Tag Archives: Baseball Bat Reviews

2010 Miken Baseball Bat Review

Before I start with the baseball bat review, let’s begin with the name. Miken is a combination of the names of its two founders, Mike and Ken. I had always thought it was the name of a well known softball player. Miken was founded in 1997 as a manufacturer of composite golf club shafts and soon began manufacturing softball bats with its composite material. They expanded into baseball bats and continue to manufacture composite only bats.In 2004 Miken was purchased by K2 (the ski company) which also owns the Rawlings and Worth brands. So there’s no doubt Miken composite material is well integrated into Rawlings and Worth bats. I’m sure there are identical bats under each brand except for the name and color. Case in point, the Rawlings 5150 Comp and 5150 Hybrid have eerily similar designs to the Miken bats.

In 2010 Miken has decided to FREAK out as their entire 2010 line-up carries the Freak brand name.

Here’s what they offer:

Miken Composite Bats

  • Freak Flex & Stiff: 100% composite, one-piece, multi-wall bat with a stiff or flex handle and intermediate swing weight. Miken, like Easton, is wise to offer their top bat in both a stiff and flex handle design. Unfortunately, this bat is priced too high in my opinion. The Adult -3 model retails for $379 putting it in the Stealth/Synergy Speed category which is a proven commodity. This bat should be priced as s second tier composite bat and so I’d take a pass on the Freak.

Miken Hybrid Bats Continue reading →

Our Review of the Louisville Slugger TPX EXOGRID SL9X5

The Louisville Exogrid has been a popular baseball bat for the last three years. When introduced, it had a unique design that separated it from the pack. In the 2009 model year, with the reemergence of composite bats and introduction of hybrid technology, the Exogrid is no longer a novelty. Louisville is a strong proponent of the stiff handle. Their material says “the last thing you want at the moment of contact is for your bat handle to flex thus the barrel can not.  A stiff handle produces more barrel flex, resulting in maximum trampoline effect and greater performance.” The Exogrid is marketed as the premier stiff handle bat in their arsenal because of its design.

Continue reading →

Do You Know What a Composite Baseball Bat is?

The composite baseball bat is here to stay, so know them, live them and love them.

Stronger and lighter than high-grade aluminum, they are either made of a graphite-fiber composite material or have an aluminum core with graphite lining.

The main advantage is it’s lighter than aluminum and hence provides for a larger barrel and sweet spot within the designated drop ratio. They give a whole lot more forgiveness for the imperfect swing, and have the potential to make the average hitter a clean-up hitter.

Continue reading →

Do You Know What a Hybrid Baseball Bat is?

So what is a hybrid baseball batand why would I want to buy one? These baseball bats are a combination of composite and alloy material. The handle is composite and the barrel is alloy.

Examples of include:

  • Louisville TPX H2
  • Easton SV12
  • Demarini Voodoo
  • Demarini Vendetta
  • Demarini Vexxum
  • Rawlings Rush Gold Lite
  • Nike Aero Fuse (not to be confused with the Aero Fuse CF2)

The lighter composite handle allows the alloy barrel to be made longer than a traditional 100% alloy bat. This increases the “sweet spot” compared to an alloy bat and provides more leeway to the batter. In contrast, a 100% composite bat has both a composite handle and barrel making the barrel, and “sweet spot”, even larger. Continue reading →

Do You Want to Know the Difference Between Composite and Aluminum Baseball Bats?

When purchasing a baseball bat the first step you need too understand is the material. This is an in-depth article on composite vs. aluminum bats.

Composite material baseball and softball bats have been around for quite a while, but only in the last few years have they begun to seriously compete with aluminum bats. As far back as 1985, graphite and plastic bats were available[1,2] and by the late 1980’s each of the three big bat companies – Easton, Worth, and Louisville Slugger – had graphite bats on the market. These early bats were advertised as “having the strength of aluminum and the performance of wood.” They were very strong and held up to a lot of abuse, but because they did not perform nearly as well as the more popular aluminum single-walled bats then available they did not remain on the market very long. For about 10 years graphite bats pretty much disappeared from the scene, but by the late 1990’s a few small bat companies – most noticeably Miken – were reintroducing carbon fiber, or composite material, bats into the market again. Like their predecessors, these composite bats were pretty durable, but not very high performing. Continue reading →