Which in your opinion is better, the zen or cf8? I can get the CF8 pretty cheap used, but should I save up a little bit for a zen? A lot of people say the CF8 is hotter than the Zen, do you agree? Also, any bbcor your son has, or you have that's super hot?
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My son has been using Demarini for many years now. He's now using Demarini voodoo bbcor. Wouldn't use anything else, unless of course his coaches require something else.
Louisville Slugger 917 (2017). Very live bat
We have the louisville 917, very good bat. The whole line up is good for LS. A lot of the college guys use metal barrel. The one piece LS is good for power. 2 piece metal barrel gives you less sting but less power due to dampening effect of connector. One piece metal may be a better training tool for hitting. If you mishit you feel it. You hit the sweet spot and it feels good. The 2 piece designs have larger sweet spots and you get less sting. They all hit similar, one piece is the cheapest. Best policy is to use someone else's and decide on the balance and feel he likes.
There's no such thing as a "super hot" BBCOR bat.
The main bats that are being used by players are the whole LS Lineup, Marucci, Voodoos and some Eastons
BatRThrowL posted:Which in your opinion is better, the zen or cf8? I can get the CF8 pretty cheap used, but should I save up a little bit for a zen? A lot of people say the CF8 is hotter than the Zen, do you agree? Also, any bbcor your son has, or you have that's super hot?
I personally would not buy any bat with a composite barrel used. They can lose some trampoline effect after heavy use, and you don't know if a used bat was used for games only, or a thousand swings per day in the cage.
Good advice above. Kid should try friends' bats and see what feels good. There is not all that much difference in pop between them. If you want to do some research watch college baseball and see which kids on a DeMarini sponsored team (or whatever bat you're interested in) swings which bats. Sometimes the results are surprising. I watched several games played by an Easton team last year. Everybody was swinging bats that they made 4-5 years ago. One of the dads told me that the players all thought they were the hottest Eastons available.
I don't like 2 piece bats so neither.
omaha 518 has been great for me and some teammates
Marucci has always been good for my boys.
My son still swings the LS 915. I know it’s almost 2018 but he loves that bat.
We're sort of fortunate to have a place nearby that has demo bats and a cage, so you can try the various bats out to see what feels best. (I say "sort of" because we wind up going there entirely too often, and always end up buying something or other).
My son tested out every single bat they had, and preferred the Insane over the Zen (which surprised me because he's never previously enjoyed the end-load, even though he hits with power)...got a great deal on the (annoying) Rawlings Velo. He loves that bat. The CF Insane now rides along in his bat bag, but never gets pulled out anymore. That said, he hit 6 HR's with the Velo and 4 with the Insane--and the Velo had about 1.5X the AB's as the Insane. By the math, neither is "hotter," he's just more comfortable with the Velo.
Whichever bat he has more confidence in is the one he will swing better with, IMO...and, after all, it's the swing that counts, not the bat.
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Florida State Fan posted:My son has been using Demarini for many years now. He's now using Demarini voodoo bbcor. Wouldn't use anything else, unless of course his coaches require something else.
Which Voodoo is he using? Which color?
4T2 posted:We're sort of fortunate to have a place nearby that has demo bats and a cage, so you can try the various bats out to see what feels best. (I say "sort of" because we wind up going there entirely too often, and always end up buying something or other).
My son tested out every single bat they had, and preferred the Insane over the Zen (which surprised me because he's never previously enjoyed the end-load, even though he hits with power)...got a great deal on the (annoying) Rawlings Velo. He loves that bat. The CF Insane now rides along in his bat bag, but never gets pulled out anymore. That said, he hit 6 HR's with the Velo and 4 with the Insane--and the Velo had about 1.5X the AB's as the Insane. By the math, neither is "hotter," he's just more comfortable with the Velo.
Whichever bat he has more confidence in is the one he will swing better with, IMO...and, after all, it's the swing that counts, not the bat.
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Interesting... saw the Zen and Velo this season pretty often. What's his height and weight?
He's 6', 205. That Velo ping is SO annoying!
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4T2 posted:He's 6', 205. That Velo ping is SO annoying!
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10 Homeruns in one year? Wow...
Rawlings Velo I know has been out several years. It's similar to the Cat 7.
TXdad2019 posted:Marucci has always been good for my boys.
Cat 7... that bat is so popular. It's all I see.
sunwalkingvalley posted:We have the louisville 917, very good bat. The whole line up is good for LS. A lot of the college guys use metal barrel. The one piece LS is good for power. 2 piece metal barrel gives you less sting but less power due to dampening effect of connector. One piece metal may be a better training tool for hitting. If you mishit you feel it. You hit the sweet spot and it feels good. The 2 piece designs have larger sweet spots and you get less sting. They all hit similar, one piece is the cheapest. Best policy is to use someone else's and decide on the balance and feel he likes.
Interesting, I thought 2 pieces help you out more. They typically saw the energy goes back into the barrel to help you hit it further.
BatRThrowL posted:4T2 posted:He's 6', 205. That Velo ping is SO annoying!
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10 Homeruns in one year? Wow...
Rawlings Velo I know has been out several years. It's similar to the Cat 7.
Close to 40 games, as I'm including summer along with HS. To be fair, 4 of them were in one tournament (fences were only 315') and at least 1 of the others was wind-aided. I wonder if I can talk him into the CAT--and out of the Velo?
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4T2 posted:BatRThrowL posted:4T2 posted:He's 6', 205. That Velo ping is SO annoying!
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10 Homeruns in one year? Wow...
Rawlings Velo I know has been out several years. It's similar to the Cat 7.
Close to 40 games, as I'm including summer along with HS. To be fair, 4 of them were in one tournament (fences were only 315') and at least 1 of the others was wind-aided. I wonder if I can talk him into the CAT--and out of the Velo?
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I'm thinking Cat 7 will be the best option. I guess if the velo works for him though, it works.
Fwiw, my son has used the Velo (balanced model, not end-loaded) for a couple of years now and refuses to even try anything else. I'd say the Velo is the most popular bat I see in his HS and travel games, although there are plenty of other models in use. (I have no opinion about performance--I just try to find a good price on last year's models instead of paying full retail.)
My son used the velo (balanced) from age 14 on. Loves it. Plays wood these days. Yes, that ping can be grating--ESPECIALLY indoors and downrange!
