Easton Stealth CNT Composite vs Combat

[bob_r]

Afer watching the LL world series my 11 year old son conned me into buying the Easton Stealth CNT composite bat. He was using a Combat DaBomb. I'm getting worried that I payed a lot of money for an inferior bat. He has hit about 150 balls with this bat so I assume he's broken it in, however it's not comming close to the Combat bat as far as pop and distance. Anybody have a similar experience. Is 150 balls enough to break the bat in?

[bugboy900]

i have never used this bat but i know i is a very good bat. the composite is flexible so when you swing the bat flexes and gives you a better at bat. i would buy this bat.

i think that 150 balls is good enough but only if they were pitched to him. the ball would go farther and be more effective.

[EdmondsFan#1]

How much does the bat cost?

And does anyone know how a Easton CxN is? I'm not sure if it's easton but i'm pretty sure.

[GeorgiaHoo]

Daughter uses an Easton CNT Synergy for fastpitch softball and its one of the best 2 or 3 fastpitch bats around. The Stealth is (I believe) the successor to the Synergy. The Easton folks would tell you that the Connexion (CXN) is a step down from the Stealth or Synergy but I've never used one.

A Stealth is going to be $300+.

[Witchdoctor]

Daughter uses an Easton CNT Synergy for fastpitch softball and its one of the best 2 or 3 fastpitch bats around. The Stealth is (I believe) the successor to the Synergy. The Easton folks would tell you that the Connexion (CXN) is a step down from the Stealth or Synergy but I've never used one.

A Stealth is going to be $300+.

My son uses a Combat C4 Youth bat and it has a much better pop then the Stealths.

[FindAGap12]

Afer watching the LL world series my 11 year old son conned me into buying the Easton Stealth CNT composite bat. He was using a Combat DaBomb. I'm getting worried that I payed a lot of money for an inferior bat. He has hit about 150 balls with this bat so I assume he's broken it in, however it's not comming close to the Combat bat as far as pop and distance. Anybody have a similar experience. Is 150 balls enough to break the bat in?

To paraphrase Ted WIlliams..."It's not the arrow, it's the Indian"...a bat is a bat.

I use the Speedchek radar to measure exit velocity off a tee on a regualr basis. I just place a ball on a tee, set up the radar, and let it rip. Nearly every bat I have ever tried is within 3-5 mph. Brand new stat-of-the art vs. a 20-year-old cracked green easton. They are all the same. Bat companies have testing standards (a bat can not exceed a certain exit velocity in tests) , and generally, they all place their bats at the maximum edge of those standards.

People often confuse volume for "pop". They assume the louder bat is hitting the ball harder. Not always true. Kids often tell me that their bat is dead,which means the bat is not "pinging" as loud, we then test how hard they can hit the ball off the tee with two bats and it's always the same, but their bat is not as loud and piercing.

I bet if you put an amplifier in a bat to crank up the volume of contact, you could make a bundle of money...

Also, bats do not "break in" like gloves. Their pop can only diminish with use, not increase.

[Stealth]

All you have to do with the Combat bat is make contact. The Combat should be illiegal, the pop this bat has is crazy. I saw 10 year olds who could hit the ball maybe 150-165 ft. on a good day all of a sudden hit them over a 200 ft. fence - easily!

A local LL team (12's) hit 30 homeruns in all stars - approx. 10 games.

I guess if it's legal use it but............

Way better than anything out there - except I hear it cracks?

[Witchdoctor]

All you have to do with the Combat bat is make contact. The Combat should be illiegal, the pop this bat has is crazy. I saw 10 year olds who could hit the ball maybe 150-165 ft. on a good day all of a sudden hit them over a 200 ft. fence - easily!

A local LL team (12's) hit 30 homeruns in all stars - approx. 10 games.

I guess if it's legal use it but............

Way better than anything out there - except I hear it cracks?

