The Exogrid has been Louisville’s best selling bat for the last six years, and in 2013 they have introduced the Exogrid 3. It is a hybrid baseball bat that uses an internal carbon composite sleeve in the handle. That LS-2X composite sleeve makes the bat lighter and makes the handle extremely stiff. That’s saying a lot for Louisville who prides itself on stiff handles and has never made a flex handle model. The majority of the bat is made with their AC21 alloy which was introduced in the 2012 model along with the LS-2X composite sleeve.
For all intense and purposes it is the exact same design they’ve used since it was introduced. The change for 2013 is that they’re now claiming it has the “lowest swing weight available” for a 2 5/8″ barrel BBCOR model. They say this is due to “composite flex band technology” that uses thinner high strength and lightweight graphite fibers, adding more layers to the barrel for added strength while reducing the overall thickness of the barrel wall.
It had always been promoted as a balanced bat in the past, so this change is significant. The best indication of how it is received is to see the number of college players using it. As said, it is the preferred bat of college players on teams swinging Louisville. If this changes they’re not accepting this technology.
It has always been a great choice for both power and singles hitters and is a bat I recommend. It is available in Adult BBCOR, Senior and Youth models. The BBCOR model retails for $299.
Here’s are the specifications of the Exogrid 3:
- The heart of the ExoGrid 3 is the carbon sleeve, which provides greater handle stiffness than aluminum alone ever could
- Metal is trimmed in a grid pattern, then replaced with carbon composite inserts that are several times stronger and lighter than the metal they replace
- ExoGrid Bi/Fusion process uses a combination of heat and extreme pressure to bond the carbon sleeve, carbon inserts and metal wall to function as one single unit
- Using thinner high-strength and lightweight graphite fibers, Louisville is able to add more layers to the composite for added strength while reducing the overall thickness of the barrel wall, meaning more pop and less weight
- Rather than thicken the walls to bring them in line with BBCOR standard, Louisville inserts a 1″ wide graphite band
- This graphite band gives the bat the lowest swing weight available for a 2 5/8″ BBCOR barrel, and it’s small enough that the sweet spot feels just like your old BESR bat
- LS-2X composite /AC21 alloy hybrid
- 31/32″ tapered handle
- Synthetic grip
- 2-Color end cap
Slide over here to view all of the 2013 Louisville baseball bats.