My Nighthawk Review (Roboload)

C

Chudder

Addicted to Softballfans
Mizuno Nighthawk Review.

So, we got a shipment of the Nighthawks in about 3 weeks ago for our Revolution Tour where we are going all over Ontario to give people the chance to give it a try. We have been testing these bats with regular occurrence to kind of track their break in period. Every single one of these bats tested between 255 and 270 with the wrapper on and they have gotten down to 220-230 fairly quickly.

Feel:

For a 2 piece bat it is very stiff, at no point have I felt it “whip” and I haven’t got any feedback from people saying that it is whippy. As for the barrel I wouldn’t call it “soft” but it’s a lot softer than I was use to with Easton.

Durability:

When we 1st started with them we were using my old bag of BP balls and it’s made up of Gold/Blue/Launch balls and we were hitting these bats in cooler temps (10-15Deg C/50ish F) and we broke 2 bats between 300-500 swings. NOW, the 27oz that I have been hitting and using at the Demos we are going to is easily at 2,000 swings now with only Hot Dots (52/300’s) and its holding up just fine. It does have a real funny rattle to it, it kind of sounds like the Legit line when they get really broken in.

Weighting:

I swung a 26oz EL Easton bat the past 2 years, with the Nighthawk I will be going up to a 27oz, it comes with a half oz endload and a 12.5” barrel. When we weighed the ones we have they all came in within 0.2zo of sticker weight and they all were just under. If you’re on the fence I would recommend that you go up an ounce.

Video:

I dislocated some ribs 2 months ago and I haven’t been able to swing until Friday night and then we took this video on Saturday. I’m sorry that I’m a bit rusty. We are using a mix of balls here from 52/300’s to 44/475’s. I will say that I am very, very happy with the performance of this bat. I’m not telling anyone to go buy it, but I am urging you to please go try it and form your own opinion. I have literally watched over a 100 people swing this bat now and got nothing but positive reviews. It comes with a 30 day money back guarantee(In Canada, Im not sure about the USA); I believe that you will be impressed.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mL82LTXvT7I[/ame]

For those of you that have hit the Nighthawk yourself please feel free to post your own review as well! All opinions are welcome, I will answer any questions as usual.
 
Madbeers

Madbeers

Boss Awesomesauce
A company is willing to give a money back guarantee within 30 days?!?! That says all I need to hear. If they believe in something that much, it must be as good as advertised. I'm excited to try one. Definitely on my wish list. Gonna have to move a couple bats and swoop one up.
 
D

dflint72

Addicted to Softballfans
Why does every video of you Canada guys have a dude with crazy body rotation? All us Americans need to get stretching
 
W

white_gt

Addicted to Softballfans
Ill be getting one with they come out. I cant wait. Had a blackout that i didnt like but loved my mamba.
 
bird25

bird25

34/30 Club #25
Madbeers said:
A company is willing to give a money back guarantee within 30 days?!?! That says all I need to hear. If they believe in something that much, it must be as good as advertised. I'm excited to try one. Definitely on my wish list. Gonna have to move a couple bats and swoop one up.
Click to expand...

Obviously you need a dual stamp combat bomb dropper. Hottest bat ever or your money back.:biggthumpup:
 
S

southpaw15

Addicted to Softballfans
Nighthawk & Mamba Review

Chudder obviously did a great job with his review, and included a video. I was lucky enough to get a 26oz RoboLoad Nighthawk from my MO/KS rep to swing last night. The bat was brand new, no swings on it. I also had a Mamba, 27oz NIW and peeled the wrapper off. I was hitting a mix of .44/425 & .40/325 Classic M's.

I ended up taking 4 rounds of 25 swings with the Nighthawk, and at about the 65-70 swing mark it was making a different sound than before marking a good break in point. The sweetspot started off small, much like an Easton, and gradually opened up similar in comparison to the DC41 or KF30. By the 100 swing mark, I'd compare it to an out of the wrapper KF30. In my opinion, that tells me it broke down by 20lbs. of compression or more in those 100 swings. The Nighthawk out of the wrapper tested at 278, most of my experience with a KF30 has been about 248-255 out of the wrapper. I've broken multiple DC41's and KF30's in less than 250 swings since we began testing them last fall. I can't remember a bat lasting over 250 swings with the exact same balls I'm using now.

Unfortunately, I have to send this bat back to the rep for his demo's in KC this weekend. I'm looking forward to when our team gets these in and start to use prior to the season. My thoughts are about 200-250 swings the bat will be anywhere from 235-240 on the compression machine, which in my opinion is perfect for tournament play. If you are getting down around the 220 mark, you're on the verge of breaking and failing compression which means we can't use them any longer. The true test will be to see how long the numbers can hold above the 220 mark after it gets close. My Easton's have held at 225 for almost 4000 swings on my 100H from 2012 season. My ASP from last year got to 230 at about 400 swings and held there up to about 1500 swings it has on it now. I've actually been very hard on those bats, using Stadium ZN'a, Launch 650's, Blue Dots, and other very hard balls. It's crazy how well they hold up.

The Mamba is a 27oz bat, I put another 50 swings on it, as I was nearing exhaustion by the end of the night. I've not swung a 1 piece bat in quite some time, but this felt pretty good. I'd say this bat broke down a little quicker and make a different sound by 40 swings. There were some other players hitting in another cage, and I let them swing both bats to see what they thought. The guys swinging a 1 piece Wegman liked the Mamba, and the guys swinging Legits and Freak Black, DC41, Freak12 all preferred the Nighthawk, but was impressed how the Mamba felt.

