| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| AUBB |
Posted - 11/16/2012 : 16:29:02
To all,
Looking for suggestions, or recommendations on custom wood youth series bats for 11U player.
It will be a"Santa" gift.
Viper Bats seems decent for a Birch 30" drop -8 to -10.
Pricing +/- $50.
Ryan |
| 16 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| prestont |
Posted - 01/29/2013 : 20:56:12
S4 - good to hear from ya, and hope all is well with you and yours.
Mine sure has been eating like a teenager so the growth spurt can't be too far away, but he is pretty proud of his 6-pack from all the core work 
Will be fun seeing everyone soon as we ramp up into scrimmages and tournaments. |
| Spartan4 |
Posted - 01/28/2013 : 23:15:03
quote:
Originally posted by prestont
quote:
Originally posted by stevesax
Been a while for this topic, but a ? My son is 12 and went from a Easton -10 at 11U to Easton -8 at 12U, but am looking for the right weight wood bat to compliment the inventory. With Carolina bats they do have the -5's and it seems that the others I look at are mostly -3. Is using a -3 in wood a good or bad idea when we just switched from a -10 to -8 this year in composite bat? Thanks for any input.
SteveSax - Reach out to Karen @ Carolina Clubs.
We've found that she can get the plant to look for a lighter weight billet to make a bat that is more than a -5. Last year @ 12U they made him a maple bat that was a -6.7. He's got good hands but a wood bat that was closer to his -8 aluminum bat definitely helps since my son is probably 84lbs wet 
Long story short.... Carolina Clubs will work with ya as best they can to try and meet your needs.
The internet add 10lbs Preston?!?!?! When are they gonna grow?!? I haven't seen my nephew in a few months but I'm ready for him to GROW!! |
| prestont |
Posted - 01/28/2013 : 14:30:29
quote:
Originally posted by stevesax
Been a while for this topic, but a ? My son is 12 and went from a Easton -10 at 11U to Easton -8 at 12U, but am looking for the right weight wood bat to compliment the inventory. With Carolina bats they do have the -5's and it seems that the others I look at are mostly -3. Is using a -3 in wood a good or bad idea when we just switched from a -10 to -8 this year in composite bat? Thanks for any input.
SteveSax - Reach out to Karen @ Carolina Clubs.
We've found that she can get the plant to look for a lighter weight billet to make a bat that is more than a -5. Last year @ 12U they made him a maple bat that was a -6.7. He's got good hands but a wood bat that was closer to his -8 aluminum bat definitely helps since my son is probably 84lbs wet
Long story short.... Carolina Clubs will work with ya as best they can to try and meet your needs. |
| AUBB |
Posted - 01/28/2013 : 13:42:30
I ended up purchasing a cupped BONES 30" bat in Birch. Requested the -5, but the bat is closer to a -3.5. He swings it well, but after 20-30 swings, the additional 6+ oz vs his Easton -10 starts to have it's toll.
We are using it as his warm up bat now.
After starting the thread, I've done some research on all of the companies people recommended.
Now having a wood bat tournament on the official schedule, he really needs a bat that he can confidently swing w/out getting too tire. Going to order one of the custom Ash Viper Ultralights in -8 to -10, hoping for ~ -8.
|
| stevesax |
Posted - 01/28/2013 : 12:27:26
Been a while for this topic, but a ? My son is 12 and went from a Easton -10 at 11U to Easton -8 at 12U, but am looking for the right weight wood bat to compliment the inventory. With Carolina bats they do have the -5's and it seems that the others I look at are mostly -3. Is using a -3 in wood a good or bad idea when we just switched from a -10 to -8 this year in composite bat? Thanks for any input. |
| BROOKSTEAM |
Posted - 11/29/2012 : 18:01:07
If looking for a practice bat or one to hang on the wall, Maple or exotic wood is great. For games the only way to go is Ash wood. Yes they break more easily, but if you ever watch the boys playing wood bat tournaments and they swing these fancy and heavy maple bats the ball rarely travels hard to the outfield.
For fancy or decorative bats you can go with any of the above (Marucci bats are very expensive but kids love them because the pros use them). But for game use I would stick with the big bat companies:
Louisville Pro Light
Rawlings Big Stick light or Protege
**And I also started carrying Cooperstown bats. They make both ash and maple bats that are game useable and nice and light. |
| prestont |
Posted - 11/21/2012 : 10:04:34
quote:
Originally posted by ivpartner
Maple is as hard as concrete if you care for the bat (store it properly). Can't go wrong with it.
I love Carolina Club Bats. They are milled from phenomenal billets (no I don't have any investment in the company). My son has had several youth bats customed from the company with his weight requirement, color choice, and name. The bats are exceptionally balanced with a good size barrel.
Most wood bats are barrel loaded and if you go below a drop -5 they want hold up on youth bats due to the barrel and neck dimensions. A -5 balanced wood bat swings like a -8 if it is properly balanced.
