Tag Archives: flex

Know the Difference Between Stiff and Flex Handle Baseball Bats.

The Stiff vs. Flex Handle baseball bat debate is the centerpiece of the dispute between baseball bat manufacturers and a leading cause of confusion among baseball bat consumers. I wish Mythbusters had included this in their baseball special.At least they taught us a corked bat actually reduces batted ball speed.

Here’s how to understand the rating for baseball bat handles. 100 is the stiffest handle rating and a handle with maximum flexibility will have a rating of 60. You’ll see ratings anywhere between these two extremes. Unfortunately, the majority of manufacturers do not provide the exact flex rating for their bats, just that they are stiff or flex handles.

Manufacturers like Easton and Demarini have pushed the benefits of the flex handle design for years, while others like Louisville and COMbat push the benefits of the stiff handle design. Two completely different designs stating they’re superior to the other. Will someone please hit me in the head with either a stiff of flex handle bat? Some manufacturers, like Easton, have recently begun to offer both flex and stiff handle versions of the same bat.

The flex handle philosophy says it’s better because “whip action” allows the bat to uncoil and release energy stored during the swing and increases the bat speed up to the moment of impact. Whip action is the bending of the bat when brought back and then swung forward before the point of contact. The top of the barrel is supposed to move behind the handle when it’s brought back and then move in front of the handle when it’s swung forward. Think of a diving board and a golf club as examples. See photo demonstrating the whip action of a golf club.

Stiff handle manufacturers say that stiff handles allow the trampoline effect in the barrel to be more effective thus improving batted-ball speed. The premise is all bats flex on contact (which is true) but the stiff handle makes that barrel flex more pronounced on contact and increases batted ball speed. Also, that rigid handles hit balls faster because a flexible handle messes up your swing, and if not timed exactly right, can actually reduce batted ball speed.

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Is a One Piece or Two Piece Baseball Bat Better?

It used to be simple; a bat was one piece of wood, aluminum or composite. How things have changed! Two piece bats are now extremely popular and seem to be the trend for the foreseeable future.


Easton, Demarini and Nike have long championed the two-piece design. Demarini and Nike have held fast to this philosophy while Easton has branched out to make bats in almost all designs in an effort to appeal to everyone. They say the major benefit of a two piece bat is that it gives more flex to the barrel at the point of contact and, therefore, increases the trampoline effect (see photo of bat after the point of contact). This should not be confused with handle flex (or whip action). Handle flex or whip action is supposed to take place before the point of contact with the ball, and the trampoline effect at the point of contact.

The one-piece bat argument long championed by Louisville and recently COMbat. Louisville claims their Triton and H2 are “bonded” together to act more like a true one-piece bat. They say the two-piece design results in weakness at the joint of the handle and barrel thereby reducing the trampoline effect or spring back. They’re essentially saying that it provides very little resistance and therefore will not spring back as quick and hard as a one-piece design.

Before we go any farther, let’s understand what trample effect actual means in the scientific world. The trampoline effect refers to pronounced elasticity in the impacting object (baseball bat, tennis racquet, golf club, etc.) such that it acts like a trampoline. It is also referred to as the spring-like effect because of the degree to which the object depresses, then springs back into shape when striking a ball. Here are the scientific specifics for a baseball bat:

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