What's the difference between a 12 inch barrel and 13+ inch barrel other than the obvious? I keep seeing people saying: "I wish this bat had a 12" barrel instead of 13.5." Personally, I don't think it makes a difference for me. I would think bigger barrel equals bigger sweet spot so it's more advantageous to have a bigger barrel. Does it have to do with balance/endload? I swing 28 and 30oz bats so end load doesn't really make a difference to me.
12" barrel vs 13"+
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fierce_gt
Addicted to Softballfans
the big difference is feel. there are a few 13.5" demarini's I liked, but most felt weird to me. basically all the 12" barrel demarini's feel good to me. but then throw in different manufactures and it's totally a crap shoot. I've been happily swinging an SSR2 for years for example.
the other things are 'rule of thumb' only, since composite bats can be manipulated so easily, these things are fairly easy to change/adjust:
-sweet spot location. short barrel bats tend to have the sweet spot further towards the endcap
-balance, short barrel bats tend to feel more endloaded
it's really just about preference, and some ppl seem to care/notice more than others.
i do think it's important to remember though, that composite bats can be engineered, and there's not hard rule about it anymore. it's entirely possible for short barrels to be super balanced(og juggy anyone?) and have sweet spots near the middle of the barrel, and long barrel bats to be very endloaded and have the sweet spot near the endcap. it's also possible for a short barrel bat to have a bigger sweet spot than a long barrel bat. so while it's not wrong to use it as a guideline(i'm usually more excited to try new 12" bats than the 13.5" ones) i don't think you should avoid a bat completely just because it's not the barrel length you think you want.
the other things are 'rule of thumb' only, since composite bats can be manipulated so easily, these things are fairly easy to change/adjust:
-sweet spot location. short barrel bats tend to have the sweet spot further towards the endcap
-balance, short barrel bats tend to feel more endloaded
it's really just about preference, and some ppl seem to care/notice more than others.
i do think it's important to remember though, that composite bats can be engineered, and there's not hard rule about it anymore. it's entirely possible for short barrels to be super balanced(og juggy anyone?) and have sweet spots near the middle of the barrel, and long barrel bats to be very endloaded and have the sweet spot near the endcap. it's also possible for a short barrel bat to have a bigger sweet spot than a long barrel bat. so while it's not wrong to use it as a guideline(i'm usually more excited to try new 12" bats than the 13.5" ones) i don't think you should avoid a bat completely just because it's not the barrel length you think you want.
phxraida15
Addicted to Softballfans
12" bats just feel better for me...
Exparrot
Active Member
Short-barrel bats tend to have the sweet spot towards the endcap, like people have said.
Pure physics states that the barrel is moving faster towards the endcap than closer to the handle. Therefore, if you can consistently hit the SS with a short-barrel bat, you should get better distance.
But then again, it all comes down to preference.
Pure physics states that the barrel is moving faster towards the endcap than closer to the handle. Therefore, if you can consistently hit the SS with a short-barrel bat, you should get better distance.
But then again, it all comes down to preference.
ScootDog
Rather be surfing
**** you swing short bats! Mine are 34"!
Madbeers
Boss Awesomesauce
Isn't the J3A and 100H endloaded?
Spackler
...got that goin for me
J3A 27 is bal and 28 el.... I know cause I has em. I hear 26 is bal and 30 el.
Madbeers
Boss Awesomesauce
Ah..... Like da Fu.
nate d.'8to5
Addicted to Softballfans
most signatured bats are 12 in for a reason. they aren't the only ones that are 12 in, it all comes down to preference as already stated. if they allowed 10 in barrels i would try it out
Hebrew Hacker
Derby Jew
PM Virus and OGSB are both 10" barrels, and hit the **** out of the ball if you can find the sweetspot consistently. I think the Miken Edge might even have been a 9", but that bat was awful.
AttaBoyShort
Coach
The 27 has a slight end load on it. I can feel it in the swing. The 28 had a huge endload, kinda like a swagger. Never touched a 26, or 30. Perfer 12' sticks.
fierce_gt
Addicted to Softballfans
I've often wondered about this. sometimes I know just enough about physics to get me in trouble, but hear me out.
we all understand how levers work, the further from the fulcrum the greater the mechanical advantage. in this application, a ball hitting the bat at the endcap should slow down the bat more than a ball that hits at the taper. and studies have shown that the bat speed AFTER contact is a better indicator of performance.
so... would the ball being hit closer to the endcap, slow down the bat enough to counteract any gains you'd have due to the bat's higher linear speed at that point? for example, let's compare a person with a swing speed of 70mph(measured at the center of the barrel).
sweet spot in the center:
-precontact speed of 70mph
-post contact speed of 55mph(i'm making this up of course)
sweet spot closer to endcap:
-precontact speed of 72mph(same swing, but since it's closer to the endcap it has a higher linear speed)
-post contact speed of 55mph(the bat is slowed down more because of the longer lever)
*I am of course making up all these numbers, but that's the idea i'm wondering about. would you end up with essentially the same post-contact speed anyway? and is that still a good representation of performance?
I mean in practice, I certainly don't get better distance when I hit the ball near the endcap. whether that's because of my swing, or because of the raw physics of the collision, I have no idea though. just something I've wondered about.
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AttaBoyShort
Coach
Yeah had a few people say they didn't like it, to light...can't get the feel of the j3. Now everybody grabs for it and complains if I miss games..these are getting hard to find in 27's I am starting to sense.
Exparrot
Active Member
I over-simplified it, but you make some very valid points. Of course hitting off the endcap wouldn't give you good results, because bats aren't designed to be hit there, but I could understand how the flexier handles wouldn't transfer all the energy into the ball, therefore giving less distance than an endcap shot with a stiff bat.
There's far too many variables here to account for them all, but I think you might be onto something. :thumb:
Dirt27
Cage Bomb Hero
I like the thought process going on here but I use a much simpler approach...me see ball, me swing as hard as me can, me hopefully hit ball.
fierce_gt
Addicted to Softballfans
haha, yeah. like I said, I've tried some bats with the ss closer to the end(like the av) and besides me losing consistency, I didn't see an improvement in distance. this went against what I was told to expect, so I had to create a reason for that. and this was all I came up with.
I didn't mean hitting the ball off the endcap, but hitting the ball at a ss closer to the endcap. I mean every inch makes a difference(both in linear speed and mechanical advantage) and I wonder which one changes more?
I didn't mean hitting the ball off the endcap, but hitting the ball at a ss closer to the endcap. I mean every inch makes a difference(both in linear speed and mechanical advantage) and I wonder which one changes more?
UtiliD
New Member
Maybe far to many variables for current participants in the forums taking in to account their knowledge of the physics without specific knowledge of material composition & layout, design of endload (material, placement, size, density, composition... ect). I think once you know those variables & some others I'm overlooking as I rush through this post, you can come close.
clementeunknown
Addicted to Softballfans
The difference is 1 to 2 inches. Over thinking is a plague around this forum
MPT23
Putting on the foil
Here bro, i fixed this for you.