You have a point on the cracking. My son probably does not have the power to crack the bat but man does it make a difference from the Vexxum. I can probably bet money that the larger bat companies will have a similiar design soon. My only real concern is that the baseball flies off the bat so fast it can really hurt an inexperience kid in the field playing rec ball.

[PullFactor]

Again, Little league would not allow the use of the bat if it did not conform to their exit velocity regulations.
STOP saying that the optimal hit on a Stealth will go farther than the optimal hit on a Combat, that is impossible.

[Stealth]

Again, Little league would not allow the use of the bat if it did not conform to their exit velocity regulations.
STOP saying that the optimal hit on a Stealth will go farther than the optimal hit on a Combat, that is impossible

LL as far as I know has no regulations on bats other than size and weight!

[bob_r]

I paid $269 for the stealth bat vs $189 for the combat. Without a doubt the combat is much better. Both conform to little league standards. As anecdotal evidence; I hit the ball one handled to practice outfield fly's to my son. I feel i'm real consistant (as I hit about 30 in the same area every time) and the Combat flys off much farther I have to swing easier to get to the same spot.

[hellborn]

To paraphrase Ted WIlliams..."It's not the arrow, it's the Indian"...a bat is a bat.

I use the Speedchek radar to measure exit velocity off a tee on a regualr basis. I just place a ball on a tee, set up the radar, and let it rip. Nearly every bat I have ever tried is within 3-5 mph. Brand new stat-of-the art vs. a 20-year-old cracked green easton. They are all the same. Bat companies have testing standards (a bat can not exceed a certain exit velocity in tests) , and generally, they all place their bats at the maximum edge of those standards.

People often confuse volume for "pop". They assume the louder bat is hitting the ball harder. Not always true. Kids often tell me that their bat is dead,which means the bat is not "pinging" as loud, we then test how hard they can hit the ball off the tee with two bats and it's always the same, but their bat is not as loud and piercing.

I bet if you put an amplifier in a bat to crank up the volume of contact, you could make a bundle of money...

Also, bats do not "break in" like gloves. Their pop can only diminish with use, not increase.
I don't have much experience with the newer baseball bats, but modern SP bats have a huge range of performance. I bought a Worth doublewall metal SP bat that could not even match the performance of my 15 year old Easton green/red log, replaced it with a Mizuno composite bat that far exceeds the performance of either. I was hitting the ball 20-30 feet short of the old Easton with that Worth. Just because a bat meets a standard doesn't mean that it is at the exact limit of that standard. And, the very top of the line bats will have larger sweet spots that will deliver the 98mph exit speed or whatever over a larger area of the barrel...this is what differentiates something like a $350 Easton Stealth CNT SCN5, or a good Miken, from my $150 Mizuno.
A 3-5mph spread in exit speed is quite significant...I'm not sure if the testing for USSSA and ASA is exactly the same, but the 100mph exit speed for USSSA seems to produce quite a difference in performance from the ASA 98mph, if you listen to people who play in both associations.
And, modern composite bats most definitely do "break in"...no question about it. I have experienced this myself and it is well attested amongst serious players who rate SP bats on the web. Players who do not have time to break in a composite bat the old-fashioned way will beat new bats on telephone poles to get a quick break in. My Mizuno started really breaking in after maybe 50 swings, I read that a fancy Easton needs to have about 200 hits to reach maximum performance. I thought that I had totally wasted my money on that Mizuno until I was told about the break in time...
I dug up a report online that shows increases in batted ball speed of close to 4mph for "naturally" broken in bats (up to 1000 swings) and over 8mph for bats with accelerated break in (I would assume that the bigger numbers are for composite bats). I hope this link comes through...
http://www.kettering.edu/~drussell/bats-new/Papers/TokyoDoctoredBats.pdf#search=%22%22softball%20bat% 22%20%22break%20in%22%22
The study also claims that corking doesn't do much and that bat shaving does work.

