically a team made up of players from a local HS freshman team. Since they are going to primarily be playing 16U ball, my son is going to need to use a BBCOR bat for games.

So, as we begin the process of finding a bat, I need to ask those that have had to deal with these bats...

Is there really a big difference between the cheap and the expensive bats? Is one bat really better than another - or is it all just marketing?

Since the league means nothing but practice, unless you’re wallowing in cash, save your money and buy the cheapest bat you can find. Here’s just one of hundreds of sites where you can pick up a new BBCOR for $40. http://www.cheapbats.com/shop/...h=222&sort=4d&page=3 and as you can see, lots of other choices for less than $100.

14U son swings a CF5 2012 model. This is a $400 bat that you can now get for $199 on ebay because 2013 model is coming out. Only difference is the graphics. CF5 is a balanced bat.

quote:

How big is your son, is he a power hitter or contact hitter.

Well, I guess he's about average for a 13yo - 5'4 and about 130 lbs.

He has been swinging a -5 without any difficulty this season, so I don't think he will have much issue with the weight difference. However he would probably be better off with a model that's not too end loaded. He's more of a contact hitter I would say.

Personally, I just don't see the point in spending an additional $200 for a bat if it really isn't going to be better than any other. I know that's one of the points of BBCOR, I'm just not sure if that has proven to be true to this point.

The velo 5150 hits just as good as the CF5 I just sold. It comes down to balance, vibration, and feel of the bat. I have seen a kid on HS team crush some nice line drives with $88 rawlings plasma bat. I have also seen some kids hit shots with $400 Easton S. It seems alot of kids are staying under $225 for a bat with very few buying $400 bats or should I say parents are the ones footing the bill for bats

The approved CAT 5 is well liked by my players as well as the Red Nike BBCOR.

My son has used a $59 Easton typhoon for both his Freshman and Sophomore seasons. He had a demarini voodoo but didn;t like it and sold it on ebay.

We bought him a Rip-It prototype II this year and he liked it very much, but it developed a rattle after a bit so we sent it back and he used his typhoon in the mean time. He also borrowed some of the other bats on the team but kept going back to the typhoon. The Rip It just got back to us and he's only used it in a game or two. He says he would hit just as well with any BBCOR bat really and just likes the balance of the typhoon and rip-it.

For $59 you can't go wrong. At least you can use it until he swings something he absolutely has to have. It's funny, but that hasn't happened yet for my kid like it did with the BESR bats.

I agree with going cheap in your situation, but the easton s1 is the only bbcor bat I will swing. Very balanced.

I pick up a 5150 for under a 100.00 and have not look back. I had got him a cf5 at thr first of season to hit and he did not like it's pop. He was hitting better with his wood bat.

quote:

Originally posted by junior5:
I agree with going cheap in your situation, but the easton s1 is the only bbcor bat I will swing. Very balanced.

If its only the balance that you like, it’s a piece of cake to balance an end-loaded bat.

"Is there really a big difference between the cheap and the expensive bats?"
Define "big". For most bats, yes there is a difference. However, the price isn't always (or even usually) a good indicator of how much he'll like the bat. For my 6' - 195lb 2015, I look for pop, hitting area, and durability. For him, the pop factor could make the difference between a 350' HR and a 325' F7. A longer hitting surface could allow him to muscle an inside fastball to right field instead of fouling it off a long tapered handle.

"Is one bat really better than another - or is it all just marketing?"
Some bats are better than others, but that only becomes apparent as they get used. At this point in the season, you'll see the "better" bats at the plate. (At least what the kids think are the better bats.) In my area that's mostly the Easton S1 and XL1, Marucci CAT5, and Rawlings 5150 Velo.

In your situation (your son is still growing, probably isn't looking for HRs, hitting against older pitchers, isn't on a high school team hitting 100 balls every day) I would look for a balanced bat, as opposed to end-loaded; they feel lighter and he will get it moving faster. You mentioned "an additional $200" so I'm guessing you mean $200 vs $400. There are plenty of good bats that should work for him at $200 or less. Looks like CheapBats has the 2012 Vexxum for $110. Probably can't go wrong there. I've found that JustBats.com has the most on-line reviews which can be helpful.

Don't forget, if you buy something longer than his -5, that will factor into how heavy the bat feels for him.

Good luck.

Rawlings Plasma...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVefrYX2P9w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3z5DDUjwNfg

My son has tried everything - Marucci Black, Easton Power Brigade, Louisville TPX TPX Z-1000, etc... He thinks the Rawlings Plasma is the best one out there, and even better than the Rawlings 5150 at twice the price!

He chose the Rawlings Plasma because it was balanced, felt the best, looked cool and he liked it...

My wallet thanked him...

Recently, Before a game, I took a few better hitters aside, and hit with them in the cage, and brought with us a BBCOR DeMarini Voodoo, Marucci Cat-5, Rawlings 5150, Easton Surge, and a Rawlings Plasma... Each player got about 10 swings with each... They all liked the Plasma the best... Unscientific and a small sample, but it was cool to see their reactions...

My son (age 14) has hit quite a few 350-360+ ft. homers with it... So it can be done with BBCOR!

Honestly, the BBCOR standard doesn’t allow for a lot of performance leeway. So the only way one company is going to be able to draw more customers, is by offering models with different “FEELS” and different “LOOKS”, which may or may not translate into better performance.

Good luck!

Ditto on the Rawlings Plasma. My son is crushing the ball with this bat and for less than $100.

quote:

Originally posted by HVbaseballDAD:
the boy loves his 33/30 anderson Ignite. The problem is that he can't keep it on the field. the bat dents if the ball is struck just a little bit down the barrel. We have not had one for more than 2 weeks. I am sending back the 3rd one today and I am not sure how many they will keep sending.

We went through three and gave up. Dents.

Last year, when my 12-year old son kept hitting HR after HR playing in the small field, all his team-mates started borrowing his bat. They think there was something great to the wonderful bat. Even kids with $200+ bat started using my kid's bat. They were doing badly with my kid's bat needless to say but in their mind, they were using the home-run bat. So one day, to save their grief over it, I asked them why this bat and they said they wanted a HR. Then I told them the secret, I got the cheapest and heaviest small barrel bat I could find in the store; it was $39 bat and I got it on sale for $19. I could see the puzzling looks in their faces asking "what, all along I have been using a $19 bat?". Hope they realize that it's the Indian, not the arrow.

Son started the season using the Marucci Cat5 33/30 that was banned, he really liked that bat. Before its replacement was sent we purchased the Easton S-1 full composite. He use to have the Stealth Speed Stiff-flex and really liked it.

Halfway through district the new S-1 broke at the hinge, we were fortunate that one day after sending the Easton back the new Marucci Team bat (replacement for the Cat5), arrived. Its just as balanced w/o the large knob that tended to loosen up and rattle on the Cat5, hits with as much pop as the old Cat5.

For the money its a great deal at $200, swings and seems to hit just like the plain Omaha at $200 also.

We have received the replacement Easton S-1 which he plans to save and use next year unless a teammate can't live without it.....hint, hint.

IMHO, go cheap because before he hits HS bats are going to improve and change ......plus you never know, the rules may change and BBCOR maybe replaced by something else just like BESR.