Easton Speed Composites?

[g-mc]

Hey guys, I've been riding the Combat bandwagon since the C4's and I'm not sure that you can find a better composite, but we've been considering straying off the beaten path and trying something a little different.
He owns essentially every Combat with the exception of the B3. Around where he plays, the jury is still out on the B3's, but they look like they have good pop to them, just not quite as good as the B1's

He has been wanting to pick up an Easton Speed and I was wondering if anyone had any experience with them as well as the Combats to compare the two. There are so many different Easton's produced that I'm not quite sure how to figure out the difference in the names and codes available, but he's considering along the lines of a 31/19 or 31/18 and it has to be a composite barrel.

Thanks for any help in advance!

[EastonEngineer]

You're looking for the white and green Speed XL, the model name is LSS6XL.

[g-mc]

Thanks. Would that be the same as this one? http://www.baseballexp.com/Baseball-Bats/Clearance-Baseball-Bats/Easton-2010-Stealth-Speed-75-13-Youth-Baseball-Bat/baseball/lev/6/productId/11237/No/10/Nty/1/Ns/CATEGORY_SEQ_537|0/Ne/1100001/parentCatId/537/pCategoryId/1/categoryId/1101800/Nao/10/N/36+1101800+33/index.pro
I thought if I could save a few bucks, I might let him try a couple of different ones to see which style he prefers.

[Vendettta person]

I highly recommend not to get the -13. My son hated it so much.

[LLdad]

I can't help you with the "speed" models specifically, but my experience with the Stealth and Synergy lines is that the -12 and -13 versions are kind of duds. Most of the kids seem to have a hard time finishing their swing (stopping on contact) with them. The -11 Stealth comp has impressed me (both the red/blue and powder blue paint job), as have the -9 Stealth "power hitter" and -10 Synergy "power hitter" models. I don't know if this trend holds true with the new models or not, but I'd personally be hesitant to buy one without getting some good swings in with it first.

[g-mc]

Thanks for all of the input. That's why I love this board.

My problem is that as an 11 this year, he's been swinging a 29/19 B2 and did a fine job with it, but he went and did some BP with an older kid last night and changed halfway through practice to a 31/19 B3 and the coach that was working with them said that he looked a lot better with the bigger bat. My son loved the feel of a longer bat and it will take the off season to jump two inches, but I don't want to jump up in weight dramatically.

If the larger drop Easton composites are going to leave us wondering where the power went, maybe I will reconsider just going with the B3. I just thought we'd venture into uncharted territory for a different brand. He hasn't saved up enough to cover his half of a new bat, so time to decide is still on our side.

[Vendettta person]

They also are selling the B3 gear on cheapbats.com if you want to check it out.

[g-mc]

I noticed that, but I'm afraid that if the B3 is a revamped B1, then the B3 Gear night be a revamped B2. If that was the case, I'd go with the B3 for sure.

Thanks Vendettta, I'm definitely eager to hear the reviews for it.

[robeyeshua221]

i have the b3 - 31/19 and the easton stealth speed in a 30/17 - the stealth as i think most will agree has a bit of flex in the handle - not the whippy feeling that demarini made famous but more of a flex - very hot after broken in - a very nice bat - the b3 has, of course the stiffer feel but very good pop out of the wrapper - i really don't think it is the hot bat that the b1 was, but the ball does still jump off the barrel - my 12 year old - 5 ft. about 105lbs prefers the stealth - just last night he used a stealth xl drop 10 that seemed a little heavy to me but had tremendous pop - he really liked it - i talked to the owner of the bat - a real smart baseball guy who bought the bat used on ebay and agreed it was very hot - balls were flying over a 200 ft fence from kids who are not long ball hitters on a damp night - this really got me to thinking about that extra weight and length - not sure i've helped you decide but i still felt my info would be useful

[CetiAlphaVI]

Does it make sense to go from a -10 back to a -12 just to get a longer bat? An 11U player will be swinging a -3 whether they want to or not in a couple of years.