Overall, I think Mizuno is in line with very other manufacturer out there. It will come down to personal preference for each individual, and in my case sponsorship on what to swing this coming season. From a price perspective, Mizuno will offer a lower price point, with a 30 day guarantee. Most other companies offer a Warranty program greater than 30 days, but at a higher cost.

I personally take BP 2-3 times a week, sometimes more, during the week so I want a bat that will last and take any abuse I put on it. If I were buying a bat, and also like taking BP during the week, I'd want something durable. If you only play a few times a week, maybe a tournament here or there, and don't take BP, I'd want something that I saw immediate results on. Miken/Worth listened to what the general public wanted, and this was there take on what they wanted now. They offer a bat that is "hotter" out of the wrapper than any other manufacturer, but it breaks much faster, and also fails compression much faster than any other company also. Easton is obviously changing their methods slightly to get bats to break in faster, and risking some of their durability to close the gaps on other manufacturers. I think Mizuno is trying to get in between those manufacturers with a happy medium.

I'm looking forward to swinging these bats all season, and I'll be sure to give more updates as we go along and put these bats to the test. I'm sure Robo and Chudder can give more insights to date, because they've had much more exposure to the new bat line Mizuno is offering.

Feel free to ask any questions if you like. Sorry for the long thread, but wanted to give my feedback.

Dan Bean
Taylormade/Mizuno
 
Kaji

Kaji

Addicted to Softballfans
Nice review southpaw. If the mizuno's get as hot as the miken/worth bats then I'd really like to try one out.
 
T

THESHOE

Starting Player
Happy Medium between Miken/Worth and Easton is exactly what I would call it too. But I found it to lean heavily on the hot out of wrapper side.

I've yet to actually get with an Easton and even enjoy hitting it unless it has 700+ hits on it. Which ticks me off cause by the time I have reached that, they are going for a 1/3 of the price. I only buy old beaten Eastons now, never new.

The ball flew with the Khawk right outta wrapper. I was the first guy here to ask for a 28, and it came out of wrapper for me to use. It was in a dome, so there was flight to it. I was hitting it in the same areas as Freak 12 and CL22 2015 with hits on them. I would have no problem gaming this if I had to, and leaving my Freak 12 be. It will get every bit as good no doubt once you put some time into it.

This will be a good bat and I expect to see them make some dent in the Miken/Worth and LS train around here.

Eastons are becoming obsolete unless you are a $99 value bat shopper. Those who play a lot want performance here.

I try to hit nothing but 52 Cor that we game as much as possible, thus my bats never seem to have breaking issues or early comp fails.

Best of all with the Khawk, it is not a whippy 2pc bat. It is a stiff handle like the Miken/Worth and Demarini lines.
 
C

Chudder

Addicted to Softballfans
Wicked reviews guys!!

I agree with a lot that is said above!

Just an update, we have the one 27oz Nighthawk, it was 260 in wrapper...

When we tested it after about 500 swings (52/300's) it was down to 225...

At 1000 swings it was at 225 one side and 210 the other side...

its now at about 2500 swings (still not broken!!) and it tested at 195 and 200..

We have been very dillignet with making sure we are only hitting it with 52/300's and the skill level of the players that are hitting it is all over the map!

I am VERY ok with this info
 
BraveSox

BraveSox

Addicted to Softballfans
So you're saying you like a stiff Khawk?
THESHOE said:
Happy Medium between Miken/Worth and Easton is exactly what I would call it too. But I found it to lean heavily on the hot out of wrapper side.

I've yet to actually get with an Easton and even enjoy hitting it unless it has 700+ hits on it. Which ticks me off cause by the time I have reached that, they are going for a 1/3 of the price. I only buy old beaten Eastons now, never new.

The ball flew with the Khawk right outta wrapper. I was the first guy here to ask for a 28, and it came out of wrapper for me to use. It was in a dome, so there was flight to it. I was hitting it in the same areas as Freak 12 and CL22 2015 with hits on them. I would have no problem gaming this if I had to, and leaving my Freak 12 be. It will get every bit as good no doubt once you put some time into it.

This will be a good bat and I expect to see them make some dent in the Miken/Worth and LS train around here.

Eastons are becoming obsolete unless you are a $99 value bat shopper. Those who play a lot want performance here.

I try to hit nothing but 52 Cor that we game as much as possible, thus my bats never seem to have breaking issues or early comp fails.

Best of all with the Khawk, it is not a whippy 2pc bat. It is a stiff handle like the Miken/Worth and Demarini lines.
Click to expand...
 
etnstudios

etnstudios

Addicted to Softballfans
Chudder said:
Wicked reviews guys!!

I agree with a lot that is said above!

Just an update, we have the one 27oz Nighthawk, it was 260 in wrapper...

When we tested it after about 500 swings (52/300's) it was down to 225...

At 1000 swings it was at 225 one side and 210 the other side...

its now at about 2500 swings (still not broken!!) and it tested at 195 and 200..

We have been very dillignet with making sure we are only hitting it with 52/300's and the skill level of the players that are hitting it is all over the map!

I am VERY ok with this info
Click to expand...


:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:
 
nutmegs

nutmegs

IDGAFOS
I'll have my review and video up soon. Let's just say I liked it infinitely better than the mamba. Sound changed after 50 swings then again after 100. feels like a real bat not a BASS which is what i felt the mamba felt like.
 
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