[hellborn]

Again, Little league would not allow the use of the bat if it did not conform to their exit velocity regulations.
STOP saying that the optimal hit on a Stealth will go farther than the optimal hit on a Combat, that is impossible

LL as far as I know has no regulations on bats other than size and weight!
Again, not all bats that meet the same specifications are going to be EXACTLY at the performance limit of the specification. There is only an upper limit.
Also, the study that I mentioned in a previous post shows that different bats improve by different amounts due to break in. I can't imagine that bats are broken in before testing...maybe the "better" bats gain more than the "lesser" bats during break in?

[bigredmachine#1]

Again, Little league would not allow the use of the bat if it did not conform to their exit velocity regulations.
STOP saying that the optimal hit on a Stealth will go farther than the optimal hit on a Combat, that is impossible

LL as far as I know has no regulations on bats other than size and weight!

You are exactly right Stealth. I called, and spoke to an official at Little League baseball about this very subject. The only regulation that a bat manufacturer must meet for Little League is barrel size. Little League does not measure exit speed. Exit speed is only regulated at the High School/College level where the BESR comes into play.

The Anderson Techzilla 2 1/4" doublewall, end-loaded baseball bat should be banned from use. The exit speed off this bat is amazing if hit on the sweetspot, which seems to be fairly small (thank goodness). This is another gimmicky, softball bat cut down to size for use in youth baseball that will get some kid (pitcher/third baseman/first baseman) seriously hurt. This bat is meant for the weak hitter to give him a chance to put the ball into the outfield while giving his father a chance to puff out his chest and "scream that's my boy!"

[scrface744]

i no people with this bat and he slumped his first season with it. the bat is not supposed to have pop though its composite.......it almost sounds like a wood bat

[Witchdoctor]

i no people with this bat and he slumped his first season with it. the bat is not supposed to have pop though its composite.......it almost sounds like a wood bat

I am hearing more and more about the Anderson Techzilla youth bats in the 10U leagues. From what others have told me is that the pop is actually better with more and more use because the carbon balls in the bat break down. It is also interesting to note that the bat has a rough surface to "grip" the ball, altough I do not know if there is any truth to that. As far as the bat is for weaker player, I am scratching my head on that. In my opinion, the better the bat and the better the distance the more the player falls in love with baseball.

I am going to continue sticking with the Vexxum and the Combat C-4 for my son in Pee-Wee. If he hits it 130 ft or 150 ft over the fence, it is a homerun regardless.

[bigredmachine#1]

I am hearing more and more about the Anderson Techzilla youth bats in the 10U leagues. From what others have told me is that the pop is actually better with more and more use because the carbon balls in the bat break down. It is also interesting to note that the bat has a rough surface to "grip" the ball, altough I do not know if there is any truth to that. As far as the bat is for weaker player, I am scratching my head on that. In my opinion, the better the bat and the better the distance the more the player falls in love with baseball.

I am going to continue sticking with the Vexxum and the Combat C-4 for my son in Pee-Wee. If he hits it 130 ft or 150 ft over the fence, it is a homerun regardless.

There are no carbon balls in the bat that I saw. I have seen one split wide open. The exterior wall of the bat split at one of the 3 pins at the end of the bat. The pins hold in a sleeve that runs down the inside of the bat barrell to where the taper starts. When the bat split open the pins gave way and the metal sleeve shot out towards the third baseman, almost reaching him. Well made bat... The bat does get "hotter" the more it is used. The barrell will get wavy and flexible. More gimmicks...If the kid is a good batter he doesn't need this bat, it's for the weaker player and the weaker players' Dad.

Some kid is going to get hurt because of this Anderson bat.

[Witchdoctor]

There are no carbon balls in the bat that I saw. I have seen one split wide open. The exterior wall of the bat split at one of the 3 pins at the end of the bat. The pins hold in a sleeve that runs down the inside of the bat barrell to where the taper starts. When the bat split open the pins gave way and the metal sleeve shot out towards the third baseman, almost reaching him. Well made bat... The bat does get "hotter" the more it is used. The barrell will get wavy and flexible. More gimmicks...If the kid is a good batter he doesn't need this bat, it's for the weaker player and the weaker players' Dad.