Good luck with it!
Agree with ivpartner - the folks @ Carolina Clubs are fantastic to work with. Karen is awesome! We've got bats from them for years. One of the owners sons is a year younger than mine (12U) and recommended a larger knob for my sons bats because they found it was easier for kids to control.
Can't say enough good things about Carolina Clubs! |
| RACGOFAR |
Posted - 11/21/2012 : 08:45:23
Bones Bats are awesome. Maple w/natural handle and black/brown barrel looks nice. Ask for it to be autographed when you order and Javy will usually sign it. |
| nastycurve |
Posted - 11/20/2012 : 14:06:04
Check out Escamilla Bats.. They will make it and ship for about 70.00. They will color the bat, two colors and engrave names/numbers. They also do a good job of finding lower weight planks to make lighter bats out of for younger players. These bats have lots of pop, no sting and are very durable. I have contact info and some pics of bats if you want to see, drop me an email. |
| in_the_know |
Posted - 11/19/2012 : 13:40:25
Advantages/Disadvantages if different woods.
Maple became all the rage in recent years among MLB players. Mainly headlined by Barry Bonds crushing every record known to man using maple (in addition to other supplements).
Back in the day, Ash replaced Hickory as the wood of choice for bats. This was primarily because Ash bats were lighter and players could increase their swing speed for the same length bat. Ash is strong and light (comparative to Hickory), so the transition became widespread and permanent.
Similar to the Hickory to Ash migration, Maple is a very dense wood with great surface hardness relative to many other woods. What really separates Maple is that it can be dried to extremely low moisture levels (drying makes the wood lighter) and still retain it's hardness. This meant that Maple could be milled to nearly identical size/swing weight as Ash, yet performs as a harder hitting surface.
The trade-off was the more brittle bats snapping and becoming dangerous spears on the field whereas the Ash wood with higher moisture content would break in a more "flaking" manner than maple. This became such a concern at professional levels that certain maples (red and silver) were banned for bat use in the minors (google "Tyler Colvin bat injury" to see why).
For youth wood bats consider this, for pre-puberty size kids, the player is likely to outgrow the bat before he might ever break it. For that reason alone, you are simply wasting money to spend more than $50 for a wood bat before you get to the point where the player is swinging at 32" - 33" bat. At the point where the player is "settling" in on a longer term bat size, usually 14u or so, then you might want to invest in a higher quality bat.
Many laminated bats or other composite woods or hybrids offer a great combination of strength and hardness. Baum Bat, MacDougal & Sons, Bear Valley Bats, as well as the hybrid/composites from all the usual suspects (Mizuno, Louisville Slugger, Easton, Rawlings, Brett Bros, etc).
Know this, no matter what you spend for a bat, if you catch it wrong on the grain, get jammed or hit it off the end, the likelihood of breaking the bat exponentially increases. This can happen on the first swing or thousandth. |
| ivpartner |
Posted - 11/19/2012 : 11:54:13
Maple is as hard as concrete if you care for the bat (store it properly). Can't go wrong with it.
I love Carolina Club Bats. They are milled from phenomenal billets (no I don't have any investment in the company). My son has had several youth bats customed from the company with his weight requirement, color choice, and name. The bats are exceptionally balanced with a good size barrel.
Most wood bats are barrel loaded and if you go below a drop -5 they want hold up on youth bats due to the barrel and neck dimensions. A -5 balanced wood bat swings like a -8 if it is properly balanced.
Good luck with it! |
| AUBB |
Posted - 11/17/2012 : 10:23:01
Thanks for the recommendations.
So, now the question of longevity...Birch over Ash, or go Maple? |
| Gwinnett |
Posted - 11/17/2012 : 10:00:18
Card6 is right. Should have done this myself.
quote:
Originally posted by Card6
For 11u no question about it. BONES BATS. Why? We out grew our bats before we broke them...quality. We have five. Customize your bat and engrave name,team,# & drop. Support local Braves hero Javy Lopez. When you go to one of his tourneys he will sign it. It goes on the wall in your kids room...little one memories. About $50.
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| Card6 |
Posted - 11/17/2012 : 06:41:34
For 11u no question about it. BONES BATS. Why? We out grew our bats before we broke them...quality. We have five. Customize your bat and engrave name,team,# & drop. Support local Braves hero Javy Lopez. When you go to one of his tourneys he will sign it. It goes on the wall in your kids room...little one memories. About $50. |
| 10bbizz |
Posted - 11/16/2012 : 22:32:45
Davey Jones wood composite! |
| Gwinnett |
Posted - 11/16/2012 : 20:30:43
AUBB, another well balanced, -5, maple wood bat my son used was a Zinger. Yes when I received it I weighed it and it was on the money. I think I paid between $ 65-75 on just bats.com
The lighter and more balanced bats are usually easier for a 11 yr old to swing. Used it in 3-4 wood bat tourneys and it hasn't broke yet. |
