A bazillion types of Fire Flex?

sportwarrior

sportwarrior

Addicted to Softballfans
I'm not sure I've seen a general discussion/explanation of this. There are, by my estimation, 3,719 different types of Fire Flex bats. The only real listed differences seem to be barrel length and weight distribution, but that doesn't explain to me the wildly different price points and popularities of these different bats.

Case in point: The Firm. Rarely do I see that particular version discussed or reviewed and it is certainly available at better price points than the OG Fire Flex, yet I know from personal experience that thing spits fire. Can I safely assume, then, that anything branded "Fire Flex" will also spit fire if its barrel length/weight distro fits my swing? Or are there "cheap" Fire Flexes that Easton tries to sneak through by slapping the name on an inferior bat?
 
Hiltz

Hiltz

Built for comfort
Just think of "FireFlex" as a type of technology used in newer Eastons, much like "IMX" was used in old models. There were IMX models that were highly sought after and there were IMX models that went cheap and had little fanfare. What's old is new again.
 
T

THESHOE

Starting Player
All were good.

All failed comp quick.

Some felt softer than others in the barrel. I found the big barrel OG FF to be rather soft while the Clark and Firm had slightly firmer feeling barrel.

I think the release date, sales ratios, and popularity dictated the pricings. Models with less fanfare were cleared sooner than the popular touted models.

There was also a crap tonne of exclusive through that Smashing it vendor. They seemed to make less mainline, and more various models in small batches through them as exclusives.

I swear at one stage you had 10" to 14" and every .25" covered in between 12 to 14, a 10 and an 11. My experience with the majority of them was they were all hot had similar Easton post 2017 feel about them, and all were pretty good. Some looked stupid AF unfortunately. Others were kinda cool.

FF360 takes a bit more work to work in, but will hold the comp a little longer. We aren't talking about all that much of a difference mind you.
 
H

Hagen49

Active Member
THESHOE said:
I swear at one stage you had 10" to 14" and every .25" covered in between 12 to 14, a 10 and an 11. My experience with the majority of them was they were all hot had similar Easton post 2017 feel about them, and all were pretty good. Some looked stupid AF unfortunately. Others were kinda cool.
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They seem to be doing the same thing with the "fab 4" line that is out there now. The 4 bats all have different barrel lengths, and the "player optimized weighting" end loads for the 3 loaded models, but all based off the FF2.
 
T

THESHOE

Starting Player
And pretty sure the Fab 4 are that certain's site bats no?

Maining there's a mainline set TBD...

I agree, I expect later releases to those 4 with all kinds of specs. They had a good run with those this year, it worked.

Sloth91 said:
if a certain website has anything to say about it, there will be 400. again.
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TWmccoy

TWmccoy

3DX Connoisseur
This could explain why all these fireflex models are suddenly being sold cheap. There were simply too many models released. I think people naturally gravitated toward certain models while others were ignored. I have very little experience with any of the fireflexes, but the OG one I swung a couple times was lights out. I guarantee it would fail compression in less than 100 swings out of the wrapper. The bat was practically brand new and felt like a redlining Miken.

If you want to try a fireflex model, now's the time to grab one. They're going cheap at the place where things get smashed.
 
ShortYellowBus

ShortYellowBus

Well-Known Member
TWmccoy said:
This could explain why all these fireflex models are suddenly being sold cheap. There were simply too many models released. I think people naturally gravitated toward certain models while others were ignored. I have very little experience with any of the fireflexes, but the OG one I swung a couple times was lights out. I guarantee it would fail compression in less than 100 swings out of the wrapper. The bat was practically brand new and felt like a redlining Miken.

If you want to try a fireflex model, now's the time to grab one. They're going cheap at the place where things get smashed.
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Those exclusives were a great idea despite the overstock holding up warehouses now.

It was a perfect execution. OG Fireflex was lights out; the hook.

And then the bait had to be all those barrel sizes, endloads, simple paint jobs and perceived exclusivity.

I bet they sold out quickly and reproduced more to try to maintain stock.

At this time of year, 2019’s are rolling out, so the 2018’s have to go. No big deal.

There’s a lot of serious softball dudes everywhere who buy a lot of bats, and the fact that Easton made available so many options meant that brand loyalty was brag worthy. How long was that OA Connell post going for? Too long. Great for those who haven’t heard of OA.

I bet it was a great year for Easton, despite the bats hitting the “huge” discount bins
 
H

Hagen49

Active Member
smarkley3 said:
So why not a SBFs ASA Fireflex like the UTRIP one, Chad?
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Easton does not make a fireflex ASA model. All of Eastons ASA stuff is the double barrel "ghost" tech as opposed to the fireflex tech. They could do a wild FF paint job on a Ghost or blue line, but that's it.
 
smarkley3

smarkley3

Certified Trap Hoe
Hagen49 said:
Easton does not make a fireflex ASA model. All of Eastons ASA stuff is the double barrel "ghost" tech as opposed to the fireflex tech. They could do a wild FF paint job on a Ghost or blue line, but that's it.
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Stuck in ASA and mostly single wallls, my life sucks.
 
TWmccoy

TWmccoy

3DX Connoisseur
ShortYellowBus said:
Those exclusives were a great idea despite the overstock holding up warehouses now.

It was a perfect execution. OG Fireflex was lights out; the hook.

And then the bait had to be all those barrel sizes, endloads, simple paint jobs and perceived exclusivity.

I bet they sold out quickly and reproduced more to try to maintain stock.

At this time of year, 2019’s are rolling out, so the 2018’s have to go. No big deal.

There’s a lot of serious softball dudes everywhere who buy a lot of bats, and the fact that Easton made available so many options meant that brand loyalty was brag worthy. How long was that OA Connell post going for? Too long. Great for those who haven’t heard of OA.

I bet it was a great year for Easton, despite the bats hitting the “huge” discount bins
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Well, I'm sure Eastons were swung by far more people this year than in years past. A lot of guys I know bought the OG Fireflex. These were guys who hadn't touched an Easton in years.

The amount of models Easton released this year was overwhelming. I bet some sold really well, and others poorly. I actually like the 2 short barrel Fireflexes I swung. Bubba club and Fire and Ice.
 
dunkky

dunkky

Well-Known Member
ShortYellowBus said:
Bat Hound just did a best of 2018 list, and the Easton’s came out dead last.

#12 was a Baden Axe.
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he is a nice dude. but he is biased. he lost his credibility when he ranked two monsta at one and two despite the fact that Axe performed very well for him consistently and put it at 12. axe beat out all other bats and went against dna og in final and crushed dna as well for him. but ranked it 12, not even top 5, not sure what that is about.
 
ShortYellowBus

ShortYellowBus

Well-Known Member
bakesta72 said:
Who?

There's only ONE bat reviewer that I tend to think is fair and honest... LSX Freak...The Hero.... that guy's solid!
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Yeah but in all his videos he hits the dead center of the pitching screen at least three times.

He heavily edits all his filming, so there’s also that. I wouldn’t pitch against him. And that’s the only demerit.

His stance against swinging Monsta is the reason I subscribe and enjoy the channel.
 
dunkky

dunkky

Well-Known Member
i tell you what, i've seen many many bat reviewers on youtube many many times. my honest opinion, you guys are the best and most unbiased bat reviewers in the world, period.
 
TWmccoy

TWmccoy

3DX Connoisseur
Hiltz said:
I was so excited for those two bats until I heard about the wimpy endloads. I ended up just sticking with proven performers and grabbing a Fulk Legit and a Freak30 on clearance.



Yeah, I never heard of her either.
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Bubba Club definitely had a wimpy endload. Even in 28 oz it felt fairly light. If the Bubba hits $99 I'll buy one. Not until then.
 
TWmccoy

TWmccoy

3DX Connoisseur
dunkky said:
i tell you what, i've seen many many bat reviewers on youtube many many times. my honest opinion, you guys are the best and most unbiased bat reviewers in the world, period.
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Bat reviews are always biased. Whomever is swinging the bat will pretty much immediately develop an opinion of the bat and rate it as such. That or they'll do one worse and go into the review with a preconceived opinion of a certain bat.

You can't ever let other people tell you which bats are good and which aren't. The only way to really know is get out there and swing a bat yourself. I for one love most Eastons, but I know other people think they're useless logs. If you want to watch bat reviews you have to make a note of who's hitting and see if their hitting style matches your own. If it doesn't you probably won't agree with their take on bats.

The only time I pay attention to bat reviews are when many different people of varying skill levels say a bat really sucks. Or when everyone is saying a bat keeps breaking quickly.
 
TWmccoy

TWmccoy

3DX Connoisseur
lukeamdman said:
19' 28oz Wegman has a tiny bit more enload than the 28oz Bubba but it's still wimpy.
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Yeah, I liked Eastons from '13-'15 that had massive, progressive endloads. In 28 and 30 oz you were dealing with some serious beef. Now they don't even make 30s and the 28s feel like 27s.
 
L

lukeamdman

Active Member
TWmccoy said:
Yeah, I liked Eastons from '13-'15 that had massive, progressive endloads. In 28 and 30 oz you were dealing with some serious beef. Now they don't even make 30s and the 28s feel like 27s.
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For 18'/19' have you found any short barrels with a decent endload? I hear the LS does but I haven't tried one to find out.

Surprisingly, the wimpiest endload of all time that I've found is the 16" black/gold helmer (SP16BHU) in 28.5oz. Says "3.5oz endload" but on the edge of the table test it has less end load than a 25oz balanced miken that I bought for my kids.
 
Hiltz

Hiltz

Built for comfort
lukeamdman said:
For 18'/19' have you found any short barrels with a decent endload? I hear the LS does but I haven't tried one to find out.

Surprisingly, the wimpiest endload of all time that I've found is the 16" black/gold helmer (SP16BHU) in 28.5oz. Says "3.5oz endload" but on the edge of the table test it has less end load than a 25oz balanced miken that I bought for my kids.
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More evidence that you can pretty much ignore Easton's endload claims.

I've basically given up on finding short barrel endloaded bats for now. I think the '16 Fulk Legit was the last one in recent years.
 
dunkky

dunkky

Well-Known Member
TWmccoy said:
Bat reviews are always biased. Whomever is swinging the bat will pretty much immediately develop an opinion of the bat and rate it as such. That or they'll do one worse and go into the review with a preconceived opinion of a certain bat.
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There's no way i am going to disagree with this. cuz it's a fact. However, I am no bat fanboy. Good bat is good bat regardless. I found myself more successful by getting opinions from you guys like you, Chille, SYB, and others than bat reviews from the youtube.

I like Easton, L4BB, SSR2, worth XXL, Demarni Omega, miken DC41 and on and on.... I am not that picky. lol

I still would like to give a shot at Monsta if an opportunity opens up and would like to get hands on that Anarchy demon someday. lol
 
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