[Jammer]

I am glad you asked this question because I was going to ask a similiar one. My son has a 29/19 B1 and now wants a 29/19 Stealth XL Speed (red one used in 2009 LL WS). So is there a difference? The ball pops off the B1 really nice, but since many kids now have ComBats, my son wants to be different. He is 9 and weighs 92#, better then average with contact, but could have a quicker swing.

Jim

[Jammer]

Glad you asked the question because my son has a B1 29/19 and now wants the 2009 red Stealth XL Speed 29/19. Are we talking about basically the same bat? I have been to two major sporting goods stores and cannot get my hands on a XL Speed.

Jim

[g-mc]

Does it make sense to go from a -10 back to a -12 just to get a longer bat? An 11U player will be swinging a -3 whether they want to or not in a couple of years.

I thought about the same thing and that's another reason I considered picking up two. By the time next season rolls around, he would be used to the length and he could have a 31/21 as well. He's already stocked up on hand-me-downs for when he turns 13 and anything I buy him now is passed down to his little brother who seems to always make out like a bandit when it comes to sporting goods.:D
I see what you're getting at though. I'm a firm believer in going up in weight before length, but he was feeling more confident with the 31/19 and confidence at the plate at that age is huge.

[g-mc]

2009 red Stealth XL Speed 29/19. Are we talking about basically the same bat?
I'm not sure as we haven't owned many Easton's in a long time.

[Vendettta person]

The Stealth Speed Xl red will be more end loaded than the B1 in a 29-19.

[tom2p]

The Stealth Speed Xl red will be more end loaded than the B1 in a 29-19.
.
So - moving directly from a 29-19 Combat to a 31" Stealth Speed XL may not be a good idea.
.
Actually, moving from any 29" bat directly to a 31" bat is not a good idea. Why skip the 30" size ?
.

[tom2p]

Does it make sense to go from a -10 back to a -12 just to get a longer bat? An 11U player will be swinging a -3 whether they want to or not in a couple of years.
.
Depends on the kid. Not all kids are middle school ball material - so moving a less accomplished kid to a -10 bat would not be ideal.
.
And some kids grow late (unfortunate for them). Good to look toward the future - but still not a good idea to hamper them with a bat they can not swing properly.
.
Most of the kids I coached in youth ball that have been successful in middle school ball ( and later) did swing heavier bats. The transition was quick and almost seamless. But I also coached a kid that used a -12.5 drop bat in LL - went almost directly to a -3 bat after just one fall season with a -8 big barrel bat. The kid did struggle at first - but eventually improved (and grew !) and is now using a 32-29. So far this season in 14 Fed, he hit two 320+ ft home runs.
.

[Vendettta person]

The XL in a -12 isnt that end loaded. The -10 is though.

[CetiAlphaVI]

...he was feeling more confident with the 31/19 and confidence at the plate at that age is huge.Gotcha. Confidence is definitely key. It seems like you have a good plan to get him where he needs to go from there.
Most of the kids I coached in youth ball that have been successful in middle school ball ( and later) did swing heavier bats. The transition was quick and almost seamless. But I also coached a kid that used a -12.5 drop bat in LL - went almost directly to a -3 bat after just one fall season with a -8 big barrel bat. The kid did struggle at first - but eventually improved (and grew !) and is now using a 32-29. So far this season in 14 Fed, he hit two 320+ ft home runs. Thanks for the info, tom2p. Mine is 11U and he's a little guy swinging a 29/19 B1 very successfully right now. I've been trying to figure out exactly what route I should take with him in the next couple of years to get him to -3 and still keep his confidence up.:cool:

[tom2p]

11U swinging a 29-19 successfully .... appears you are on the correct path .... many accomplished 11's with size will swing a 30-20 or 31-21 .... but it all depends on the kid ....
.
continue to work in bigger and heavier bats with kid in BP ..... typically in the middle of a BP session ... (start and end with current bat) .... especially a good time if/when you have some extra days before the next game ... eventually kid should/will be ready for the next size bat (ideal: longer bat at first - and then longer/heavier bat) ......
.
this can take some time .... my little guy currently swings a 29-17 .... have been working in a 29-18 and 29-19 in BP sessions (T, soft toss, cage) on and off .... sometimes also a 30-18 ..... the plan for him to use the 29-19 next season ....
.

[stlbats]

My 9yr old son used a teammates new 2011 Easton Speed Senior 28-18 in all 5 games this weekend and it hits pretty well. The bat seams pretty balanced and has decent pop. It cant be broken in yet and the ball comes off it pretty well.

[Hitman]

i know you guys will hang me for this but........throw your combats away

i have just been an Easton man since i was 5 yrs old.......my son wanted a B1 after he saw the kid from Georgia hit the little league home run

so we got one.......we broke it in and this bat has never really impressed me that much

get him an Easton Rival or a SV12.........both of these bats are HOT

[CetiAlphaVI]

I've been an Easton guy since about 1982. That said, my kid this years swings a 29/19 Combat B1 as his primary and a 29/19 Easton Synergy LZN2 Power Hitter as his backup. Both are excellent bats. Which B1 do you have? Small or big barrel?

[Hitman]

it is an 2 1/4 B1

he swings a Easton BCNCP1 for coatch pitch
and an Easton Rival for kid pitch

[CetiAlphaVI]

My son prefers how the Synergy IMX feels (feedback when hitting the ball), but we go to a field by ourselves at least once a week and both of us think the B1 is a touch hotter. We also have a 29/19 B1 big barrel and a 29/19 Synergy BCN11 big barrel for next year. The big barrel B1 isn't as hot out of the box as the small barrel B1 was. He likes the Synergy right out of the box, though. They (B1 and BCN11) seem to have about the same pop.

[Hitman]

my son and i go practice at our field every night for 2 hrs from 6pm to 8pm......7 days a week

except on game nights

[g-mc]

i know you guys will hang me for this but........throw your combats away
Alright guys, grab your pitchforks and light the torches! LMAO!:D

Seriously though, I don't see how any bat on the market can be any hotter than the Combats and still be legal.
I'm like you and I grew up with an Easton in my hand from a kid all the way through high school and loved them. My son was just wanting to mix it up a bit and try something different, but keep that balanced feel and composite sound so I thought I'd pick up a few Eastons to try out.
I'm still thinking I'll stick with the Combats for one last year and try out the Easton big barrels when he starts getting ready for the big field.

[Hitman]

i would put an Easton BCNCP1 up against any Combat.........its pretty hot

[g-mc]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but is that not a coach pitch bat?:confused:

[Hitman]

yes it is g-mc........

[Vendettta person]

Get a real 2 1/4 bat then compare. cp bats are the biggest jokes. If your kid is good enough to jack them over at 7 then get him a real bat and see. When my son was in CP he had walmart bats and still made the all star teams. If he had a combat he might have been better, but he had fun over all of that. Hitman, i want to see your son hit with a little stick, that they also call a wooden bat and have your league have a homerun derby. That is what i would like to see.

[Hitman]

he can hit just as good with a 2 1/4 bat as he can with a 2 3/4 bat........not near as many homeruns with the 2 1/4 though

Vendetta i dont know very many 8 yr olds that can hit a homerun with a wooden bat do you ?

[Vendettta person]

I don't mean over the fence, just how far they can hit it.
I don't believe in CP bats because they exceed the legal limit and they give kids false hope. When your kids starts seeing 50 mph and is swing a 30/20 it will be different.

[g-mc]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but is that not a coach pitch bat?
yes it is g-mc........

OK, I follow ya now, but as far as the 2 1/4" bats go, I stand by my statement that you can't find a hotter bat than the B1 without it being illegal.

[Hitman]

OH......well you said homerun derby

as far as the cp bat goes.......he can hit it out on the field we play cp on with his Easton Rival

again everyone keeps slamming the big barrels but noone will answer why they use 2 5/8 big barrels at the college level if they are so bad

[Hitman]

and to just re-assure the Big Barrel users on here

the South Carolina Gamecocks just won the College Baseball World Series with more than half of there lineup using a 2 5/8 Easton SV12 Big Barrel......................

[Vendettta person]

That is the stiff flex too though. Plus, those guys could beat teams with any kind of bat, its all mechanics.

[Hitman]

wonder why they choose a Big Barrel then.........it is a obvious advantage using a big barrel

[Union-LL-AA-dad]

HS and College require a -3 drop. In a 2-1/4" diameter barrel, it would be hard to design a 32"-34" bat in a -3 w/o adding weight internally. Look at slow pitch softball bats which are 2-1/4" diameter. They typically have -6 to -8 drops. Plus to hit a 90mph fastball, you need the extra surface area that a 2-5/8" bat provides just to make contact. But probably the main reason is the hoop strength of a 2-5/8" barrel vs 2-1/4" barrel.

Read this:
http://paws.kettering.edu/~drussell/bats-new/baseball-softball.html

[CetiAlphaVI]

OK, I follow ya now, but as far as the 2 1/4" bats go, I stand by my statement that you can't find a hotter bat than the B1 without it being illegal.Yep. Comparing a coach pitch bat to one designed within the limits of 1.15 bpf is an apples/oranges comparison. The Combat B1 is really hot right out of the gate. I think that's why people like them so much. It's not that some other bats aren't as good, it's that they seem to require a longer breaking-in period.

[g-mc]

I didn't even realize that there was such a huge following surrounding these CP bats. All of the leagues around here go from t-ball to pitching machine so you don't see all of these big barreled bats unless you're traveling. ...even then, all of the kids I've seen in the tournaments are swinging 2 1/4" bats.

[CetiAlphaVI]

I didn't know either. I never ran in to a Dad of a kid I was coaching as a 6/7/8 year old who wanted their sons swinging anything more than the appropriately sized 2 1/4 Easton from the local Wally World.

[tom2p]

Unfortunately, I too often ran into the opposite ...... a number of parents that did not pay enough attention to the bats their 6 and 7 yr old kids were swinging. When my little guy was in the 7 yr old league, some of the kids in the league were swinging bats bigger than my 11 yr old kid .....
.

[Hitman]

i see the same thing here

i coach my sons 8 yr old coach pitch team and when we first started practice i had kids get up there with 31/28 bats trying to hit the ball

i asked the parents........ do you really think your son can swing that bat

i gave them a few suggestions and as the season went on i started seeing bats coming in that fit the child........after all of this we are now a pretty good hitting team

[CetiAlphaVI]

Unfortunately, I too often ran into the opposite ...... a number of parents that did not pay enough attention to the bats their 6 and 7 yr old kids were swinging. When my little guy was in the 7 yr old league, some of the kids in the league were swinging bats bigger than my 11 yr old kid .....I believe you. I still run into that in 11U travel. My point was that none of the parents I coached at that age were interested in spending more than $30 on a bat, so I never saw a 2 3/4" Coach Pitch bat. I generally saw the 2 1/4" el-cheapos from Wal-Mart, garage sale bats and hand-me-downs from older siblings.

[Hitman]

BUT............when you constantly play teams that are using the HOT CP bats

the teams using the 30 dollar bats,el cheapos,and hand me downs are gonna get the brakes beat off of them against the teams with the HOT bats........so therefore i am not going to get beat like that so we joined the crowd to be competitive

now i know someone will get on here and say that there teams uses the EL CHEAPOS bats and always beats those snotty nosed kids with the fancy bats 50 to 1

i'm just saying most of the time the team with the hot bats are gonna beat you......or they wouldnt be getting rid of them from the game......per say rule change

[Vendettta person]

Hitman, whats in your bag?

[Hitman]

its in the thread........whats in your bag

[Vendettta person]

Its in the thread. first page. btw i just realized this is the wrong thread.

[Hitman]

yes 1st page.............