Some kid is going to get hurt because of this Anderson bat.

Interesting.. Scary how a bat would just break apart like that.

[flea45]

And does anyone know how a Easton CxN is? I'm not sure if it's easton but i'm pretty sure.

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD:D

I got one and i swear by it.

[bbjunkie]

Again, Little league would not allow the use of the bat if it did not conform to their exit velocity regulations.
STOP saying that the optimal hit on a Stealth will go farther than the optimal hit on a Combat, that is impossible

LL as far as I know has no regulations on bats other than size and weight!
Beginning with the 2007 season LL requires a bpf (bat performance factor) rating of no more than 1.15. You'll see that metal LL bats all have that printed somewhere on the bat already. I don't know exactly how they measure bpf.

[chawbacon]

Beginning with the 2007 season LL requires a bpf (bat performance factor) rating of no more than 1.15. You'll see that metal LL bats all have that printed somewhere on the bat already. I don't know exactly how they measure bpf.

It appears that change doesn't take effect until the 2009 season. see page 4 of http://www.littleleague.org/media/Rule_Changes_09-06.pdf

[bbjunkie]

It appears that change doesn't take effect until the 2009 season. see page 4 of http://www.littleleague.org/media/Rule_Changes_09-06.pdf
They must have moved the date back. They probably figured they'll catch enough flack with the pitch count rule.

[BMH]

You wouldn't see much difference on exit velocity coming off of a tee. The actual test if I remember ( haven't seen it in a few years) has a ball traveling 70mph towards the bat.


I expect more changes in exit velocity standards to start showing up in the next couple of years.

[doctor_e]

the stealht cnt iss a great bat it has tremoundous pop a nice grip and a big barral:thumbsup:

[hitdapill]

The Anderson Techzilla blew it's end cap with my son. It was a great performing bat..until the three spring pins that held the endcap on blew off. It lasted less than 3 weeks. Anderson was very good about replacing the bat.

[bulldog9994]

combats are definitely better. i have used a combat da bomb and trump. i have been in games when kids have hit with a combat virus and they are good too. im 12 and i went from hitting 240 foot shots with a stealth to hitting 280 foot shots with a combat. the bad thing about combats is they are not as durable as a stealth.

[rkbenn]

Afer watching the LL world series my 11 year old son conned me into buying the Easton Stealth CNT composite bat. He was using a Combat DaBomb. I'm getting worried that I payed a lot of money for an inferior bat. He has hit about 150 balls with this bat so I assume he's broken it in, however it's not comming close to the Combat bat as far as pop and distance. Anybody have a similar experience. Is 150 balls enough to break the bat in?

Yes you got ripped off. Combat is the superior bat for less money. In BP, kids hit the ball 10-15 feet longer. In rec leagues...bad news...too much pop for the average player in the hot corner.

[kylebee]

This seems like a good enough thread to post this in.

I have an Easton Stealth 2007 CNT Stiff Flex bat, pictured below:

http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/1085/bst7dd0.jpg

I like it enough, but the black molding between the two pieces is "bubbling" up and has expanded, so to speak. When I hit fungoes to my teammates, it doesn't feel right. However, in the game, it feels fine, I think. Anyway, I'm thinking about replacing it, and I hit a few off a tee with my friend's Easton Stealth Composite bat:

http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/8418/11441frontdisplayng1.jpg

Aside from the differences in sound (the new composite bats don't have the PING! sound to them), it felt a lot better.

Anyone know anything about these bats? They are quite expensive at retail ($370+) but I have a source to get them for $290ish. Still, that's a lot of money for a metal bat.

Thanks for your input.

[kylebee]

Yes you got ripped off. Combat is the superior bat for less money. In BP, kids hit the ball 10-15 feet longer. In rec leagues...bad news...too much pop for the average player in the hot corner.

