More about the advantages of Composite Bats
I had posted in a short way what advantages the Composite Bats had. As promised. I want to add more details about it.
The closer the bat’s balance point is to the handle, the easier it is to swing. Composite bats make it easier to shift mass around from barrel end to handle to control the location of the balance point and thus the swing weight.
Also, Composite materials have a distinct advantage over aluminum in that they are anisotropic, which means that the elastic properties of a composite material are not the same in all directions. The stiffness in the longitudinal (along the length of the bat) and circumferential (around the barrel of the bat) directions can be modified pretty much independently of each other. This means that you can make the barrel of a composite bat soft while still maintaining the stiffness in the handle.
The damping values for all-composite bats or bats with composite handles are at least twice as high as aluminum bats, and some composite bats have as nearly 10 times more damping than aluminum bats. This is partly why composite bats are advertised as having a “more forgiving sweet spot.” And we all know that sweet spots are good, don’t we?
Another cool thing is that Composite Bats sound just like a wood bat… or at least that is very cool for me.
What do you think about Composite Bats? Please let me know by adding a comment.
Composite bats have a “thunk” and/or a “crack” sound to them on almost every hit. This is another advantage for the hitter as the defense can’t really tell how well the ball is hit by the sound. I throw a lot of BP to my 14U team. I’ve been hit 4 times this year even behind the L screen @ 40ft…all with the composites stuff. You just can’t tell how well it’s hit until it’s too late.(i know…get be hind the L faster!!)
…also my son last year in Freshman ball hit a ball off the 340 wall w/ a CF3. (with the wind…but still a bomb for his size)