Figured i'd come and add these reviews from our Canadian forums here... Some good early insight into the new Crush and its performance:
Geezer000's review....
I got a chance to swing the New 2019 Mizuno Crush in the grape flavour (13" barrel). I only swang the EL version so that is what my review will be based on.
Swing Weight
The swing weight has a slightly less endloaded feel than last years Crush probably due to the longer barrel. It feels just like the Original Nighthawk for weighting. It doesn't feel as tomahawk-ish as last years Crush.
Contact Feel
Now, I did like the EL Crush last year but the feel of the ball coming off the bat was a little off for me due to the fact that I hit more inside barrel than outside. If I hit the ball near the end of the barrel it felt great. The feel of the new 13" barrel was MUCH better for my swing. I didn't miss hit a single ball in the time I had with the bat. The barrel is crisp without feeling mushy (Black nighthawk) or woodsy (Mamba). The sound is also drastically better as well. Not harping on last years Crush but although it had great POP, it didn't have a great sound. I know a lot of people love a good sound to go with good performance so that's a plus. I also feel that the bat doesn't flex at the 2-piece joint as much as last years Crush. Feels more like the Black nighthawk in that area.
Overall
Overall, I loved the bat. Last year when i demo'd the 2018 Crush I came away with mixed feelings. There was such a drastic difference between the EL (to much) and Balanced (not balanced enough). So much so that both felt off for me. I started the year with the EL and then with the Balanced and ended up swinging my Mamba the rest of the year. That all changed with the 2019 Crush. The swing of the EL was Perfect. Lets call it a 3/4 load. Right were I like it. If someone would ask me for a sentence to best describe it it would be:
It marries the wonderful barrel of the original nighthawk with the great thin handle of the black nighthawk while sounding like a broken in Craze.
IMG_20181129_201438 by
Jacob Giesbrecht, on Flickr[/QUOTE]
And then my add on take to Geezer's pretty accurate review....
I agree with a lot of what is said above. My experience is pretty similar so far.
Key notes for me on this year's vs previous....
Barrel --- Hotter from swing 1. Felt great at first demos out of wrap. Barrel had a nice open sweet spot feel and very forgiving. Hottest early on I've seen from them since they got into 2pc bats (for slowpitch). True 13" with a long taper to handle. Visually fine. Had no issues with making good contact and finding the sweet spot. Dead middle big sweet spot for me. Mi****s still hjad juice on them (I rate bats highly for this nowadays - But if I eff up and mi**** off center of etc, does it still have something behind it?)
Handle --- Geezer nailed it. Not as bendy as 2018 Crush, not as fat feeling as OG Nighthawk either. Had the nicer thinner feel of Black NH and Crush but attached to a much different barrel with better feel and pop to me.
Weights --- EL felt great to me. Just the right amount. 1/2oz feel or so. Nothing sledgy or over bearing. Very Harvey Legit like to me /// Bal was actually more true Bal from them for a change. This should appease many who've had the slightly loaded complaint about the Bal Mizzys.
It just felt good early on, and felt even better when trying the demo 27el again a week later. Had a few hit back at me while pitching that certainly had exit speed to show for it.
Key thing I am noticing early here on with this bat at demos --- People who never tried Mizuno are drawn to it. Colour and sound of others hitting it seems to get people picking it up, and the performance is there to garner positive pleasant reviews from users right now. A few friends who never liked Mizuno before were giving it repeat trials and several rounds worth of hits. Saying nothing but good things.
Mizuno loyals should be in for a treat...
I think they have a winner here. This should gain them some followers. I am curious to see now how durability and long term barrel performance and compression go. Seems like it starts much softer than anything Mizuno i'd hit before. More active, more barrel bounce, more pop. Whereas OG Nighthawk just had a soft thud, this has a soft barrel trampoline feel with a nice loud crack sound about it.