Hmm, interesting. I haven't seen anyone using these Combat bats. I've seen them online, though. My loyalty has been mainly to Easton, but I'm willing to try new things (and the HS I coach at wants new bats). Thanks.

[rkbenn]

Hmm, interesting. I haven't seen anyone using these Combat bats. I've seen them online, though. My loyalty has been mainly to Easton, but I'm willing to try new things (and the HS I coach at wants new bats). Thanks.

I've been on other sites and a number a players and parents share their thoughts on bats and easton doesn't come up too often, and seen some demos at use and Combat B1 Dabomb is hot out of the wrapper...and the sound a little more hot for that sound intimidation factor. They can't keep the bats on the shelf, they are usually on backorder. Make sure you get the -10 for power.

[kylebee]

I've been on other sites and a number a players and parents share their thoughts on bats and easton doesn't come up too often, and seen some demos at use and Combat B1 Dabomb is hot out of the wrapper...and the sound a little more hot for that sound intimidation factor. They can't keep the bats on the shelf, they are usually on backorder. Make sure you get the -10 for power.

Haha, a -10 would be quite illegal for HS play.

[rkbenn]

Haha, a -10 would be quite illegal for HS play.

Yes, def in HS

[nychamps2k7]

I find it amazing how people freak out about bats. It is all about the person! In my high school team our lead off hitter used a TPX (about $20) and hit a 320 foot homerun while our 3rd hitter hit none with a Stealth (about $320). Another thing is that people have the misconseption that the ball pops off a certain bat more than another. There is little difference between the "pop" of a metal bat and a wood bat so there is almost no difference between the "pop" of metal battles.

[rkbenn]

I find it amazing how people freak out about bats. It is all about the person! In my high school team our lead off hitter used a TPX (about $20) and hit a 320 foot homerun while our 3rd hitter hit none with a Stealth (about $320). Another thing is that people have the misconseption that the ball pops off a certain bat more than another. There is little difference between the "pop" of a metal bat and a wood bat so there is almost no difference between the "pop" of metal battles.

If there was little difference wouldn't u see metal bats in MLB? That kid that hit a 320 with his cheap bat would have hit it 340 with a Combat. There is a difference 280 is to the warning track 295 is over the fence!

[callyjr]

This makes me laugh so much, You guys are trading success now for success in the future. I bought my boy a $26.00 bat this year and he hit great with it, he is learning where the sweet spot on the bat is. You guys go out and buy these superman bats and the kids will never know when they actually had a good swing and will never learn to swing a bat the way they need to to make a HS team. Enjoy the early success. Once they need a real swing though you will wish you had listened.

Cally

[tru3skilz]

what is the difference between the new easton composite bats v.s. the old 2008 easton bats?

[rkbenn]

what is the difference between the new easton composite bats v.s. the old 2008 easton bats?

paint that's it!

[mudvnine]

. . . and the kids will never know when they actually had a good swing and will never learn to swing a bat the way they need to to make a HS team. Enjoy the early success. Once they need a real swing though you will wish you had listened.

Cally

Cally, kids don't learn their swing in the game, but rather in the hundreds or thousands of swings in practice leading up to those games.

Your son is still young and I'm guessing, probably judges the success of his swing by the success of his teammates' swings and you would hate to have him starting questioning his mechanics just because his buddies are getting more hits and distance simply because of the bats they are using.

I understand and agree with you regarding players learning the “sweet spot” of the bat, but I don’t believe game time is the time to do that. This is why during drill and cage work, ALL my hitters use wood or occasionally some other training bat (i.e. Thunderstick, Torpedo, SweetSpot Bat. . .) to learn getting the sweet spot to the ball.

If you want him to really learn the sweet spot and centering the ball for the future, you should have him use wood in the game, but I don’t think you’d go that far, so why not let him play on an even field with technology?

With what you’ve been teaching him, he’ll be just fine in the future. :) :thumbsup: